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The Reserve by Russell Banks
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The Reserve (original 2008; edition 2008)

by Russell Banks (Author)

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6672234,380 (3.22)30
Twenty-nine-year-old Vanessa Cole is a wild, stunningly beautiful heiress, the adopted only child of a highly regarded New York brain surgeon and his socialite wife. Twice married, Vanessa has been scandalously linked to any number of rich and famous men. But on the night of July 4, 1936, at her parents' country home in a remote Adirondack Mountain enclave known as The Reserve, two events coincide to permanently alter the course of Vanessa's callow life: her father dies suddenly of a heart attack, and a mysteriously seductive local artist, Jordan Groves, blithely lands his Waco biplane in the pristine waters of the forbidden Upper Lake. . . . [Jordan] falls easy prey to her electrifying personality, but it is not long before he discovers that the heiress carries a dark, deeply scarring family secret. Emotionally unstable from the start, and further unhinged by her father's unexpected death, Vanessa begins to spin wildly out of control, manipulating and destroying the lives of all who cross her path.--From publisher description.… (more)
Member:katiekrug
Title:The Reserve
Authors:Russell Banks (Author)
Info:Harper (2008), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 304 pages
Collections:Your library, To read
Rating:
Tags:Fiction, historical, 1930s, politics, class, mystery

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The Reserve by Russell Banks (2008)

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» See also 30 mentions

English (19)  French (3)  All languages (22)
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
Meh. Didn't really care for it. Seemed like a lot was clichéd. I guess just not my kind of story. ( )
  steve02476 | Jan 3, 2023 |
@ Adirondack enclave — wealthy — secrets — good history
Hindenburg, Spanish civil war — old money clans — privilege, lobotomies — Hitler

Twenty-nine-year-old Vanessa Cole is a wild, stunningly beautiful heiress, the adopted only child of a highly regarded New York brain surgeon and his socialite wife. Twice married, Vanessa has been scandalously linked to any number of rich and famous men. But on the night of July 4, 1936, at her parents' country home in a remote Adirondack Mountain enclave known as The Reserve, two events coincide to permanently alter the course of Vanessa's callow life: her father dies suddenly of a heart attack, and a mysteriously seductive local artist, Jordan Groves, blithely lands his Waco biplane in the pristine waters of the forbidden Upper Lake. . . .
  christinejoseph | May 15, 2017 |
Did not finish this book. Started listening to it as a book on CD, but found it wasn't to my liking.
Very descriptive writing, which was not what I was looking for at the moment. Though I don't know for certain because I didn't finish it, I felt I could see the storyline unfolding - married with kids man encounters willowy rich woman on the lakeshore, feels she's "dangerous" and someone to watch out for...but all indications were that he was going to fall for her. Just not my cup of tea.

( )
  KylaS | Feb 18, 2016 |
I'm still not sure what to say about this book. I wasn't expecting it to be so much of a soap opera, but ... well, that's what it is. What's really making it difficult to evaluate, however, is that it feels so incomplete. The flash forwards tell the eventual fates of two of the characters, but leaves two others shrouded in mystery. But even in the case of the characters whose lives are given a final punctuation, I felt as though a lot was left unexplored.

I can't help but wonder if Banks decided he wanted to write a trashy novel, but in the end couldn't commit to it. ( )
  jawalter | Nov 18, 2012 |
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Russell Banksprimary authorall editionscalculated
Willems, IneTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
I am beautiful as a dream of stone. -- Baudelaire
Dedication
For Chase, the Beloved
First words
When finally no one was watching her anymore, the beautiful young woman extracted herself from her parents and their friends and left the living room.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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Twenty-nine-year-old Vanessa Cole is a wild, stunningly beautiful heiress, the adopted only child of a highly regarded New York brain surgeon and his socialite wife. Twice married, Vanessa has been scandalously linked to any number of rich and famous men. But on the night of July 4, 1936, at her parents' country home in a remote Adirondack Mountain enclave known as The Reserve, two events coincide to permanently alter the course of Vanessa's callow life: her father dies suddenly of a heart attack, and a mysteriously seductive local artist, Jordan Groves, blithely lands his Waco biplane in the pristine waters of the forbidden Upper Lake. . . . [Jordan] falls easy prey to her electrifying personality, but it is not long before he discovers that the heiress carries a dark, deeply scarring family secret. Emotionally unstable from the start, and further unhinged by her father's unexpected death, Vanessa begins to spin wildly out of control, manipulating and destroying the lives of all who cross her path.--From publisher description.

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