Laura Rider's Masterpiece (edition 2009)

disappointing compared to her other work

I feel guilty about being too critical, but the word "masterpiece" has no place being used anywhere in reference to this book. Perhaps it is intended to come off as trashy, as some sort of commentary on the romance novel Laura hopes to write, but that intention is swallowed up beyond any hope of ironic redemption.

Foremost among the book's sins is that Hamilton seems to have no idea how people talk. Consider the first conversation in the book, between Laura and Jenna, which is little more than a series of lengthy non sequiturs, with each woman rambling along some weird tangent. All the characters in the book, to be sure, speak as if reciting some carefully-constructed, previously-written dissertation.

Even aside from the awkwardness of their dialogue, Hamilton's characters are insufferable boors -- pretentious, yet somehow still ignorant. They seem to exist in a state where their every utterance could be a precursor to some grand personal revelation. They orate from a limited sphere of cultural references, as if they'd selected ten items from some list of topics about which learned people think and discuss, and so must constantly return and rereference Faulkner or the Clintons.

To her credit, Hamilton does manage to glimpse some of the goofiness to which otherwise reasonable people might succumb in the throes of new love or obsession, but buried beneath the weight of her nauseatingly florid prose, the only hope that a reader can have for Laura Rider's Masterpiece is that it will end. ( )

"Laura Rider's Masterpiece" is a short, humorous and totally unexpected novel by Jane Hamilton, author of "A Map of the World" and "The Book of Ruth." In its own small way, it may be a masterpiece, too.

Laura Rider is a successful businesswoman who, with her husband, Charlie, runs a greenhouse and garden business in Wisconsin. Although she admits Charlie is a perfect lover, she decides as she enters middle age that she has had enough sex for one lifetime, and she exiles him to a separate bedroom. Charlie, though frustrated. accepts this with little complaint. Laura, clearly, is in charge.

Although she reads little and has written little besides her business newsletter, Laura yearns to become a writer of romances. Stuck for a plot, she decides to orchestrate a real-life romance featuring her unassuming husband.

One day Charlie happens by accident to meet Jenna Faroli, host of a popular radio show that Laura listens to regularly. When she hears about this meeting, Laura sees her chance to create a romantic plot. She encourages Charlie to see Jenna again and to maintain an e-mail correspondence, with Laura writing most of Charlie's e-mails for him.

The romance turns hot. Jenna's husband remains in the dark, while Charlie's wife manipulates events to thicken her plot.

Laura is a strange character, intelligent yet at the same time mindless and heartless. When the affair, thanks to her, becomes a public scandal, she simply revels in the story she has created. She has her masterpiece, never mind the pain it has caused others.

Jane Hamilton obviously had fun writing this short 2009 novel, and her readers will have fun reading it, though they may find themselves a bit disturbed, as well. ( )

I enjoyed this story and Hamilton's way of writing. It was a little close to the bone in some aspects and I can say that Hamilton describes certain situations as if she is intimately familiar with them and the emotions they create.I laughed out loud reading this book. Especially toward the end. ( )

A very unusual plot...Laura Rider - smart, creative, mastermind of Prairie Wind Farm garden center has stopped having relations with her husband Charlie. Laura and Charlie each meet Jenna Faroli, the thoughtful host of a public radio talk show. Laura pushes Charlie - who is all too willing - to be a closer friend with Jenna, with whom they both are smitten. Laura's motivations become more clear and she becomes less likable as a result.

Smartly written. ( )