Larry's Party (1997)

This is not a book that you could call riveting. It took me months to finally get through it--just couldn't seem to get involved with Larry. That said, the novel is a masterful study of character and societal attitudes. Shields goes up and down both sides of Larry, explores him front and back, goes inside his head and turns him inside out. The thin plot takes a back seat to "all about Larry." The final chapter is a satisfying roundup of the cast. ( )

A long time ago I read 'The Stone Diaries' and was underwhelmed, but found this in a used book store and knew it was a Orange prize winner, so why not? Well, truth be told, it was nicely written but dull. Essentially about the formative years of an ordinary Canadian man, Larry Weller, who falls into a life as a designer of hedge mazes. His life story is told in multiple chapters which are vignettes, short stories almost in and of themselves, dated through out the years 1977 - 1997.

The structure was unique and the prose above average; poignant. Larry really is everyman; or an anti-hero. Reminded me very much of Updike's Rabbit Angstrom - right down to the details of the 70's life and the rabbity little wife.

But in the main, I had to rather push through this. It was hard to really make myself care. It was hard to make Larry transcend the ordinary. Dull. I suspect I had very similar feelings about 'The Stone Diaries." Empirically good, but missing some verve. And I can't really read the name Dorrie without picturing Ellen Degeneress' fish, though that is certainly besides the point. rather like this book. ( )

I love re-reading books, and I've read this one at least three times in the last fifteen years. For me the mark of a good book is that it leaves some images with you, that you'll remmeber even when you have forgotten the plot. For me, in this case, it's the surviving half of the labyrinth in Larry's first house as a married man.

A good book showing the life of a man and his family, how through his talent and passion for his work he evolves and improves his social status, but in the end he remains the same person.

Highly recommendable. ( )

I was introduced to Carol Shields when I read The Stone Diaries for the Pulitzer challenge. I fell completely in love with that book and wanted to read more of her work but hadn't made it a priority. Now that I'm reading all the Orange Prize winners I finally got the motivation I needed.

So far I've read the first three Orange Prize winners now, and Larry's Party is far and away the best. The writing is solid, but unlike the other two winners, there is a compelling plot that pulls you through. Much like The Stone Diaries, this story is not told in a traditional way. It's broken up into 15 chapters, each of which is about a specific time in Larry's life. They are chronological and the point of view remains the same - it seems to just serve the purpose of moving the plot along. For me it was successful.

This book had a really similar feel to the Rabbit novels by John Updike. As a huge fan of said Rabbit novels, that's certainly a compliment, and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes complete stories; that is, this book is not just a screenshot of Larry at a particular point in time. You follow him through his relationships, the raising of his child, the advancement of his career, and you learn how he changes as a person as these things in his life change. In fact, I can't think of a book with more solid character development. ( )

Larry's Party is my first Carol Shields book - but it certainly won't be my last. Admittedly, I was dreading this story. I envisioned a testosterone fest - thinking the book was about a self-involved male character who was a womanizer, cheater and full of himself. I couldn't have been further from the truth. Larry Weller was likeable, fallible and beautifully rendered in the hands of the talented Carol Shields.

The book chronicles the life of Larry Weller - an ordinary man with an unusual job. Larry creates mazes, and as he gets older, his work becomes highly sought after. Along the way, Larry gets married (twice), divorced (twice), has a son, moves and has a near-fatal health event. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of Larry's life. Sometimes we learn about his first marriage; other times we learn about the relationship with his son. The final chapter culminates into Larry's Party - a dinner party where he is circled by loved ones and friends - and gets a chance to see his many blessings.

Overall, I enjoyed Larry's Party. If I had to make a complaint, it was the constant repeating of information. I wasn't sure if Shields was trying to make each chapter standalone, but the constant reintroduction of known facts about Larry's life got on my nerves. It's a small complaint, really, and certainly wouldn't prevent me from recommending Larry's Party to other readers.

I look forward to reading more by Carol Shields and am glad to have read this Orange Prize winner. It's the type of character-driven fiction I always enjoy. ( )