James Collins (1) (1958–)

In his debut fiction effort Collins takes what should be a simple story – boy meets girl, boy loses phone number, boy finds girl – and teases it along with nuance and finesse to create a wonderful tale of coincidence, miscommunication, and fate. Like a thrilling Shakespearean romantic comedy we meet a full cast of characters that the omniscient narrator develops with great insight and depth and we read with great anticipation as they bounce their way through life like pinballs when the show more machine is on full tilt. When Peter meets Holly on a transcontinental flight his romantic ideals are finally realized. While both are a bit shy and reserved, they instantly connect and their dreams of true love seem all but fulfilled, until Peter realizes he’s lost Holly’s phone number and doesn’t know enough about her to ever find her again. When, several years later, Holly shows up on the arm of Peter’s best friend the romantic roller coaster is set in motion. Lives intersect, but circumstances prevent connection. Lives reconnect, but fate intervenes. Will Peter and Holly ever unite, or were they really not meant for each other? Bring in a scheming boss, a philanthropic tycoon, a compassionate stepmother, and a bolt of lightning and you’ve got an emotional mix that thrills right up to the last page. As quoted by author Larry Doyle, “James Collins is the new Jane Austen, only taller.” show less

Mixed feelings on this one.

I loved the premise of somewhat star-crossed lovers meeting on an airplane but I struggled with almost everything else. To me, the writing seemed stiff and repetitive and the main characters seemed weirdly one dimensional. I felt like I knew more (and more importantly cared more) about the secondary characters than I did about Peter and Holly and I'm not quite sure why. Holly in particular was just "beautiful and good" and we were told that a hundred times.

I show more suspect that this would be a pretty good chick flick. show less

I wanted to read BEGINNER'S GREEK because of the full-page, front-loaded, gushing review it received in The New York Times Book Review. The reviewer compared the book to "a big sunny lemon chiffon pie," to let the reader know that BEGINNER'S GREEK is light and frivolous, yet fit for a gourmet palate and with a pleasing tang. Well, that's accurate enough.

BEGINNER'S GREEK is wonderfully written, with a smooth and luscious style, understated humor, unexpected yet appropriate metaphors, a show more profusion of biting-yet-not-quite-cruel character studies, and a minimum of frou-frou, "virtuosic" writerly clutter.

BUT. Starting with the prologue, when Peter muses that women who read books by overrated English novelists on a plane are to be avoided at all costs, while readers of THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN are infinitely desirable, it's clear that BEGINNER'S GREEK was written for snobs. It's full of literary references for experienced readers to find, and then pat themselves on the back for catching - but it's also full of discreet contempt for intellectuals...or at least certain intellectuals. The less-perfect intellectuals who try too hard, who struggle to be sophisticated when others achieve it effortlessly.

Talk about biting the hand that feeds.

The hero of the novel, Peter Russell, is presented as an idealized nice guy - handsome, wealthy, athletic, but also charmingly earnest and just a little naive. Very sweet. The problem is, he's mostly nice by comparison. He's nice in comparison to his best friend, a manipulative and deeply selfish philanderer. The friendship alone suggests something might be wrong with Peter - the fact that Peter hates his best friend, but maintains the friendship, confirms it. He's nice in comparison to his boss, a cartoonishly villainous man whose days are spent plotting Peter's downfall. It's hard not to come out ahead in that comparison. And we're led to believe that Peter is nice because he's marrying Charlotte, an annoying and humorless woman he doesn't love...or even like that much. I'm sorry, I don't think that's nice at all.

Especially since meanwhile, Peter is in love with Holly. Holly couldn't be more perfect. She is gorgeous, she is kind, she is smart, she is a good listener, she is thoughtful, she is educated, she is funny. She is a composite of womanly virtues. She also happens to be in love with Peter. But circumstances keep them apart - and that, of course, is the meat of BEGINNER'S GREEK.

In fact, for the first two-thirds of the novel circumstances really go to town on Peter and Holly. Just as it starts to look like Peter and Holly might finally have their chance, some improbable disaster intervenes to separate them. Further events clear the obstacle, but before anything can happen another improbable disaster sunders them anew. This makes for an incredibly anxious reading experience. Perhaps it is to the author's credit, but I would have to call it an unpleasantly anxious reading experience.

BEGINNER'S GREEK is a smart, well-written, frequently insightful book. But the bad impression I had of Peter at the beginning was slow to dissipate, the sly sneers at the reader enraged me, and the plotting was occasionally ridiculous. For me, the negatives were stronger than the positives. show less

Immensely pleasing take on the boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, etc story. Collins' characters, especially Peter and Holly, are so honest and fresh, and his slightly deadpan narrative style just the right kind of frustrating (as in, you cannot stop reading, as you want to know when and if what you want to happen will). Pick it up for your own travel reading -- time will fly.