The Clasp

Victor, Kezia, and Nathaniel were friends in college, and they reunite at a college friend's wedding. None are quite where they thought they would be, but they hide their disappointments from each other. An odd encounter with the groom's mother sends Victor on a quest, and Kezia and Nathaniel eventually follow. As they start to admit the truth about their lives to themselves and then each other, their relationships shift.

Crosley's fiction is as witty and pithy as her essays, but toward the end of the book there is a bit of depth as well, and the plot is satisfying; there are plenty of literary references as well. A funny and enjoyable book, probably most appealing to twenty- and thirty-somethings.

Quotes

Was there a worse compliment than show more the one with no adjective? You have a face. It's a sweater. He does a job. (Victor, 18)

She hated Los Angeles as a concept, but she also hated it on a personal level. Los Angeles was dangerous to the human touch. Like a sleeping python. One never knows when it will shake loose from an acai-berry coma whip around, and say something god-awful to your face. And she wasn't even in show business. (Kezia, 68)

But money was never the point. This was the silent principle of wealth that Victor had not understood...Accessibility made [his] things worthless. Whereas part of the necklace's worth was that it was impossible to get. (Victor, 152)

Libraries tend not to attract crowds unless people want to set their contents on fire. (Victor, 199)

His life seemed dumb after just one day away from it. (Nathaniel, 268)

Even in his dreams, he was himself. (Victor, 283)

"You all pretend not to be fancy...But you guys are afflicted with want just like everyone else except you have the added burden of having to pretend you'd rather be home than at the Vanity Fair Oscar party." (Kezia to Nathaniel, 310)

He was just so accustomed to the steady hum of wanting her. Her picture had hung in his heart for so long. (Victor, 328)

He was Dorian Gray and she was the painting: If she stopped remembering him the way he used to be, he feared that version of himself would cease to exist. (Nathaniel and Kezia, 334)

Maybe it wasn't real and he just wanted to hear what it sounded like to be that passionate about anything. Maybe this was like missing the last train to a destination you weren't so sure you wanted to go to anyway. (Nathaniel, 336)

"I thought, on some core level, that there was a soul to information and that facts wanted to be found....But facts and objects don't give a shit about being found because they don't see themselves as lost. They know they are real without us." (Victor to Kezia and Nathaniel, 351) show less

Although this book begins with a wedding, it is hardly a tale of harmonious relationships. Three friends from a small, unnamed, New England college - Kezia, Nathaniel, and Victor - reunite at said wedding (as guests) and a chain of events are set off that brings them to Europe in search of a potentially non-existant necklace from a Guy de Maupassant short story. The way that the events unfold are exciting and hilarious...reminiscent of the Great Muppet Caper in its madcappedness. Without divulging spoilers, I'll discuss the three main characters. Each of the characters has a complicated relationship to the others, and that complication sets off some of the conflict and events in the later part of the novel.

Kezia is the main assistant to show more a eccentric, temperamental NYC jewelry designer. Her daily experience is highly stressful. As she compares her life to those of her college friends, she finds herself lacking. She's not making much money, her job isn't fulfilling in any meaningful way, she's not as thin or glamorous as many of the other women working in her field, and her love life is practically non-existent.

Nathaniel fancies himself a literature snob, brilliant writer/storyteller, and suave ladies man. After graduation, he moves to LA and tries to break into screenwriting with minimal success. The culture of self-absorption and nonchalance at first appeals to him, but the sheen begins to wear off over time. The character is, at one point, diagnosed as having a small-sized heart, which lends a Grinchish color to him. He's frustrated with the trajectory of his life and career, and often defensive about his life choices. This manifests in a kind of bravura that wears thin at times, but seems completely believable for the character.

Victor has always felt unsuccessful in whatever he does. As the book begins, he's gotten fired from his job at a non-prominent internet search engine company. He's floundering in his life, always with a dark cloud hovering just overhead. He's a bit of a kleptomaniac, which feeds his meager ego. The "ho hum-ness" of his life gave me the impression of the character Eeyore. Many of the bad things that happen throughout the book happen to him, and each event reinforces the inverse relationship with how much sympathy/pity the reader feels for him. show less

I have read both of Crosley's previous 2 books which are personal essays in the style of David Sedaris. They were excellent. She has made a good transition to fiction. This is an engaging story about 3 college friends who have are not as connected as they were 8 years ago who come together at a wedding of a college friend. Crosely is very funny and her insights and observations give us a good view into that 30 ish group. The plot about the The Clasp is nothing more than a device to hold the novel together. If you want a funny read with great characters, try this. There is one scene where one of the character's boss from hell totally blames her for something that was the bosses fault that was worth the entire read. If you like this book, show more I recommend reading her earlier books. show less

Emotionally satisfying novel from the memoirist (and humorist), Sloane Crosley. The Clasp features a group of friends reckoning with the first decade out of college: sophisticated, talented, bi-coastal, able to get along some in French – basically just who you imagine Crosley is and hangs with. I knew it would be funny, the surprise was the symmetry, the gentle comeuppance for the central three characters. Recommended for fans of Gen-Y ‘loser lit’.

I made it over half-way through when I remembered that Nancy Pearl, librarian super-hero, said I didn't have to finish books I didn't like.

I found all of the characters completely unlikable. From the description I was expecting a fast paced adventure of old college friends searching for a necklace. I wasn't warned that I would have to go through chapters upon chapters of happenings of these mind-maddening characters before any such adventure happened. I assume eventually they do go on an adventure in Paris, but after 215 pages of a 370 page books, I'm not willing to stick around to find out.

Crosley effectively transitions from personal essays to a fiction novella, bringing us a delightful narrative with enjoyable echoes of her typical whit. Several characters come to grips with entering middle age through an impromptu trip to France, which Crosley achieves while mirroring the classic short story "The Necklace." Eruditely entertaining, Crosley's first novel will please readers looking for a quick read as well as literature enthusiasts who desire deeper meaning.

very little plot, and what there is of plot is deceptive -- meaning, the story takes the form of a mystery/treasure hunt, but it is really in service to the other theme of the novel, the protagonists' working through their emotional and professional stagnation, and coming to a sort of reunion between them. This is the heart of the novel, and the hunt is really just a side issue.