Still Here

I got the wrong end of the stick from one of the review excerpts on the back cover of this book; I expected this to be the story of an unlikely courtship between two prickly, knocked-about-by-life, middle-aged characters, Alix and Joseph. As long as I maintained that expectation, I was disappointed, because I couldn't help comparing it to Kate Grenville's The Idea of Perfection, which does that so well. When I realised that only a very small part of Still Here is concerned with that, I started to enjoy it much more. There is an element of 'will they, won't they?', but for the most part the novel tells the backstory of these two characters - larger-than-life Alix, daughter of a prominent Liverpool (Jewish) family and wealthy heiress to a show more face cream fortune, back in town for her mother's funeral, and (Jewish) American Joseph, an architect, in Liverpool designing a hotel.

The narrative flits between the two characters, a couple of chapters at a time. I loved Alix as a character; I can picture her very clearly, both her appearance and her personality - not always likeable, perhaps, sometimes a bit arrogant, a bit full-on, but true to herself. She walks off the page, and I found her story compelling. Joseph doesn't live up to her, though; his story is no less interesting, but it didn't captivate me in the same way. I tried to work out why not but I'm not sure - possibly because Linda Grant is less successful with a male voice than with a female one?

I can't not mention Liverpool! In fact, for me the two main characters here are Alix and Liverpool, as Grant's portrayal of them both is so vivid and lively, warts and all. show less

Are you interested in wealthy Jewish baby boomers getting in touch with their parents' generation? The role of Jewish people in Liverpool in the time of the Beatles and the modern re-development of that area? If you answered 'yes' to these questions this may be the book for you. Unfortunately, I answered 'no' to both. There was a bit of interest for me in that I too am a baby boomer, so despite my lack of Jewishness, I do share something with the main characters of this story. The relationship issues for an aging couple; the 'problem' of children who aren't interested in following a conventional career path; the death of a parent and having to clean up the remnants of their (and your) life - these are all issues that confront me as well show more as Linda and her characters. I think she writes quite well for me with the right amount of complexity in the plot, realistic (mostly) dialog and situations, and a sufficient structure (the narrator of each chapter is always listed and there's only one narrator in each chapter) to allow my aging mind to follow the story. I've had enough Jewish culture for a while though. show less

An intriguing idea and some fascinating insights into 2 major Jewish historical events but it took me a while to warm to the characters.