It's a pretty bold, heavy-handed authorial choice to have two characters who are having a destructive secret affair go on a breathtaking helicopter ride around the skyscrapers of New York City on September 10, 2001. This event was the most blatant example of how the book just fell apart near the end for me, how all the story arcs ended in unsatisfying ways, etc.

The novel is about three friends trying to make it in New York, a decade after college: Marina, the rich daughter of a famous intellectual father, finds herself living at home in the bedroom where she grew up, while her friends Danielle, a TV producer, and Julius, a gay freelance arts critic, are also struggling with their careers and relationships. When Marina's cousin comes to town, a decade younger and worshipping Marina's father for his intellectual prowess, it sets in motion a chain of events that leads to nothing. Well, an affair between Marina's father and her friend Danielle. The setup for an intriguing examination of friendship and success and jealousy, ends up just ending without taking off.

Gorgeously written and enveloping, I was immediately drawn in by the characters, the setting and the skilled storytelling. Messud makes her characters believable, not always likeable, but very believable. The story has a decided urban feel and at times, the subject matter is dealt with in a less than sympathetic tone. This approach was perfectly fitting for the characters and their New York lifestyles. I was deeply interested in the last portion of the book that dealt with 911, a very hard topic to write about with the right amount of grace and reality. Messud achieves that balance. The narrator's point of view about the powerful New York Literary world is very accurate. She knows of what she speaks and coveys the inner workings of publishing precisely. The book had such a beautiful flow and romanticism about it, I will add all of her titles to my reading list.

Jag fastnar verkligen inte för innehållet, karaktärerna eller språket, tyvärr. Jag ger helt enkelt upp efter 10 sidor (=2 %).