Friday, March 10, 2017

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams **Spoiler Alert**

Snapshot of one of my afternoons this week.
This book was one of two gifted to me for my twenty-third birthday this year. I had not heard of it before but was eager to dive in since A Certain Age is set in the 1920s, one of my favorite time periods. I had also not heard of Beatriz Williams, although after reading this book I am looking forward to reading her other novels. Thus, I went into this book knowing very little about it which is what made it such a delight to read. And I did read it very quickly.

A Certain Age begins as a story about love and adultery but turns into a story about secrets and murder. The easy way with which it picks up the pace was admirable. I loved that one minute I was engrossed in the love affair between Theresa and Octavian, and the next minute I was dying to know all of the details of the murder of Mrs. Faninal. The novel reminded me very much of The Great Gatsby for this reason, although TGG starts out with a touch of mystery.

There were other similarities as well between A Certain Age and The Great Gatsby such as the tension between old and new money and the struggles of love in that type of society. Both of these novels ended with gunshots as well. Although the end of A Certain Age was less of a relief because I was left heartbroken for Theresa and her baby, which Octavian never finds out about. At least at the end of TGG I know that Gatsby is out of his misery.

I deeply appreciated that the author did not tie up the ending and left much to be thought about and considered. It proved to me just how much I cared about Theresa and what happened to her in the end. I never cared much about Sophie and I think part of it had to do with the fact that Sophie's sections are told in third person, whereas Theresa's sections are told in first person. The book just felt more about Theresa overall.

In conclusion, I enjoyed A Certain Age. I am not sure if it is a book I will reread, but it is one I know I will think about often. It was a nice book to have with me through this past week and I was constantly waiting to get back to the story when I was away from it. I would recommend this book, especially if you love mystery or the 1920s or love affairs or all of the above.

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