Rating: 
Summary: Disobedience
Review: "Disobedience" is written as a first-person narrative ten years after the events of the story take place. A 17 year old "boy" (hmmm - there's that fine line between boy and man. . evident in the story itself) finds himself the unintended eavesdropper on his mother's affair through her e-mails. His own relationship with each of his parents, and theirs with his 13 year-old sister, a fanatic Civil War re-enactor who dresses and plays the role of a male, is colored by his secret knowledge of his mother's liaisons. The family is quirky enough, and the boy's insights into the absurdity of the male/female psyche keep the book moving, and filled with wry humor.The abridged audio version is only 4 cassettes - a "quick read." I highly recommend this work by an author whose work I have not read before. In fact, I have avoided opening any of her books because she was an Oprah Book Club pick!
Rating: 
Summary: Looking back without anger
Review: "Disobedience" is written as a first-person narrative ten years after the events of the story take place. A 17 year old "boy" (hmmm - there's that fine line between boy and man. . evident in the story itself) finds himself the unintended eavesdropper on his mother's affair through her e-mails. His own relationship with each of his parents, and theirs with his 13 year-old sister, a fanatic Civil War re-enactor who dresses and plays the role of a male, is colored by his secret knowledge of his mother's liaisons. The family is quirky enough, and the boy's insights into the absurdity of the male/female psyche keep the book moving, and filled with wry humor. The abridged audio version is only 4 cassettes - a "quick read." I highly recommend this work by an author whose work I have not read before. In fact, I have avoided opening any of her books because she was an Oprah Book Club pick!
Rating: 
Summary: Bold Decisions
Review: A rite of passage story about Henry, who at 17 has discovered his mother's infidelity by reading her email messages, Disobedience explores complex family and gender themes. Marital strife, the disillusionment of a young man with his mother, a pubescent girl's rejection of her female self, and the desire of all members of the family to live in some form of fantasy rather than reality form the spine of this story. Jane Hamilton has made some bold decisions as an author in the writing of Disobedience. Henry's imagination about the affair is the primary source of information about his mother's feelings. Hamilton loops back and forth through time as she follows Henry's description of the events of his senior year from his vantage point as an adult almost ten years later. Hamilton has written a novel about infidelity in which the wife, the husband and the lover are all still likable, wherein no one person is painted with a black and white brush. The Shaw family that Henry observes is both distanced by time and brought forward by passion in such a way that the reader is never at rest, never lulled into an easy acceptance of the narrative line. I highly recommend Disobedience for a thought or discussion-provoking read. Just don't expect it to be unchallenging.
Rating:
Summary: (3.5) Secrets and lies...
Review: An interesting premise: a young man, about to leave the nest for college and a life of his own, accidentally discovers that his mother is having an extramarital affair. Via access to the lover's emails (which he prints out and saves in a huge file), he assumes the role of voyeur, daily witness to the unfolding romance. The Shaws are an unusual family with eclectic interests: Beth, the mother, is a career pianist of archaic compositions and husband Kevin is dedicated to historical reenactment of Civil War battles with his daughter, Elvira, a petulant tomboy. Henry grows ever more fascinated by his mother's secret and nurtures his own isolation, certain no one is privy to the affair but him. The object of Beth's Shaw's affection, Richard Polloco (or Rpoll), is a fellow musician with a romantically tragic past. Obsessed with the minutiae of the affair, Henry expends a great deal of youthful energy copying the electronic correspondence and pondering the exact meaning of Beth's disloyalty to the Shaws. This nuclear family is quite eccentric, from Beth's obscure musical career to historical reenactment, not to mention giving their children the names Henry and Elvira. It is, as well, a bit disturbing, even oedipal, that the son is driven to relentlessly spy on his mother. Subsequently, Henry's behavior changes radically. The formerly perfect son is in turns secretive, sarcastic and rude, and, in his heart, unforgiving. The awareness that a grown woman is writing the persona of a 17-year-old boy is often awkward and intrusive, and Henry frequently sounds prissy and middle-aged. But Hamilton makes use of inventive plot twists to resolve awkward situations and the family's very idiosyncrasies provide their ultimate salvation. In any case, the sooner Henry begins living out his own aspirations, the better for all concerned. When good sense finally prevails, both parents and children move smoothly beyond the disturbing behavior that nearly unravels them all.
Rating:
Summary: Pick Up "Disobedience" and Go To Your Room!
Review: Has Jane Hamilton missed the mark with "Disobedience"? This seems the debate raging, at quick glance, with fellow Amazon reviewers. Having read all of Hamilton's previous works, initially my concern was that she had. This is more a continuation of the reflective feel of "A Short History of a Prince" and less of the more plot-driven "The Book of Ruth" and "A Map of the World." This is where perhaps the "boring" criticism comes from, as Henry is hopelessly obsessed with his mother Beth's affair with a fellow musician. As with "Prince," Hamilton tells the story with a male narrator. Whether Henry comes out sounding more like a middle-aged woman than a young man is certainly debatable, but with Hamilton's writing skill I found it hard to complain. Overall, "Disobedience" is a rich and thought-provoking work. First, there is the title. The easy leap to make is that the title refers to Beth's extramarital affair. But each character, in their own way, is "disobedient." Despite his mother's transgression, Henry's invasion of her e-mails would certainly not meet the "honor thy mother and father" criteria. Likewise, the sub-plot of Henry's sister's (Elvira) obsession with Civil War re-enactment only sets the stage for the many internal wars going on in the novel: a "typical" American family struggling to stay together, the battle of the sexes, and Henry's own struggle in becoming an adult. Certainly enough fodder for a book club, which Hamilton nicely skewers even after her own post-Oprah successes. While Hamilton appears to be losing some of her rabid fan-base with her last two novels, in my humble opinion, "Disobedience" is only further evidence that Hamilton has only continued to make her mark as one of the top contemporary American authors.
Rating:
Summary: Multi-layered
Review: I enjoyed this book tremendously. I liked hearing the story from the son's point of view. I loved the character development. Everyone had a clear story and objective. The story has so many layers that all inter-twine, just like the lives we live. This is the best Jane Hamilton book I've read.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly Let Down
Review: I have to temper my comments on "Disobedience" by stating that after reading the magnificent "A Map of the World," I expected to be blown away by everything Jane Hamilton created thereafter. Unfortunately, upon first reading "Disobedience," I found myself to be more than a little disappointed. The idea is simple enough: 17 year old Henry Shaw accidently stumbles upon a stream of e-mails between his mother and her extramarital lover. Of course, this discovery forces Henry to re-examine everything he thinks he knows about his family, himself, and life in general. I found this basic story to be a compelling idea rich with possibilities. Unfortunately, the story seems to lose focus on more than one occassion, and moves relatively slowly throughout. I found Henry's sister, Elvira, to be horribly over-examined from the beginning; a mistake only slightly redeemed by the end of the book. With all of that being said, I find myself growing more fond of the book as I put more distance between myself and the reading. I believe the priciple idea behind it was unique and compelling. I admire the fact that writers like Hamilton can create a novel from something so simple, so un-earth-shattering. I'd probably enjoy it more upon a second read. Of course, that may not be enough to tempt you to give it a first read.
Rating:
Summary: Family life revealed!
Review: I listed to the cassette version -- twice! The tapes make wonderful travel companions on a long journey. Other reviewers have summarized the plot. Seventeen-year-old Henry discovers his mother is having an affair. Meanwhile, his sister Elvira engages in Civil War games, posing as "Elvernon," a hard-core particpant, to the consternation of the same mother. Kevin, the father, comes across as a fairly passive history teacher, who supports the daughter and doesn't seem to interact much with Henry. Other reviewers complain that the narrator doesn't seem seventeen. Well, he's not! Right at the outset, he reveals that he's writing about events that happened about ten years earlier, so he's 27 or 28. During the year of the novel, he's a realistic, if somewhat precocious, teenager. Wisely, the narrative focuses on the most contradictory characters: Henry's mother Beth and his sister Elvira. Beth can be a paragon of domesticity (flipping her award-winning pancakes for breakfast) but she also has her book club and her affair. And in one scene, Henry suspects she's pushed him towards a romantic liaison. Elvira's passion is the Civil War, especially 1862. She has a female friend who typifies today's overconfident preteens, but she's happiest when she's in the field posing as "Elvernon." Elvira refuses to wear dresses and, at one point, shaves her head. Her mother worries: Is Elvira going to become a Lesbian? Kevin, the father, hovers in the background, often pulled by his own intellectual curiosity. However, Kevin understands Elvira and he reveals true wisdom when he points out that her Civil War re-enactments will give her skills wherever she ends up. And he behaves heroically in a crucial scene near the end.. Hamilton's pacing is flawless. We move through some humorous episodes -- a wedding, visit to Beth's lover, visit to a fortune-teller, first love at camp -- to reach the pivotal scene of destruction. There is considerable irony as Beth and Elvira inadvertently contribute to each other's crisis.
I can't say more without spoiling a magnificent ending. It's the kind of book you want to discuss when you're done -- a perfect selection for a book club, preferably one that's more serious than the one in this book!
Rating:
Summary: Family life revealed!
Review: I listened to the cassette version -- twice! The tapes make wonderful travel companions on a long journey. Other reviewers have summarized the plot. Seventeen-year-old Henry discovers his mother is having an affair. Meanwhile, his sister Elvira engages in Civil War games, posing as "Elvernon," a hard-core participant, to the consternation of the same mother. Kevin, the father, comes across as a fairly passive history teacher, who supports the daughter and doesn't seem to interact much with Henry. Other reviewers complain that the narrator doesn't seem seventeen. Well, he's not! Right at the outset, he reveals that he's writing about events that happened about ten years earlier, so he's 27 or 28. During the year of the novel, he's a realistic, if somewhat precocious, teenager. Wisely, the narrative focuses on the most contradictory characters: Henry's mother Beth and his sister Elvira. Beth can be a paragon of domesticity (flipping her award-winning pancakes for breakfast) but she also has her book club and her affair. And in one scene, Henry suspects she's pushed him towards a romantic liaison. Elvira's passion is the Civil War, especially 1862. She has a female friend who typifies today's overconfident preteens, but she's happiest when she's in the field posing as "Elvernon." Elvira refuses to wear dresses and, at one point, shaves her head. Her mother worries: Is Elvira going to become a Lesbian? Kevin, the father, hovers in the background, often pulled by his own intellectual curiosity. However, Kevin understands Elvira and he reveals true wisdom when he points out that her Civil War re-enactments will give her skills wherever she ends up. And he behaves heroically in a crucial scene near the end. Hamilton's pacing is flawless. We move through some humorous episodes -- a wedding, visit to Beth's lover, visit to a fortune-teller, first love at camp -- to reach the pivotal scene of destruction. There is considerable irony as Beth and Elvira inadvertently contribute to each other's crisis.
I can't say more without spoiling a magnificent ending. It's the kind of book you want to discuss when you're done -- a perfect selection for a book club, preferably one that's more serious than the one in this book!
Rating:
Summary: The power of family stories
Review: I love the way Jane Hamilton uses words. Her sentences soar yet the language is down to earth. Henry's description of his mother's infidelity tells the story of all families and their struggles. How family members can love and hate each other. How they wonder how they could even be related but will defend each other against all foes. I loved the different ways Beth Shaw could be and express herself depending on who she was with. Jane Hamilton lets us in on the secret that our lives all have many pages waiting to be discovered.
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