Two girls, Marian and Hadley, are both raised by uncles, a
century apart. Hadley is an actress
whose career has been all but derailed by scandal. The role of Marian Graves in a movie about
her north-south failed circumnavigation of the globe is an opportunity for
Hadley to salvage some respect in the industry. Late in the book, Hadley becomes very
involved in Marian’s history, and I can see how this intertwining of their
lives helps bring to light Marian’s past.
However, Hadley is basically an expendable character, as far as I can
tell, and certainly this novel could use some tightening up. Marian Graves is the star of this story. As a child she encounters a pair of
barnstormers and immediately becomes fixated on the idea of becoming a pilot. Speaking of fixations, Barclay Macqueen, a
wealthy local bootlegger, becomes inexplicably fixated on 14-year-old Marian
and funds her obsession by offering to pay for her flying lessons. Of course, strings are attached to this
financial gift, and Marian has basically sold her body, if not her soul, to the
devil. Her twin brother, Jamie, and
childhood pal/lover, Caleb, are tangential characters that are infinitely more
loveable than Marian. Jamie’s fixation
is on a girl named Sarah whose father’s slaughterhouse fortune is anathema to Jamie,
who is a vegetarian. This book is
inhabited by several loners who are not lonely, including Caleb, my favorite
character by far, who thankfully does not harbor an obsession. The writing is beautiful, but this book is
too long and too dry; it just did not hold me hostage with suspense, particularly
when the author waxed poetic about airplanes.
Perhaps this novel is just too epic for my tastes. The ending was my favorite part, although I
could see it coming a mile away.
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