Larry Weller — a symbolic Everyman — was born in the '50s to a blue-collar Canadian family, became a garden-maze designer, married (and divorced) twice, and fathered one son. This novel shadows him as he navigates the pathways of masculinity and adulthood, using his profession as a metaphor for his biography. Carol Shields — whose last book was the best-seller The Stone Diaries — is an expert at conveying the little details of quotidian experience — Larry's ''first wife, Dorrie, was a daring eater of apples...gnawing them straight to their economical cores''; but she doesn't do grief and loss with the same depth. The disintegration of Larry's marriages is glossed over, and his fear of aging is given more space than his relationship with his son. Ultimately, Larry's Party is a neater, more resolved affair than life ever is. B+
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.