Word: minot
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...most corruptible. The data are not certified, are sometimes inaccurate and can easily be created out of thin air. On the other hand, its greatest asset is speed. The research process can be shortened from months to hours and maybe even minutes. But you should still go to Minot, N.D., for that crucial land deed or to Cresson, Pa., to find an old newspaper article. The Internet can act as a valuable lead to start research but not to finish it. CHRIS J. LEWIE Hilliard, Ohio...
Truth be told, the plot is hardly action-packed or particularly original, but this doesn't mean that Evening is any less interesting to read. Minot saves us from boredom through her experimentation with words, which becomes the true focal point of the novel and admirably recreates Ann's sentiments and state of mind. At times, the boundaries of grammar dissolve into an endless stream of images that jump from fragments of one remembered moment or conversation to another. Smelling the balsam in a cushion someone gave her, for instance, sets off a chain of memory in which...
Structurally, because the novel is reflecting on the past, there is an inherent stability in the narrative: the outcome is already known, and therefore the fluidity of Minot's language is not as jarring as it might be. We always know that her narrative is moving forward toward something, although like her characters, we must wait for it to arise. Ultimately, Minot conveys the sense that there is nothing extraordinarily unsettling, or sad, about Ann's years of waiting. Similarly, there is nothing extraordinarily sad in the conversations Ann's children have among themselves...
...fact, although tragic things happen to them, there is nothing inherently tragic about any of Minot's characters, partially because they are never really developed as solid individuals with weaknesses we can identify. They are, rather, presences, whether the powerful presence of Harris, or the flirty presence of Ann's friend Gigi Wittenborn. We get a sense of two Anns--Ann Grant and Ann Lord, the Ann of her youth who was dazzled by Harris Arden, the older, married Ann who has spent her life waiting--yet it is difficult to place how exactly they are different except in name...
Evening, then, while not particularly joyful, is not a novel about grief. It is compelling in its honesty, showing us the near-selfishness created by love without lecturing us or demanding that we listen. Minot expertly balances the intertwined threads of her novel, moving the story along in a verbal tapestry that plays with the potential of language without insisting that we read a deeper meaning in her word play. Perhaps its elements have been done before, but Evening is still able to transcend the bounds of its cliched parts to create a lovely and eye-opening whole...