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Make It Stay

3.3 of 5 stars 3.30 · rating details · 46 ratings · 21 reviews

In the tree-nestled Northern California town of Mira Flores, writer Rachel ("an aging typist with an unprofitable hobby") and her Scottish husband Neil prepare dinner for a familiar "crew" of guests - among them Neil's best friend, the burly, handsome Mike Spender, an irrepressible heodnist - and Mike's wife Tilda Krall, a hard-bitten figure who carries her dark unknowabil...more

Hardcover, 160 pages

Published March 1st 2012 by Permanent Press (NY)

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Feb 28, 2013 Bob Wake rated it 5 of 5 stars

Joan Frank’s Make it Stay is a brief novel, but it skimps on nothing under the sun, particularly the lush sun of Northern California where the story is set. This tale of aging Boomer marital discord is so thoroughly embedded within the sensuality of the natural world that it seems sprouted rather than written. In Frank’s lovingly rendered vineyard town of Mira Flores (“the fresh sharp smell of pines in the warm sun, the drifty morning fog, heavy sweetness of roses spilling over fences in Popsicl...more Joan Frank’s Make it Stay is a brief novel, but it skimps on nothing under the sun, particularly the lush sun of Northern California where the story is set. This tale of aging Boomer marital discord is so thoroughly embedded within the sensuality of the natural world that it seems sprouted rather than written. In Frank’s lovingly rendered vineyard town of Mira Flores (“the fresh sharp smell of pines in the warm sun, the drifty morning fog, heavy sweetness of roses spilling over fences in Popsicle colors, faint salt scents of ocean”), impulsiveness and passion are as intuitive as the Pacific Coast tides forty miles away.

Impulses, like stories, are renewable resources that can turn destructive if we refuse their lessons. It seems appropriate that Rachel, the narrator of Make it Stay, is a writer. Whether or not this better equips her to deal with the serial adultery of her husband’s best friend is not so easily answered. “Why must this be the story, over and over and over,” she laments in italicized dismay. Rachel, we discover (somewhat to our discomfort as readers), is not so much an unreliable narrator as a recognizably flawed one overcome by self-doubt and jealousy. “Lord,” she confesses to us after making one of several breathtakingly cruel observations about others, “what an unkind thought.”

The first half of Make it Stay is a stylistic tour-de-force with chapters alternating between dinner-party preparations overseen by Rachel’s husband, Neil, a Scottish-born legal aid attorney and amateur gourmand, and the backstory of Neil’s friendship with the adulterous Mike and his alcoholic wife, Tilda, both due for dinner that evening. In Joan Frank’s energetic telling, this set-up becomes a page-turning psychedelic Wayback Machine as we’re transported to Mira Flores in the 1970s: Mike, a marine biology dropout, owns an aquarium shop in town called Finny Business; Neil, waiting to pass the California bar, interns two blocks away at the Legal Aid office. There are diving excursions to the Polynesian Islands in search of rare tropical fish for Mike’s shop. A near-drowning bonds their friendship for life.

The novel takes a decidedly darker turn in its second half. Joan Frank refuses to judge her characters even when her characters are quick to judge one another. Rachel’s wisdom, by novel’s end, is real and hard-won, but it is also world-weary and not necessarily built to last. Like the marriages splayed and dissected with such scalding precision in Make it Stay. Readers whose sympathies fall in one direction early on, may be surprised to find their hardened hearts reversing course as Frank skillfully and tough-mindedly overturns our expectations and rattles our complacency. Rachel's writerly indignation is as up-to-date and CNN-ready as it is timeless and universal:

Crazy shit—and I don’t mean pissy little Jamesian drawing-room slights, but atrocity—bombards folks with no warning every day; decent, forthright, shoelace-tying folks. If they have shoelaces. Look at Neil’s clients; look at the news. Anything that’s functional, that’s actually been good for us? Passable health, freedom from pain? Something to eat, clean water? Nobody pull a weapon today?

When the phrase “make it stay” is finally spoken—haltingly, painfully—by one of the characters, it is a cri de coeur not of nostalgic longing but of something deeper, an animating force submerged and mysterious, seldom glimpsed, as elusive as the rarest tropical fish, but most assuredly captured in the pages of Joan Frank’s memorable novel.(less)

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May 23, 2012 Amy Meyer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Make It Stay by Joan Frank

Book Summary: In the tree-nestled Northern California town of Mira Flores, writer Rachel (“an aging typist with an unprofitable hobby” and her Scottish husband Neil prepare dinner for a familiar “crew” of guests – among them Neil’s best friend, the burly, handsome Mike Spender, an irrepressible hedonist – and Mike’s wife, the troubling Tilda Krall, a hard-bitten figure who carries her dark unknowability like an accusation.

Mike and Tilda have produced an enchanting daug...more Make It Stay by Joan Frank

Book Summary: In the tree-nestled Northern California town of Mira Flores, writer Rachel (“an aging typist with an unprofitable hobby” and her Scottish husband Neil prepare dinner for a familiar “crew” of guests – among them Neil’s best friend, the burly, handsome Mike Spender, an irrepressible hedonist – and Mike’s wife, the troubling Tilda Krall, a hard-bitten figure who carries her dark unknowability like an accusation.

Mike and Tilda have produced an enchanting daughter, Addie – who will also appear, unexpectedly, that night. As they ready the meal, Rae begs Neil to retell her the strange, twisted story of the Spenders – to include Mike’s secret life, and what happened once Tilda learned of it. Neil and Rae cannot guess how the shock waves from that story will threaten to destroy their own marriage – after a mysterious catastrophe propels all five individuals into uncharted realities.

Recounting three love stories, Make It Stay explores the vision of an era – and how perception expands, as mortal limits draw near.

My Thoughts: Neil and Rachel (“Rae“) are older when they marry. Rae was sure she wasn’t going to marry by the time she met Neil. She’d dated many men of varied backgrounds and personalities and none had stuck. Then Neil came along, telling Rae in his Scottish brogue that, unlike his friend Mike Spender, who’s been “known to get around” Neil’s a “cooples mahn”. Mike Spender is part of the baggage Neil brings to their marriage. He’s been Neil’s best friend since shortly after Neil emigrated to America, having taken Neil under his wing. Rae doesn’t fully grasp the depths of Neil’s connection to Mike for years. It takes tragedy and the loss of Mike for Rae to grasp what Mike’s friendship meant to her husband. This is partially due to Rae’s intense dislike of “most forms of social life”, something she keeps a secret from Neil.

Rae is the first-person narrator of Make It Stay, structured in an intriguing style by Joan Frank. In Part I of four, Rae entices Neil to tell her about his friendship with Mike from the day they met and Mike's marriage to the hard Tilda. Rae, in turn, tells us this story, interspersing bits of her own story with Neil and filling in gaps with explanations and her personal opinions. This structure and style made me feel as if I was having a personal, intimate conversation with Rae about her life. As she relays their stories, Rae figures out some significant issues in her relationship with Neil and has an epiphany or two involving Mike and Tilda. Sadly, Rae's revelations may have come too late to make any significant difference.

The Northern California town of Mira Flores plays a significant role in Neil and Mike’s friendship. It’s a small and friendly place in the early ‘70’s when Neil and Mike work a few blocks apart. It’s the kind of town where everybody knows everybody and doors remain unlocked. Mike, a gentle giant with a booming laugh, acts like the unofficial mayor of Mira Flores, greeting anyone who walks by his fish store. Neil is thin, short and quiet, happy to bask in Mike’s energy. Neil, intelligent and focused, eventually becomes a lawyer, while Mike is simple and reckless. In many ways, Neil and Mike complement each other. Rae perceives Mike as dumb and goofy when they meet. She also wonders if he’s cruel and somewhat cunning because Tilda, who he marries, is unfriendly, crass and shady. It’s difficult to understand their relationship, although it seems Rae‘s dislike of Tilda and lack of respect for Mike colors who they really are. Rae has a tendency to criticize everyone she meets, a trait Neil tolerates for a time. I didn’t like Tilda at all but my opinion of Rae and the men changed several times throughout the story.

The brevity of the narrative precludes in-depth life stories and three-dimensional portraits of Rae, Neil, Mike and Tilda. But Make It Stay doesn't suffer for it. Instead, by delving into Neil’s past, relaying his tight friendship with Mike and weaving in Rae and Tilda lives, Ms. Frank reveals characteristics of these four people along with insights into their personalities, specific to their relationships, that are quite revealing and very telling. She, thereby, enables readers to understand and connect with Rae, as well as with Neil and Mike. When I realized Rae's descriptions included her personal opinion of Mike and Tilda, this gave me more insight into Rae, as well as Mike and Tilda. Rae’s attempts to understand Neil and Mike’s friendship as well as who they are individually provides a more complete picture of Mike, making him feel more human and relatable. Close to the end of the book I realized, as I thought about the characters and Ms. Frank’s captivating story, how well I understood the bond between Neil and Mike and how each one made the other whole. In understanding what they meant to each other, I was better able to comprehend Neil’s irritation with Rae. The pieces of the different stories in Make It Stay fell into place for me by the end, creating a clear, complete narrative about friendship and marriage and how the two often intertwine.

Make It Stay is a fascinating and beautiful story. It portrays, through the lives of four very different characters, the complex relationship between friendship and marriage, how each union impacts the people involved in various ways, how the friendships spouses bring into the marriage become intertwined with it and how the destruction of one union or relationship may very well destroy the other. Ms. Frank displays a keen understanding of people’s thoughts and behaviors throughout the book and a deep understanding of the necessity for compassion, compromise and communication in any relationship.
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May 21, 2012 Gwendolyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Make It Stay is impossible to describe. It’s the story of two married couples, particularly the husbands’ long and eventful friendship, but it’s really so much more than that. Over the course of a lifetime, Neil and Mike forge a loyal connection based on a long history and a shared love of sensual experiences (for Mike it’s women and for Neil it’s food). The story is structured as Neil’s retelling to his wife Rachel of his history with Mike and Mike’s tumultuous relationship with his own wife Ti...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cultural, relationships

Love in an age of freedom, friendship at an age when years begin to count, loyalty in a time of suffering, and hope in the face of despair, Joan Frank’s Make it Stay has it all. A feast for the senses, it combines the wondrous scents of Neil’s culinary expertise with the sea-salt spray of a boat and fear of rogue waves. Northern California green contrasts with the bold sun of Arizona. And a loyal wife takes her place in the present, her love contrasted a spouse's other loyalties born of his past...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, recommended, advance-copy

Exquisite, unpretentious writing. This is about friendship, love and mortality.
As a Muriel Spark fan I like short novels. They’re not easy to write. a writer must possess exemplary writing skills. There’s less time for character development, establishing setting and point of view so the writing must be precise and solid. Make It Stay contains lovely writing and vivid descriptions. Author Joan Frank writes exquisitely and unpretentiously. No need to read this novel with a dictionary at the ready...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Susan O'brien rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a slender novel but not a fast read. Rachel, wife of Scottish-born Neil, tells this story of the couple's long friendship with another couple, Mike and Tilda. Mike's life is one of vigor and sensuality, which Neil is taken with. Rachel has doubts throughout their marriage about Mike's lifestyle and whether it has been too big of an influence on Neil. Tilda is the least understood of the characters and Rachel can only tell us what she knows about her mysterious past. A horrific incident o...more

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May 17, 2012 Lydia Presley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, contemporary

Make It Stay is a short, compact tale told through the recounting of stories between a husband and a wife.

Neil and Rachel are married - they met later in life than is the "norm", and Neil comes with the "baggage" of friendship in the form of Mike and Tilda.

Mike is a larger than life character - vibrant, colorful, filled with character. The reader is introduced to him through Neil's eyes, as the story between Mike and Tilda is told to Rachel.

So not only does Mike and Tilda's relationship tie in...more

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Jan 31, 2012 cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

I recieved this short novel as a Goodreads giveaway winner. I might have been hesitant to purchase it on my own since I shy away from shorter novels. I loved it though so I'm quite glad that the giveaway brought it to me.

This is a novel of characters and relationships. The narrator is Rachel and she and her husband, Neil, spend much of the novel sharing the story of another couple, Neil's best friend Mike and Mike's wife Tilda. We also briefly see the story of Mike and Tilda's daughter, Addie. T...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Jillian rated it 2 of 5 stars

About a month ago, I received a short novel in my mailbox called Make It Stay by Joan Frank. It was an attractive novel with a beautiful teal cover and it was a free copy from Librarythings that was given to me to review. Because the book was so short, I admit that I took forever to get around to reading it because I thought that it would be an easy one sitting reading session that I could quickly complete.

That didn’t happen. When I picked up the book, I found myself struggling to make it throug...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, source-review, f-literary, fiction, source-own, format-tree, favorites, personal-library

Neil and Rachel (aka Rae) met and got married when Rae was in her forties - much later than is considered the "normal" age for first marriages. Rae is a writer, an introvert who preferred to stay home in her PJs than meet people. Neil was more outgoing, loved cooking and hosted dinners often for their friends and acquaintances. Into this marriage, Neil brings the baggage of his long friendship with Mike, the owner of an aquarium business in downtown, and the complicated relationship between Mike...more Neil and Rachel (aka Rae) met and got married when Rae was in her forties - much later than is considered the "normal" age for first marriages. Rae is a writer, an introvert who preferred to stay home in her PJs than meet people. Neil was more outgoing, loved cooking and hosted dinners often for their friends and acquaintances. Into this marriage, Neil brings the baggage of his long friendship with Mike, the owner of an aquarium business in downtown, and the complicated relationship between Mike and his wife, Tilda. At the moment however, something terrible had already happened, involving Mike and Tilda - something hinted at a lot, while Neil preps dinner for a gathering they were going to host soon.

I was pulled into this book mainly because of its blurb, which mentioned something of a dinner involving friends, and built a lot of anticipation over that dinner. The blurb also indicated "a mysterious catastrophe" that "propels all five individuals into uncharted realities". While that's somewhat true, the blurb in itself is heavily misleading - because the dinner in question is really nothing more than a prop for Neil to narrate a story. The crux of the plot happens before and after the dinner. I also didn't find the fifth person (Mike/Tilda's daughter Addie) to be very important to the plot. I don't typically read blurbs, except when checking out review books (so that I can gauge my interest) and the summary that I read of this book felt erroneous to me.

That said, in this one case, I was lucky that the book in itself was very engaging. Although Make it Stay is very short - just 164 pages - it packs a wallop right from the moment Neil and Rae settle down to prepare dinner for friends, until the end, when the fortunes of the characters are presented. Rae urges Neil to tell her the whole story of Mike and Tilda, and through Neil's eyes, we begin to see this dynamic couple that appeared more mismatched than made in heaven.

Mike and Tilda were heavily flawed characters, and that made them all the more believable. Mike had a very Santa Claus'-ish personality - very helpful, a huge HA! that either cracked everyone up or scared them out of their wits. He loved fishes and had an impressive collection of aquatic life swimming away in the aquariums in his shop. He was however a womanizer - a fact that Tilda suspected for very long. Tilda, on the other hand, oozed an air of indifference at all times. She was on booze and cigarettes most of the time, and reeking of bad breath as well. One night, someone commits a horrendous act that forever damages Mike - an act that Rae suspects Tilda to be guilty of, but there are no proofs. This tragedy has several long-lasting repercussions on Mike, Tilda, Neil and Rae, and while it is the turning point of the book, I wouldn't be quick to say that it was the pivotal event.

I enjoyed this book far more than I was expecting to. The underlying theme was that of friendship and how it is affected post-marriage. To any marriage, both members bring in their own friendships - some survive, some don't. Both members wish that their other half will love their friends as much as they do. Neil was always under the impression that Rae didn't care for Mike, who happens to be one of the most important people in Neil's life. Rae defends herself by saying that she prefers books to people. Rae happens to be the narrator, and in most books, the narrator is who I identify with. However, in this case, I really disliked Rae (in fact, more than Mike and Tilda). I found Rae too prejudiced and slightly racist. She was quick to bundle up people into their cultural identities, even going so far as to decorate Tilda as bisexual simply because Tilda preferred to dress in men's clothes, and calling Mike a 200-pound infant for reasons I don't want to mention here, but which I found incredibly bad in taste.

Although the (faulty) synopsis cites the phrase 'love stories', I would rather say that this book is more about a beautiful friendship that defined many of the characters in the book. I did find myself wishing that we got more of Rae's story. I found it hard to believe that only Mike/Tilda were the primary people in their lives - surely Rae had people important to her too? But the character development in this book is truly fascinating and well-done. Except for Addie, none of the characters appeared flat to me.

Although this is a small book, I took a long time getting through the first half. The writing was a lot more involved than I expected, but it was still very beautiful. I got the impression that Joan Frank didn't carelessly wield words to form the book, but rather carefully stitched them together to produce this beautiful story. I also loved the themes explored in this book - the role of friendship and marriage, the question of whether to like or hate a person who is guilty of immoral acts but is the most wonderful person otherwise. As Neil says,

When you've known someone that long, after a point it can't matter anymore how crazy they are.

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Mar 22, 2013 Katrina Riley rated it 1 of 5 stars

I won this book in one of the giveaways, and have been trying to read it. So far it's not very good.

It appears to be about a woman telling a story about something that happened in the past. The problem is that it is not her past, so everything is "this is what my husband said happened".
Also, the writer breaks one of today's cardinal rules - she tells the story, not shows it. Very little dialogue, all hearsay, and the wording is very convoluted too.

I'll be honest, I've only gotten a couple of c...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Patricia Geller rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was hard to rate this book because I found it both well written and it spoke deeply about the complications and hits and misses of marriage in a very honst way, yet the friendship between the two men at the heart of the book didn't ring as true. I will see out other books by Joan Frank as I felt engaged with the book thoughout.

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Feb 13, 2012 Maryann rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a gem- beautifully told, crafted with care, and shines a soft light on relationships and family. The characters revealed themselves as the story progressed, instead of forcing themselves to be recognized. This book is for all who love language and the turn of a good phrase.

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Aug 08, 2012 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Engaging writing and some surprises made this an interesting story. Rae and Neil are friends with Mike, less so his wife,Tilda. Compelling contrast yet strong connection between their lives. I will look for more by this author.

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Jan 31, 2012 Lee Holz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Make It Stay is the best example of literary fiction I have read in a very long time. Author Joan Frank tells a story of love, life and loss full of memorable characters in language that is always apt and often stunningly original and beautiful. To top it off, her writing is full of psychological and philosophical insights and truths. This is a book not to be missed.

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Jun 06, 2012 Tess rated it 2 of 5 stars

Could not get into this at all.

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Feb 26, 2013 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nicely written. Found the plot sad and a bit tiresome.

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Feb 24, 2013 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

It is said that life must be lived forward but can only be understood backward. Make It Stay offers us a window into what such an understanding may look like. In reading through the lives of her imperfect, sometimes unlikeable characters, you may find so much of yourself as to be changed. Frank's parting gift is a new found urgency to appreciate your fleeting moments more than you did before.

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Feb 05, 2012 Brandy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I just couldn't really get into it. I felt like it lacked a good storyline. Recieved the book through the Goodreads giveaway.

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Sep 25, 2012 Shannon Ross rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: can-t-even-finish

Pointless. Excessive descriptions which added nothing to book. Maybe less description & more plot in your next book?

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Mar 20, 2012 Saisha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Really sweet short story about love, friendship and what the effect of the death of one has on the other..

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Mar 16, 2013 Mary P. rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jan 17, 2013 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

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