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A Seahorse Year
In Stacey D’Erasmo’s acclaimed second novel, a quintessentially modern family is ultimately transformed by the emerging breakdown of their teenaged son, Christopher. When he disappears from his San Francisco home, his extended family comes together in a frantic search. But Christopher is in much more trouble than they know, and their attempts to support him and to save him...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
October 13th 2005
by Mariner Books
(first published 2004)
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Library Journal: In her second novel (after Tea ), D'Erasmo explores how a supposedly unconventional family is no different from a traditional one when confronted with difficult choices. Set in contemporary San Francisco, the story centers on Nan, an ex-Texan bookseller; Hal, an accountant who was once a local celebrity in a campy gay troupe; their teenaged son, Christopher; and Nan's artist lover, Marina. The balancing acts that define their lives are challenged when Christopher is diagnosed wi...more
An interesting study at how a child's mental illness can affect a family. Nan, Hal, Marina, and Christopher may be an unconventional family and yet they fall apart in all the conventional ways. What you might eexpect to draw a family tighter together can actually pull them apart (Nan, Marina) and that same thing can take a new relationship (Hal, Dan) and pull them together. I spent come time trying to reconcile both Marina's and Nan's behavior. Did they love each other, really, if they could not...more
The prose in this novel is spare, which I usually can't stand, but I was on board this time; at times it was quite gripping. It's very San Francisco -- a gay man and a lesbian raise their child with her partner -- and I was in the mood for a little queer San Francisco.
That said, it's far from light-hearted, focusing mostly on the mental illness of the teenage son and the way that it affects the family. D'Erasmo is great at talking about that illness, however, and imagining what Christopher (the...more
That said, it's far from light-hearted, focusing mostly on the mental illness of the teenage son and the way that it affects the family. D'Erasmo is great at talking about that illness, however, and imagining what Christopher (the...more
On the light side, I enjoyed the Bay Area references, and I thought the writer really captured the predominant Berkeley/East Bay middle-class white people's culture in the lifestyles and attitudes of the main characters. I think she also took a big risk trying to portray a teenager with schizophrenia--and it worked. It was nuanced, sympathetic, and sensitive. She tried to imagine how someone with delusions would respond to those delusions (e.g., a dog talking to him), and she created a three-dim...more
Zach told me that one of the things he liked about this book was its structure. I didn't know what this meant when he said it, and now that I've read the book I may still not know what structure means. But I don't care because I thought it was terrific; and if that was because of its structure then count me a reader who believes that structure is very important. Otherwise I would say that what lifts this book is the entirely credible characters who are thrown into a crisis when the teenage son o...more
I read D'Erasmo's Tea several years ago and didn't like it (I admit, I picked it up because it had a pretty cover), but I thought I'd give her work another chance when I came across A Seahorse Year at the library. The description intrigued me and I thought for sure this was going to be a book I would love. Unfortunately, I found myself remembering why I didn't like Tea and opted to not finish A Seahorse Year.
While she does make good use of imagery, D'Erasmo's writing is halting and uncomfortabl...more
While she does make good use of imagery, D'Erasmo's writing is halting and uncomfortabl...more
[spoiler alert] A family drama set in contemporary San Francisco, this novel seems a literary precursor to the film "The Kids Are Alright": sparring lesbian moms (one conventional, one artistic misfit) parenting a restless teenage son, whose biological father, a rebel tamed by a mainstream midlife career, dropping into the domestic scene now and then. But this is a much more piercing, less stereotypical examination of a nontraditional family than a two-hour, basically feel-good film can provide....more
I thought the author offered an interesting view into a gay/lesbian family and a way of life different from mine. I also thought the depiction of Christopher's schizophrenia was well done and very perceptive. On the negative side, I didn't really identify with any of the characters much, and thought the pace was too slow. Also, I enjoy books where there is some transformation in the characters, where something is learned or gained, and that didn't really happen for any of the characters in this...more
There's nothing obvious that this writer has done wrong, except for starting at the wrong moment and with too many points of view, but try as I have, I can't get myself to care about it. I tend to finish even the books I don't like and maybe there are five I've stopped reading in the middle. Now there are six. I'm so disappointed. Twice I've heard Stacey give amazing lectures. I'd love to hear from anyone else who has read this book or tried to.
This book had great reviews, but i found it to be clunky and slightly cheesy at times. kudos for trying to take stab at difficult topics, but i like to be shown rather than told, and this author loves to give you canned little character synopses that really turn me off. the characters come off looking like a bunch of teenagers, and the teenagers come off even worse. the plot is somewhat compelling, but then just dribbles off into nowhere with an awkward summing-up. also all the women seem to inh...more
Mar 31, 2009
Elizabeth
added it
Funny, just after reading this, a profile of another book about a kid who is diagnosed with Schizophrenia came out in the New Yorker. No mention of D'Erasmo's book in the chronicle of other novels that have tried to capture the inner mind in such a state. I admired this book. Enjoyed it. Felt at times that I was spending a bit too much time with the lives of the various characters, but couldn't put it down.
meandering......plodding....are we there yet? meandering......plodding....are we there yet? meandering......plodding....are we there yet? meandering......plodding....are we there yet? meandering......plodding....are we there yet? meandering......plodding....are we there yet?
I started this book a few years ago, set it aside, and finally picked it up and started over last week. I'm not sure why I couldn't get in to it the first time around -- it's a type of writing I love: meticulous and simple, in the vein of Michael Cunningham, whom I adore. At times too opaque, the characters too self-involved, and yet beautiful and with moments of aching clarity.
God, what a depressing book.
Well written enough, but I couldn't understand how two people who love each other so much could behave like that. Meaning, the writer didn't convince me, not that I couldn't be convinced.
Well written enough, but I couldn't understand how two people who love each other so much could behave like that. Meaning, the writer didn't convince me, not that I couldn't be convinced.
Apr 03, 2012
Mai
marked it as to-read
http://bookriot.com/2012/03/20/the-bo...
I added this book to my to-read on the strength of this amazing recommendation.
I added this book to my to-read on the strength of this amazing recommendation.
I don't know what author I was looking for when I happened upon this book, but I can understand this book completely and am glad I came across it.
This book irritated me somewhat. It isn't a bad book, just seemed to have too much going on.
Whoa! Excellent, convoluted, and queer novel. I enjoyed it and got sucked in at the last 100 pages!
A couple good sex scenes, and interesting characters, but she needs tighter editing.
I enjoyed this but it took me a long time to finish, maybe because her prose and the plot feels so densely and tightly packed with words and images.
This was heartfelt and surprising. I liked it. D'Erasmo has a great sense of the emotional needs of young people -- I think my favorite characters in ASY were the schizophrenic boy and his poor girlfriend, who thinks she's the only one who understands him. The scene where they were finally separated forever made me tear up a little. Also, the San Francisco setting (I would NEVER call it such a condescending thing as "funky," but there you go) made for uniquely funny moments in this otherwise ten...more
Very good.
This is one of those rare books that gives you the sensation of having fallen inside of it. Not because of an earthshattering premise/concept with clever gimmicks and witty insight. The writer is just a good storyteller.
I was a tad uncomfortable reading this at times as it deals with a young boy who's diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, the author also craftily shows the semi-madness in all of the characters...in a subtle and rather elegant way. A very human book.
I was a tad uncomfortable reading this at times as it deals with a young boy who's diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, the author also craftily shows the semi-madness in all of the characters...in a subtle and rather elegant way. A very human book.
The writing was clumsy. I did not find the characters convincing. But I did find myself thinking about this book in the middle of the night, so I give it 3 stars rather than the 2 I had planned to give it.
Disturbing but engaging.
This book has a lot of elements I like, but I actually liked it quite a bit less than I anticipated. It's set in San Francisco and involves quite a bit of queerness, but there's just something about it that didn't quite come together for me, though I did enjoy the empathy D'Erasmo mustered in portraying Christopher's schizophrenia. I will, however, probably read whatever she puts out next in hopes that her writing skill will meet a plot I find slightly more engaging.
Really loved the complex characters and their very complex situation. It didn't keep me up at night wanting to read but still liked it.
This tells the story of what happens to teenage Christopher's family when he is diagnosed as schizophrenic. Very well-written; D'Erasmo has a definite sense for the day-to-day functioning of relationships. My co-worker complained that reading this book made her feel schizophrenic, which in this case I'm reading as a good thing.
This book surprised me with the complexity of the relationships of the characters to each other. More importantly, though, I think this book reflects the complexity of love in general - the way it can be aggravating, suffocating, redemptive, innocent, beautiful and above all necessary in the lives of real people.
loved this book.
lesbian moms, gay dad, crazy son, love interest, multiple narratives/perspectives!!!! all set in california!!!! perfect!
lesbian moms, gay dad, crazy son, love interest, multiple narratives/perspectives!!!! all set in california!!!! perfect!
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Stacey D’Erasmo is the author of the novels Tea, (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year); and A Seahorse Year (a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year and a Lambda Literary Award winner). Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, and Ploughshares. She is currently an assistant professor of writing at Columbia University.
More about Stacey D'Erasmo...
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Feb 18, 2010 02:05pm