My Life as a Silent Movie

Break Away Books

by Jesse Lee Kercheval

After a tragic loss, an American woman investigates her birth family in “The novel’s twists and turns are wonderfully unexpected” (Emma Straub, author of Modern Lovers).   In her early forties, Emma has recently lost her husband and daughter to a tragic auto accident. When her elderly aunt visits her Indiana home to provide comfort, and instead blurts out the news that Emma was adopted, a new kind of shock sets in.   Soon, a still-mourning Emma finds herself flying to Paris, where she will discover the twin brother whose existence she never knew about, and the identity of her birth parents—a White Russian film star of the 1920s and a French Stalinist. A story about identity and the relationship between art and life, My Life as a Silent Movie is “a beautiful, evocative novel [that] melds the magic of old movies with the redemptive power of family” (Jonis Agee, author of The Bones of Paradise).   “In this sharply drawn chronicle of grief, a woman reassembles her identity through her father’s art and her brother’s tenuous offer of a new life . . . Kercheval delves deeply into the rawest of emotions and the most wrenching of choices, richly detailing each twist and turn with grace.” —Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Fiction, Book Club

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel begins tragically when a woman loses her husband and daughter in a traffic accident. The aching pressure of loss is the major theme of this novel. It’s well written and easy to feel the sadness of Emma, the main character. Soon after losing her entire family, an eccentric Aunt, from her husband’s side, comes to visit Emma. Emma learns that she might have more family than her parents divulged. Emma begins a search to discover who her parents really were, and what her identity is. It’s an interesting idea of mixing a story of identity with art in the form of silent movies. It’s only 206 pages, which makes it very readable even though it’s a depressing story. Given that, I liked the ending.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was entertaining enough, even if the plot was wildly improbable. Enjoyed the last quarter the most, in spite of the ending being even more unlikely than the whole. Some subtle foreshadowing of events near the denouement probably would have eased my way into a buy-in of the resolution, or it could be that my suspension of disbelief wasn’t there from the beginning.

The whole premise reminded me of a Vendela Vida novel where the heroine goes off to foreign lands searching for her identity, but without the whimsy or weirdness. MLAaSM probably could have used a little more weirdness since it wasn’t particularly realistic anyway.

Still, it was OK for a light read and your mileage may vary.

[Pragya · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this audiobook up for review, there was something that appealed to me about this book (if you know me well, you know I don’t read book blurbs, so all my good books are usually either by fluke or recommendations). Well, it certainly could have been that Eiffel Tower on the cover (Side note: I love travelling and I am in love with the idea of Paris, still to visit though).

Okay, let me warn you upfront, this audiobook is almost 10 hours long. I know some are like 40 hours long but since I prefer short audios, this was huge for me. But wait, did I feel all 10 hours of it? Nope, not at all. And why would that be? Perhaps because the book pulled me in from the very first word and did not let go. The narration is good enough. But the major meat is the book! Just wow!

First, the author draws a background and you are interested in what’s going on. Mmm hmm… And then there comes the twists and the turns. And Paris! And the walks around Paris. Surprise upon surprise. I was totally overwhelmed (happily!) by the plot, the unraveling of it, the characters who I found myself rooting for. Giggling at times, wanting him to be @%^&$ alive! Woah, a gamut of emotions, all in one book.

There’s some history in there. Something I don’t really like but when you dish it out in a book, I’m all for it. A woman taking a trip across the world to unravel her past – now there’s some magic in that, right? History, art, travel, mystery, a solid plot, a good narration and there you have it, a brilliant book.

A must listen I would say.

4.5/5 stars – I really, really, really liked it! Highly Recommended.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Jesse Lee is a good friend. That said, this is a wonderful book. Highly recommended. I don't want to say much about it because it's a book of discovery. So go buy it and start discovering. I've read just about every book Jesse Lee has written and this is one of her finest. You'll learn a few things along the way as well.

[Geoff Atwater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fear has reduced the work of a 42 year old women to safe choices. She teaches creative writing (although she has not written a word for years), supports her husband’s career (research area: silent films), and care for her daughter. Tragedy strikes and a careless aunt reveals she was adopted. She becomes frantic to find a familial connection and takes wild, crazy risks in her search. This is a path of self-discovery. The author the dark forest of fearful choices to find the clarity of her European family. Remarkably well done!

[Margie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tragically sad book that I didn’t really like. I kept hoping it would get better, and it did to some extent. In the end Emma (Vera) has twins and is living in Paris with her twin brother, Ilya.

What bothered me the most about the book was the weird, too hard to swallow, connection Emma’s husband has to silent movies and she ends up being the daughter of a former silent movie star, who just happens to be still alive after more than 100 years. Are you buying this? Nope.

[Cobygirl517 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written, almost like poetry as an understanding of grief. I thought it flowed well, and I appreciate the flaws and imperfections of the characters. That said, I did find it depressing and largely improbable, and while the ending was decent, I thought it much too "tidy" and irrationally optimistic. I enjoyed it as a whole, however.

[Ginger Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written story of grief and rediscovery.

[William Vignola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tradegy ends in happiness

This book takes the reader on a journey through so many painful emotions. Everything seems hopeless until the very end.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful, intricate and life affirming tale. I could not put it down.

[Kath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing!

What a wild ride! Very sad in parts, full of twists and turns. More than a little outlandish, but still very enjoyable read.

[Karen Strumlak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the comparison of her life to the silent movies. Emotional happenings that brought so many together. A feel good ending in spite of loss.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book won't appeal to everyone but I loved it!

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book a lot better than I did. Maybe that’s because it was given to me by a good friend who knows the author personally and likes the way she writes. And I have to agree that there’s much to like about the way Jessie Lee Kercheval writes. She’s a creative writing teacher here at the University of Wisconsin and it’s obvious that she has a lovely and engaging way with words – her characters are well drawn and the book is filled with gorgeous descriptions of Paris and Moscow (where most of the action takes place.) But Emma, the protagonist whose husband and daughter were killed tragically in a freak accident, just didn’t seem that real to me mainly because of the plot which seemed far too contrived and even a bit melodramatic: consumed with grief that has left her practically comatose, Emma suddenly discovers that she is adopted (everything in this novel happens suddenly) and so she drops everything to fly to New York and from there to Paris and eventually on to Moscow with little more than an extra pair of underwear and three credit cards in her purse. That was hard enough for me to believe but what happened next was just as implausible. Following up on a tip from a woman she hadn’t seen for years, she arrives in Paris to look for her birth parents, but instead within a day she discovers to her utter surprise that she has a twin brother. He recognizes her immediately (despite not having seen her since they were toddlers) and within a few days they both end up in Moscow where their long lost father, a once famous silent film star who had been presumed dead is now 102 years old and living as a monk in a Russian orthodox monastery! Despite the trouble I had with the plot, I kept right on reading anyway largely because underneath it all Jessie Lee Kercheval was really writing about what it means to be a family and how our identities are shaped by the people we love – and lose.

[Kat Hagedorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://tinyurl.com/mrwdbpa

In this completely enjoyable, absolutely beyond-question over-the-top piece of fiction, our protagonist loses both her husband and child in the first few pages (see, I'm not giving anything away there). It wasn't the best choice to start reading this month but it turned into something so crazy that I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Our author is a creative writing teacher at UWisconsin and she's had a surprising batch of stuff published (including a memoir about growing up around Cape Canaveral in the 60s that I may just pick up). I'm certain she's giving her students sound advice about writing because she knows her craft. She takes an actual personal story - she herself grew up in France and Florida - and makes it the background to this... ride. I can't describe it any other way.

How our protagonist acts throughout this book can easily be marked down to being distraught over the loss of her husband and daughter. It can also be marked down to an author saying to herself "well, I have this opportunity to write plot points willy-nilly simply because my protagonist is distraught." I don't think good novels work that way. Of course, bad novels work this way too - like "The Marriage Plot," for instance - and this particular novel isn't really bad. Just bizarro. With aspects of real-life thrown in for good measure.

Look, when you get to Russia, you'll understand what I mean.

[Perry Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Life As A Silent Movie By Jesse Lee Kercheval and Narrated By Rosemary Benson. 

Our story begins with Emma, a Liberal Arts Creative Writing Instructor, who receives a knock on her family's front door. A neighbor who has news that will change Emma's life forever.

The Neighbor had seen Emma's car in the intersection, and was informing her that Emma's husband was driving and their daughter was in the back, and that they had been hit by an SUV and both had died at the scene.

Emma's distress was understandable and so consuming that she couldn't even look at the bodies. Emma shut down and checked out sleeping in a sleeping bag down stairs; not able to sleep in her now empty bed.

This sets the theme and emotional condition of the central character of "My Life As A Silent Movie".  Emma's  journey is only now beginning as in her total loss she finds out she was adopted and goes to France to find her unknown family. She learns more than she could have ever imagined. The title is explained in such a touching way that you keep feeling for each character as the come into the story.

Never be Afraid... Your life has time to change again and again. 

Rosemary Benson is a great narrator, her Accents are great to listen too.

By Perry Martin
PerryMartinBookReviews.wordpress.com

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story, if you like cute. It got off to a good start, but towards the end all the pieces fell together too perfectly. I’d have only given it 2 stars, except that the writing is very good and the plot was intriguing up to a point.

I’ve recently become particularly interested in fiction by women writers. Lurie, Oates, Prose, Kulin, Olivia Manning, and Aminatta Forna, among others, have become favorites. I was ready to add Kercheval to this crew until I reached the last quarter of this novel.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 or 5 starts - I'm not sure which.

I was impressed with the way the author managed the main character's ongoing emotional/psychological stress & duress throughout the majority of the novel; it remained plausible without undue pathos.

I mostly enjoyed the ending, though it was disappointing with the "suddenly everything falls into place and all problems are miraculously solved" approach.

[Jean]

I found this book fascinating to read. I enjoyed the incorporation of silent film history and the work of Ivan Mosjoukine. The strong theme of family also appealed to me, as did the setting of the book.

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely book! So much about this novel struck me as implausible and yet the author still got me to believe in her characters and their situations. I especially enjoyed how she artfully wove nearly forgotten film history throughout the story.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. Didn't expect the ups and downs of the story which kept me reading. Tragedy upon tragedy but hope towards the end.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel! Many unique elements. A fresh, original voice.

[Antonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed! More later. . . .