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A Body at Rest
Martha and Nina are under-employed, over-educated slackers who are wasting their twenty-something lives while serving drinks at a dive bar in Cleveland. Martha's escapes are smoking too much, drinking, and reading classic literature. Nina's distractions come in the form of married men. In a shared moment of self-realization, they quit their jobs and set out on a road trip. Their journey in time takes a literary turn that blurs fantasy and reality. Nina's destiny is guided by Cervantes' Don Quixote while Martha, with less grandiose aspirations, finds herself in the footsteps of Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse. A Body at Rest was a competition semi-finalist in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
- GenresFiction
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 12, 2009
The book jacket announces : Martha and Nina are underemployed, overeducated slackers who are wasting their twenty-something lives while serving drinks at a dive bar in Cleveland. Martha's escapes are smoking too much, drinking, and reading classic literature. Nina's distractions come in the form of married men. In a shared moment of self-realization, they quit their jobs and set out on a road trip.
As a forty-eight year old slightly conservative southern male, that doesn't really sound like something I'd be interested in. It goes on to say : Their journey in time takes a literary turn that blurs fantasy and reality. Nina's destiny is guided by Cervantes' Don Quixote while Martha, with less grandiose aspirations, finds herself in the footsteps of Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse.
Okay, I think to myself, the characters are a radical liberal – joisting at windmills – and a self absorbed girlie-girl. A bit of an odd couple, could be fun, but still not something I'd like. I'm really not into chick-lit, even if I do write romance. I like things a little more edgy, thought provoking, even dark.
So why did I buy the book? And why should you, dear reader? Because the book is not being compared to those two classic works, it is their literary equal. A Body at Rest is one of the best examples of Literary Fiction I have read in years. What did I say before? a little more edgy, thought provoking, even dark? A Body at Rest is all that and more.
Ms. Petrone took me on the ride of my middle-aged life. I couldn't put it down. I was so absorbed by these two young women, and their trip into a literary Twilight Zone, that I had to keep turning pages until I ran out of pages to turn. I was shocked, dismayed, enraptured, overjoyed, and saddened along the way as I pulled for these two amazing heroines.
The writing itself shows the author's true mastery of the literary arts - the light, subtle, even feminine, air of the narrative gently wielding the stark power of the story. Ms. Petrone made me laugh, and indeed she made me cry - not a small feat.
I heartily recommend A Body at Rest to anyone who loves literature, no matter what your favorite genre may be. On a ten point scale, I'm giving this one a twelve. Well done Susan. I'm definitely a fan now.
max
As a forty-eight year old slightly conservative southern male, that doesn't really sound like something I'd be interested in. It goes on to say : Their journey in time takes a literary turn that blurs fantasy and reality. Nina's destiny is guided by Cervantes' Don Quixote while Martha, with less grandiose aspirations, finds herself in the footsteps of Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse.
Okay, I think to myself, the characters are a radical liberal – joisting at windmills – and a self absorbed girlie-girl. A bit of an odd couple, could be fun, but still not something I'd like. I'm really not into chick-lit, even if I do write romance. I like things a little more edgy, thought provoking, even dark.
So why did I buy the book? And why should you, dear reader? Because the book is not being compared to those two classic works, it is their literary equal. A Body at Rest is one of the best examples of Literary Fiction I have read in years. What did I say before? a little more edgy, thought provoking, even dark? A Body at Rest is all that and more.
Ms. Petrone took me on the ride of my middle-aged life. I couldn't put it down. I was so absorbed by these two young women, and their trip into a literary Twilight Zone, that I had to keep turning pages until I ran out of pages to turn. I was shocked, dismayed, enraptured, overjoyed, and saddened along the way as I pulled for these two amazing heroines.
The writing itself shows the author's true mastery of the literary arts - the light, subtle, even feminine, air of the narrative gently wielding the stark power of the story. Ms. Petrone made me laugh, and indeed she made me cry - not a small feat.
I heartily recommend A Body at Rest to anyone who loves literature, no matter what your favorite genre may be. On a ten point scale, I'm giving this one a twelve. Well done Susan. I'm definitely a fan now.
max
May 10, 2012
It’s been years since I read Austen’s Emma and I’ve never been able to read Don Quixote but I’ve always been attracted to the theme of the novel. So when A Body at Rest was proposed for a book club I delved right in.
And was somewhat put off by the protagonist. Wikipedia quotes Austen on writing Emma, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” I liked Emma, so unlike Austen, Susan Petrone accomplished Mrs. Austen’s goal with me..
Her character Martha acts so selfishly throughout the book from start to finish that I began to wonder if she was a sociopath. A truly horrible character with no redeeming values that I could find. But then I realized, no, she’s not a sociopath but is, I thought, possibly be a true representation of an overly educated but still skilless generation of people who are smug with self-satisfaction even though their curriculum vitae gives them no reason to be. Maybe they’re all sociopaths.
There are several episode of pure selfishness. One example early on brought this into focus. We have an aside about the importance of fully funding free clinics and national health care. Whether you agree or no all I could think was to tell the character, “So you’re white and educated yet you choose to not to get a job with health insurance but work as a cocktail waitress engaging in the risky behaviors of promiscuity and smoking and you want ME to pay for your health care? Go to hell.”
Heck, I think immature Emma was a teenager but Martha is pushing thirty. Ugh.
Anyway, the A Body of Rest’s Martha has no George Knightley to correct or critique her behavior. Everyone just seems to uncharacteristically roll along with the selfish behavior. They act as if her selfish behavior is just AOK. This made them all unbelievable. I could detail a dozen or so acts but don’t want to give away much more of the plot. Martha seems at the end just as selfish as at the beginning. So why make this trip?
Complete off-putting narrator aside (even Hannibal Lecter had some charm, for god’s sake!), I expected more to be said in a novel with two very different characters as inspiration. I also expected a sally or two but there was no real action. Quixote was pushed to the side for a large section of the story so we could bath in the narcissism and condescension of Martha. There were some good bits in there but what I thought was a wonderful premise to say so much about the human experience or today’s world versus 1800’s England or 1600’s Spain was squandered.
The prose was uneven and and times trite. The formatting (which I don’t hold against the author) of the ebook needs plenty of work.
And was somewhat put off by the protagonist. Wikipedia quotes Austen on writing Emma, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” I liked Emma, so unlike Austen, Susan Petrone accomplished Mrs. Austen’s goal with me..
Her character Martha acts so selfishly throughout the book from start to finish that I began to wonder if she was a sociopath. A truly horrible character with no redeeming values that I could find. But then I realized, no, she’s not a sociopath but is, I thought, possibly be a true representation of an overly educated but still skilless generation of people who are smug with self-satisfaction even though their curriculum vitae gives them no reason to be. Maybe they’re all sociopaths.
There are several episode of pure selfishness. One example early on brought this into focus. We have an aside about the importance of fully funding free clinics and national health care. Whether you agree or no all I could think was to tell the character, “So you’re white and educated yet you choose to not to get a job with health insurance but work as a cocktail waitress engaging in the risky behaviors of promiscuity and smoking and you want ME to pay for your health care? Go to hell.”
Heck, I think immature Emma was a teenager but Martha is pushing thirty. Ugh.
Anyway, the A Body of Rest’s Martha has no George Knightley to correct or critique her behavior. Everyone just seems to uncharacteristically roll along with the selfish behavior. They act as if her selfish behavior is just AOK. This made them all unbelievable. I could detail a dozen or so acts but don’t want to give away much more of the plot. Martha seems at the end just as selfish as at the beginning. So why make this trip?
Complete off-putting narrator aside (even Hannibal Lecter had some charm, for god’s sake!), I expected more to be said in a novel with two very different characters as inspiration. I also expected a sally or two but there was no real action. Quixote was pushed to the side for a large section of the story so we could bath in the narcissism and condescension of Martha. There were some good bits in there but what I thought was a wonderful premise to say so much about the human experience or today’s world versus 1800’s England or 1600’s Spain was squandered.
The prose was uneven and and times trite. The formatting (which I don’t hold against the author) of the ebook needs plenty of work.
May 4, 2020
This was quite a fun romp through some Cleveland suburbs, some changing life circumstances, awkward family situations, and . . . Iowa.
Two young ladies faced with some dead-end possibilities go on a road trip with a couple of books for narrative and end up changing their lives. One pairs up with Certvantes' Don Quixote and the another, Austen's Emma. Hilarity (and eventually tragedy) ensues when each starts speaking, acting, thinking and even looking like the titular characters of their adopted books.
I'll admit I enjoy turning a page and finding a Cleveland landmark, street corner or scene that I've visited or live nearby. Author Susan Petrone does a good job of this, leading us around the Coventry neighborhood and visiting the local hospitals. Well done!
I was a little concerned that while for one character, her ending seemed to have been "written", the other seemed to have much more freedom in escaping the written ending. It didn't seem quite fair, nor did there seem to be enough grief expressed.
And separately, there are probably better ways of injecting an author's political opinions into a narrative that are less jarring. I know Vonnegut did it. . . .
But these are minor issues in a first, very fun novel. And overall, a very fun read. I finished it in an evening mostly because I couldn't put it down. I look forward to others that she's written and can highly recommend both Throw Like a Woman and The Heebie-Jeebie Girl.
Two young ladies faced with some dead-end possibilities go on a road trip with a couple of books for narrative and end up changing their lives. One pairs up with Certvantes' Don Quixote and the another, Austen's Emma. Hilarity (and eventually tragedy) ensues when each starts speaking, acting, thinking and even looking like the titular characters of their adopted books.
I'll admit I enjoy turning a page and finding a Cleveland landmark, street corner or scene that I've visited or live nearby. Author Susan Petrone does a good job of this, leading us around the Coventry neighborhood and visiting the local hospitals. Well done!
I was a little concerned that while for one character, her ending seemed to have been "written", the other seemed to have much more freedom in escaping the written ending. It didn't seem quite fair, nor did there seem to be enough grief expressed.
And separately, there are probably better ways of injecting an author's political opinions into a narrative that are less jarring. I know Vonnegut did it. . . .
But these are minor issues in a first, very fun novel. And overall, a very fun read. I finished it in an evening mostly because I couldn't put it down. I look forward to others that she's written and can highly recommend both Throw Like a Woman and The Heebie-Jeebie Girl.
April 29, 2015
I received this book as a part of a goodreads giveaway in return for an honest review.
I went back and forth on how I felt about this book. Overall, the concept is intriguing: two friends sick of their dead end jobs as cocktail waitresses go on a road trip, and come back transformed into Emma Woodhouse and Don Quijote. I really liked the character development, and the author did a great job of keeping me on my toes and not knowing always what to expect. I gotta admit, I didn't see the ending coming!
Something that got a little bit annoying was the clear insertion of the author's opinion on various political or social topics. It was written in as asides from Martha's point of view, which was pretty strange. Although I basically agree with her on most accounts, it definitely distracted from the book plot and I found it pretty unnecessary. So I'm not sure why it was included at all.
All of that said, I enjoyed reading this book, and I think it is deserving of 4 stars.
I went back and forth on how I felt about this book. Overall, the concept is intriguing: two friends sick of their dead end jobs as cocktail waitresses go on a road trip, and come back transformed into Emma Woodhouse and Don Quijote. I really liked the character development, and the author did a great job of keeping me on my toes and not knowing always what to expect. I gotta admit, I didn't see the ending coming!
Something that got a little bit annoying was the clear insertion of the author's opinion on various political or social topics. It was written in as asides from Martha's point of view, which was pretty strange. Although I basically agree with her on most accounts, it definitely distracted from the book plot and I found it pretty unnecessary. So I'm not sure why it was included at all.
All of that said, I enjoyed reading this book, and I think it is deserving of 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews