Lust, sin and adultery; the life of a 14 year old... (Fortune's Rocks - Anita Shreve)

Member Name: little_pandora

Product:	Fortune's Rocks - Anita Shreve
Date:	26/05/05 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You'll know never to go near the 'S' section in the library again

Disadvantages: A distinct feeling of disgust will remain with you all day, It's deathly dull, You COULD have spent your £6.99 on a Kim Wilkins novel...instead, you bought THIS

Title; ‘Fortune’s Rocks’

Author; Anita Shreve

Genre; Romance/period drama

Price; £6.99 paperback

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I’ve never been a fan of romance novels. In fact, I have been known to become physically red faced in embarrassment merely by standing in the same named section of the library. It’s a literary genre that has been thought of , perhaps somewhat unfairly, as the flighty, ‘women’s only’ kind of literature. Why then, if I so clearly agree with this notion, read Anita Shreve’s unashamedly romantic ‘Fortune’s Rocks’? Simple really…my favourite aunt loaned the book to me and I felt obliged. Was I right in my assumptions? Read on and find out….

Shreve’s novel tells the woeful tale of 14 year old Olympia Biddeford, a girl on the edge of womanhood who takes the leap into adult life perhaps too early, and indeed with spectacular style. Her controversial method of gaining maturity is to embark upon a torrid, passionate affair with the much older, and married, John Haskell. If this novel had been set in more contemporary times it would have found itself being completely outlawed, though since it is set way back when, it appears it’s perfectly alright for ridiculously young girls to have sex with men in their thirties. The terms ‘paedophilia’ or ‘statutory rape’ didn’t exist in 1899, apparently.

Aside from the fact that Shreve doesn’t seem to find her central relationship a bit of a perversion, the novel isn’t TOO bad. The affair between the two principal characters is one that is quite compelling, most notably due to the age difference, but also because you dislike both characters so much you‘re absolutely dying for their secret to be revealed and decidedly nasty fates to befall them. There is a deliciously looming sense that their relations could be exposed at any time, which would not only limit Olympia’s chances of ever finding a decently rich husband (oh woe!), but John might lose his wife, who he loves so dearly that he feels compelled to sleep with other women. Hmmm…

Shreve’s prose is, thankfully, a great deal better than her plotting. She is certainly a skilled writer, and it rather pains me that she has so much potential though chooses to waste it on ridiculous efforts like this. Her descriptive passages are beautiful at times, and her elegant, almost ecclesiastical style is very fitting for the period the novel is set. This, however, is again marred by the seediness of such an old geezer lusting after a mere child.

The plot, unfortunately, doesn’t hold up for the length of the novel either. Focusing entirely upon the relationship between John and Olympia, Shreve leaves some glaring holes. I found myself vainly hoping for a nice villain, or even a death dammit, to spice the story up a bit. Quite frankly, the plot runs out of steam at an early stage (after all, how many times can you write about secret, lusting looks across the dinner table?) and I found myself mind-numbingly bored by many, many passages. The end arrived with a predictable, puttering whisper that was neither interesting nor satisfactory in terms of John and Olympia having to face any real consequences.

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‘Fortune’s Rocks’ is a decidedly sad affair. I couldn’t bring myself to like either of the main characters (perversion, lying and adultery for some reason tends to put me off people), and I found Shreve’s portrayal of the relationship to be far too accepting. Her main vein of thought seems to be that their affair was wrong purely because of Haskell’s wife. I, on the other hand, being a normal person of intelligence, find it wrong because Olympia is FOURTEEN FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE!!! I’m sure there are many, many far superior romance novels on the market, so please, do yourself a favour and avoid this, because it’s a morally skewed, boring novel that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

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