Review - A Likely Story by Leigh Abramson
I received a free review copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
A Likely Story is an interesting look at the inner lives of a successful literary novelist, Ward Manning, and his family. Ward portrays himself as a self-made success. He is driven solely by his ego throughout the entire story. His wife Claire is like his brain trust—she is the driving force that got Ward’s career started, and her sacrifices are what have allowed him to maintain his ridiculously large ego throughout his adult life. Their daughter Isabelle worships Ward but loves Claire. She wants nothing more than to write and be successful in the eyes of her father.
This book is told from many different perspectives. Throughout the book, we see the POV of Claire, Ward, Isabelle, Brian (Isabelle’s unlikely best friend), and we get snippets of a book manuscript. There are several timelines at play as well. I felt this head-hopping and time-hopping was a little convoluted and distracting. Each chapter begins with the POV character’s name and the year, but I found myself taking a few paragraphs to reorient with each change.
I would consider Isabelle the protagonist of this book, though she is not a terribly sympathetic character. She is the only character in the book who completes a convincing character arc, though I found myself questioning her motives all the way through to the end. Isabelle was raised an only child, a rich kid with a famous father and a philanthropist mother. She seems incapable of maintaining any relationships except for with her doting best friend Brian.
Isabelle’s father, Ward, is so egotistical he feels like a caricature at times. He doesn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities.
Isabelle’s mother, Claire, was probably my favorite character in this book. She is smart, generous, insightful, and caring…yet somehow ends up in a lifelong relationship with Ward. I found it hard to understand her motivation for beginning a relationship with him and then maintaining it.
And then we have Brian, Isabelle’s best friend. Their relationship didn’t make any sense to me. It’s almost like she became his friend so she could keep him like a pet, and he worshipped her. When he decides to cut off contact with Isabelle, I thought, “finally!” But by the end, he’s back.
Overall, I thought the premise of this book was very interesting. I think it would benefit from greater focus (limiting how many points of view we see). I also think the relationships within the novel could be more believable.
A Likely Story by Leigh Abramson is available now.
