Book Review: We Are All Made of Glue, by Marina Lewycka
We Are All Made of Glue raises questions of age, race, class, culture, religion, and politics as it explores the improbable friendship between Georgie Sinclair and Naomi Shapiro, recounting Georgie's struggle to deal with major changes in her life and her efforts to uncover the mysterious past of her elderly friend.
Greed, hatred, love, passion, the end of the world, and more than perhaps you ever wanted to know about glue and other adhesives contribute to what could have been a confusing and cluttered journey from present-day London to World War II Europe, and through more than 60 years of Palestinian politics. But Lewycka guides us nicely, with only a few minor detours before reaching a well-crafted destination that draws together the various themes and sub-plots. That she does this so effectively is critical to the success of the book. Failing to do so would make the eccentricities of the characters and for a trade magazine feel totally contrived, a feeling which is raised a few times throughout the book.
However, while the people in We Are All Made of Glue sometimes walk a fine line between character and caricature, Lewycka manages to maintain the reader's interest in the people and the plot by deftly changing direction and focus from one plot line to another. I wanted to know more about these folks, and to uncover the secret from Naomi's past.
My typical reading list includes Deaver, Rankin, Hurley, George, and Child, so We Are All Made of Glue is not a book I would have sought out. It doesn't offer the driving intensity of what I usually read, but I was charmed by its off-beat approach and characters, and intrigued by the story and how it was presented. I certainly recommend it.
(We Are All Made of Glue is published by Viking Canada, part of the Penguin Group. Information on this title may be found here.)
Greed, hatred, love, passion, the end of the world, and more than perhaps you ever wanted to know about glue and other adhesives contribute to what could have been a confusing and cluttered journey from present-day London to World War II Europe, and through more than 60 years of Palestinian politics. But Lewycka guides us nicely, with only a few minor detours before reaching a well-crafted destination that draws together the various themes and sub-plots. That she does this so effectively is critical to the success of the book. Failing to do so would make the eccentricities of the characters and for a trade magazine feel totally contrived, a feeling which is raised a few times throughout the book.
However, while the people in We Are All Made of Glue sometimes walk a fine line between character and caricature, Lewycka manages to maintain the reader's interest in the people and the plot by deftly changing direction and focus from one plot line to another. I wanted to know more about these folks, and to uncover the secret from Naomi's past.
My typical reading list includes Deaver, Rankin, Hurley, George, and Child, so We Are All Made of Glue is not a book I would have sought out. It doesn't offer the driving intensity of what I usually read, but I was charmed by its off-beat approach and characters, and intrigued by the story and how it was presented. I certainly recommend it.
(We Are All Made of Glue is published by Viking Canada, part of the Penguin Group. Information on this title may be found here.)
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