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3.0 

Upstate

By James Wood
Upstate by James Wood digital book - Fable

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Publisher Description

New Yorker book critic and award-winning author James Wood delivers a novel of a family struggling to connect with one another and find meaning in their own lives.

In the years since his daughter Vanessa moved to America to become a professor of philosophy, Alan Querry has never been to visit. He has been too busy at home in northern England, holding together his business as a successful property developer. His younger daughter, Helen—a music executive in London—hasn’t gone, either, and the two sisters, close but competitive, have never quite recovered from their parents’ bitter divorce and the early death of their mother. But when Vanessa’s new boyfriend sends word that she has fallen into a severe depression and that he’s worried for her safety, Alan and Helen fly to New York and take the train to Saratoga Springs.

Over the course of six wintry days in upstate New York, the Querry family begins to struggle with the questions that animate this profound and searching novel: Why do some people find living so much harder than others? Is happiness a skill that might be learned or a cruel accident of birth? Is reflection conducive to happiness or an obstacle to it? If, as a favorite philosopher of Helen’s puts it, “the only serious enterprise is living,” how should we live? Rich in subtle human insight, full of poignant and often funny portraits, and vivid with a sense of place, James Wood’s Upstate is a powerful, intense, beautiful novel.

16 Reviews

3.0
“In February 2006, during winter in Durham, England, 68-year-old Alan Querry, the only son of the family, visits his mother at a high-end nursing home to say goodbye after his father's passing. He plans to travel to Upstate to see his 40-year-old eldest daughter, Vanessa, who broke her arm in a fall before Christmas. Through an email forwarded by his second daughter, Helen, he learns that Vanessa's accident is likely related to her worsening depression. Alan's visit to his mother is not only to bid farewell but also to see if he can convince her to move in with him, as he can barely afford the nursing home fees, especially with his real estate partnership on the brink of collapse. Though on the surface, Alan's life appears financially stable. Alan's first wife has passed away, and he is grateful for his second wife, who is 10 years younger. However, her relationship with his 2 daughters has been tense. Thus, the trip to visit Vanessa falls solely on Alan. Coincidentally, Helen has a work trip to New York in early February, so she will accompany him. Neither Alan nor Helen has met Josh, the sender of the email. All they know is that he is 7 years younger than Vanessa, and they have no idea about the future of their relationship. During a conversation with Josh, Alan learns that Josh has no connections at all in England so he prefers to stay in New York. Vanessa, on the other hand, yearns to return to England and hopes Josh will join her. Alan realizes a rift is forming. He asks Vanessa what if Josh doesn't want to go to England. Vanessa says it's OK; she can continue living with him in New York. Alan cannot comprehend why Vanessa is so abstract, nearly collapsing due to mental struggles, while his Helen is so practical, busy with work, sensitive to changes in music production trends, and eager to start a new music company. But Alan is quite hesitate to agree to Helen’s proposal for him to invest in her new company, aware of his current financial situation. However, he also understands the pressure she faces with 2 children and a seemingly strained relationship with her husband. He also doesn't know how to address Venessa’s life struggles, destined to teach and study philosophy, occasionally suffering from anxiety and depression. Alan feels a certain loss - a sign of aging, as evidenced by his darker-than-usual penis and his once-thick chest hair turning insignificantly gray, dry like tobacco. These are signs of aging. Time passes, the body ages, nature is unforgiving. Yet, while staring into the bathroom mirror, he seemed to see his younger self: everything from ages 10 to 68 felt like it happened in a few small rooms; childhood in a hallway, youth in a peculiar kitchen cabinet. All the lost time seemed within reach, not separated by decades or buildings and streets, but tangibly close. 68 years - marriage, children, divorce, loss, debt crisis - all went by in a flash, merely the distance from 1 end of the hallway to the other. He saw no signs of weakness, decline, or aging, whether in sex, happiness, or curiosity. For the past 3 months, the debt crisis had troubled him. In Upstate, Alan constantly compared his experiences in England, finding the good and bad. The so-called good made him reflect on England's shortcomings. He continuously revisited his memories of England, seemingly only alive through reflection, making life feel less fleeting. Interacting with his daughters, they always reminisced about family jokes, subtly avoiding past tense when mentioning the deceased first wife as if she still accompanied them. The second wife, however, was only appreciated by Alan and remained an outsider to the daughters, absent from their intimate conversations. The book mentions 9/11, Obama, and Sony's music production in New York, giving the novel a clear sense of contemporary reality. Beyond this time frame, past experiences project internally without external markers, a flowing inner insight shared by Alan and his daughters, representing a sense of loss, despair, and struggle. In the latter half of the novel, true open-hearted communication begins: Vanessa feels her father, sister, and boyfriend possess a divine happiness, an innate quality that requires no effort to acquire, unlike her. She senses a lack of happiness, feeling the onset of depression - realizing life's complete meaninglessness, repetitive continuation. She perceives life's ultimate image through a 90-year-old neighbor slowly, patiently, and methodically drinking soup on the balcony. The elderly man's slow, patient, and methodical actions, drinking the soup 1 mouthful at a time until finished, then raising the bowl to drink the rest, seemed like a practice in observation. Vanessa admired this monk-like patience - his extraordinary self-discipline and determination. Yet, she saw no joy in the meal, just a training exercise for survival's reflex, merely feeding a body to keep it alive. For what purpose? To live longer and drink more soup? Alan didn't know how to answer Vanessa’s confusion; he stopped resisting, feeling only sadness. But he shared a school story, ending with, "Sometimes, I wish you could curse life instead of fighting it." I love his description: ”you need to outsmart life, tell it where to go, dismiss it, and strategically - disdain it. Clear away problems. Don't tangle too long. Don't let snowballs grow bigger.” This was Alan's heartfelt advice, his life's wisdom. He longed to know how to navigate the long yet short life, aware there was no experience to borrow. He too had walked this long journey back and forth, realizing the most intelligent approach was: ”don't tangle too long.” Ultimately, it's a matter of degree. And Upstate, in some ways, ended at an appropriate place as Alan had hoped: he emailed his partner, planning to discuss starting a new venture with Helen soon, intending to stay in Upstate with Venessa for a while longer. I feel ”don’t tangle too long” was also the attitude James Wood sought to convey. In every aspect, Wood desired moderation, hoping to understand what constituted just the right amount. He disliked hysterical realism and showy or overly clever novel writing, always seeking moderation in specific novel criticism and writing. For some reason, or perhaps because some people are inherently happy, a sense of moderation is also an innate quality. In life or novel writing, some excess, some entanglement, some lingering (whether voluntary or involuntary) may be the norm, and it may be this excess that is the source of all charm. Vanessa may not be unhappy. 3.9 / 5 stars”

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