Monday, June 16, 2014

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill


What is life but a cataloging of small events that add up to a miraculous whole? In this moving yet overly spare novella, Jenny Offill dispatches brief missives about the story of a marriage -- the initial happiness, the stresses, the disappointments piled richly on top of each other, all eventually pointing to a clear path to survival. The insights here are often filled with pathos and humor and real human frailties but in an attempt to focus on economy, Offill cuts too close to the bone. One can’t help but wishing for a little more meat on these bones.

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