Rise and Shine: A Novel
by Anna Quindlen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anna QuindlenEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-29
ISBN: 0375502246
Number of pages: 269
Publisher: Random House
Book Reviews of Rise and Shine: A Novel
Book Review: Superficial Satire Overwhelms a Story with an Unsatisfying Ending
Summary: 3 Stars
What is it like to be "the most famous woman in America?" What is it like to be her sister? What is it like to be her son? All of those questions make for an intriguing premise for a novel. Unfortunately Rise and Shine settles for developing the premise with all of the depth of a weekly picture magazine. Unless you have never read or thought about celebrities, little that happens will surprise or inform you. The ending is particularly grating in evading the potential for telling a compelling story.
Where Ms. Quindlen (a stylish word slinger) goes wrong is in deciding that she wants to polish her premise with satire of the whole media business, our fascination with celebrities and the more claustrophobic elements of living on the top tier in Manhattan. The satire doesn't tell us anything we don't already know, fails to make us laugh or wince, and keeps the story from seeming like a serious attempt to develop the characters of the two sisters and the people in their lives.
The story basically develops around the complementary relationships of Meghan Fitzmaurice, female host of a morning television show called Rise and Shine, who will remind many of Katie Couric, and her unmarried social worker sister, Bridget, who serves as mother stand-in for Meghan's son, Leo. Meghan is successful. Bridget is not. Meghan lives in the world of unreality and spin. Bridget lives in the gritty world of the housing projects. Their daily lives seldom overlap except for an occasional fund-raising appearance by Meghan to help Bridget's budget and when they happen to appear where Leo is. Into that static relationship a bombshell is thrown when Meghan finds herself no longer the apple of everyone's eye. Meghan retreats and Bridget tries to help pick up the pieces. As all of that occurs, other forces begin to move that derail both lives from their familiar tracks.
In the long run, does it matter? You'll have to decide. I didn't find that the events mattered enough to make me happy I read the book. If the word craft weren't so strong, I would probably have graded this as a two star book.
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