This quote from Fyodor Dostoevsky is the epigraph to Karen Dukess' terrific debut novel, The Last Book Party, and it couldn't be more appropriate. Dukess' book is both a coming-of-age story and a look at the loss of idealism, the siren song of art and those who create it, and an exploration of the always fascinating dynamics of families and their relationships.
In the summer of 1987, Eve Rosen has a fairly boring job as an editorial assistant at a publishing house, not quite the way her parents envisioned her using her degree from Brown. Despite the fact that she does little more than type her boss' correspondence and deal with those authors he is avoiding, the job represents an opportunity to be exposed to writers and their craft, something that as an aspiring writer, she hopes will rub off on her.
Unfortunately, however, she can't seem to get anywhere with her writing, and is envious of those she views as talented and lucky enough to get their work published.
When she is invited to a party at the Cape Cod home of once-renowned writer Henry Grey and his poet wife, Tillie, she jumps at the chance to do something utterly out of character for her. The Greys have a summer home in the same town as Eve's parents, yet the two couldn't be more different.
"Henry and Tillie and the rest of the older set looked loose and happy in a way that made them seem not only younger than my own parents, though they were ostensibly the same age, but ageless, as if being artists and writers freed them from anything as conventional as growing old."
She is drawn to Franny, the Greys' handsome, artistic son, but he leaves Cape Cod for the remainder of the summer. Exhausted by the dead-end nature of her editorial job, she agrees to spend the rest of the summer working as Henry's research assistant, a task she hopes will finally serve as the creative catalyst she needs to get her writing going again.
But the more time she spends at the Greys', and as she gets to know a young writer slated for a bright future, the more she realizes that it isn't someone else who inspires you to succeed—it's you who needs to inspire yourself. She also discovers that her perspectives on relationships—both parental and romantic—are shaped by far more factors than she ever considered possible.
As the summer draws to a close, and the Greys' famed "Book Party," where the guests dress as literary characters, arrives, Eve sees how easy it is to make decisions on what you see rather than what you know, and she realizes that she is the only one who can chart the course for her future. It's a sobering lesson in the midst of a summer she thought was magical, but comes to realize that perhaps she just didn't look closely enough.
I really enjoyed The Last Book Party. Dukess did a great job creating some fascinating characters and drawing you into their universe much as the Greys did Eve. There were certainly some familiar elements to this story but Dukess threw in some of her own twists, and I like the way she explored the juxtaposition between the dynamics of Eve's family with the Greys.
Interestingly enough, I saw some similarities between Eve and myself, in that I know how easy it is to find excuses not to pursue your dreams but yet wax poetic about how if only things were easier, maybe you'd accomplish what you dreamed of. I also understand that when you dream of writing it's far too easy to give up when the words or ideas don't flow, but that is precisely when you should push yourself, although that's easier said than done.
Dukess accurately captured the time period of the story without making it feel too heavy-handed, and she added enough drama without making the story campy. This really was such an enjoyable book and a quick read, one I'd definitely recommend.
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