I received Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. It was published in May of 2011.
About the Book:
Vaclav and Lena are kids growing up in Brooklyn. Vaclav lives with his parents and Lena lives with her aunt, all Russian emigres. Vaclav and Lena have been best friends for years. They attend the same school. They share a dream of performing a magic show together. Lena often comes over to Vaclav’s house, but never the other way around.
Then something happens, and their lives take different courses. What happens to two friends suddenly pushed in different directions? Vaclav and Lena explores one way the story might end.
My Thoughts:
There were things I really liked about Vaclav and Lena and things I did not. I’ll begin with the good.
The cover is absolutely lovely. The chapter titles were cute, and since the chapters were relatively short, there were plenty of titles to enjoy. I loved Vaclav’s mother, Rasia. At times, it seemed the novel was more about her than about the kids. I felt for her as she struggled to give Vaclav the best life possible, to be a cool American mom without neglecting her son. The moments that focused on her were touching. Tanner does seem to “get” kids and teens, and I thought she did a nice job incorporating that into her novel. Though I found the novel lacking (more on that in a moment), the end did redeem the book somewhat. It hit an emotional note and level of understanding I wish had been present throughout.
However, the writing seemed simplistic, juvenile, and detached to me. Nothing was inferred; everything was laid out in plain terms. The narrative style worked when Vaclav and Lena were kids, but it felt wrong for their older selves and for the adults in the story. It seemed like maybe the style was meant to mimic the experience of learning English, but if that were the case, it should have changed as the story progressed, which it did not. Instead, the effect was one of condescension toward the characters, many of whom felt stereotyped and flat. The novel got where it should have gone eventually, but reading it felt like meandering through 250 pages of build-up only to arrive pages before the end at a little pop of a conclusion.
I do think Haley Tanner has talent as an author. I can see glimmers of good shining through the mediocre story. Overall, though, I wasn’t especially impressed with Vaclav and Lena.
Those are my thoughts. Check out Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner on Goodreads or LibraryThing, or read other bloggers’ reviews:
- Bookin’ with “Bingo”
- A Bookworm’s World
- He Followed Me Home…Can I Keep Him?
- The Indextrious Reader
- That’s What She Read
Did I miss your review? Please let me know!
I hadn’t heard of this one and appreciated learning more about it. Seems like it truly would be very important for the dialogue/conversation to evolve as the children grew, so interesting that it didn’t.
I kept thinking maybe it was the author’s style, but I don’t think that’s the case. It felt condescending to me. Most others have really enjoyed this one, though, so perhaps I’m the odd one out!
I have this book up for review soon, and am disappointed to hear that it was not executed well. I don’t like books that have trouble maintaining their voice throughout the story, so I am wondering how I will feel about this one. I liked your honest review though, and think you had some very valid complaints about the book.
It was a quick read, kind of sweet, and it definitely had potential. Perhaps it maintained its voice too well, not changing when the characters did? I seem to be one of the only ones not posting rave reviews, though, so perhaps I’m in the minority. I look forward to reading your review! I think there’s enough good in it that you won’t be miserable reading it 🙂
I was really looking forward to this one but I know for sure that the writing will bother me as well. Oh bummer!
I seem to be the only one who hasn’t posted an ecstatic review, so perhaps I’m in the minority! The writing really did bug me, though. At least it was a quick read, and it’s clear the author has potential.
Lol, if the first thing that’s good about a book is the cover that’s a sign things aren’t so great inside!! It is a pretty face though, shame the writing doesn’t match it 🙂
That’s so often the case, isn’t it?? Too bad we’re pretty much all guilty of judging books by their covers! I really wanted the inside to be equally lovely, but alas, it wasn’t, at least for me.
I still want to try this one even though the reviews seem mixed. Thanks for the honest review Erin.
Many people have really enjoyed this one, and I do think the author shows potential, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I hope that you like it better than I did!