Having the author Joyce Maynard herself as the reader for this audible book increased the intimacy yet the voice always seemed authentically the character Helen herself. I'd love to read Under the Influence (the title is relevant in several senses) with a book club. It should engender lively discussion & vigorous disagreement concerning which characters are attractive & unattractive & why. I love stories about friendship between characters with very different backgrounds & social status. These tend to be ill-fated, tho' when they're not – as in some of JoJo Moyes's novels – they can end wonderfully. Here we a have a struggling single mom – well, not even that, since she lost custody of her son Ollie to her nasty ex as a result of a DWI (pure bad luck) – making a precarious living taking pictures of school children. Totally unexpectedly she is adopted by a wealthy & glamorous Bay Area couple, the Havillands, who shower her with presents & hospitality while she serves as a kind of PA & court photographer for Ava, the wife confined to a wheelchair as a result of a spinal injury. Her husband, appropriately named Swift, is a lively boisterous extravert who loves big toys for big boys, including a cigarette boat he keeps on Lake Tahoe.
So artistically speaking I'll not rate Under the Influence @ the top level for plot or characterization. Morally and spiritually the choices seemed too obvious & in the case of Elliott almost judgmental. But tho' the ending was dragged out, I found the story a compelling & engaging read which would be great fun to discuss.
Posted on September 16, 2016 by billkupersmith	Bookmark the permalink.