The Light of Amsterdam
David Park. Bloomsbury, $26 (384p) ISBN 978-1-60819-702-6
The streets, canals, and parks of Amsterdam play host to personal reckonings in Park’s remarkable new novel (after The Truth Commissioner). Alan, a recently divorced father, drags his teenage son, Jack, to the Dutch capital for a vacation in a bid to jump-start his post-marriage life; Marion accompanies her husband, Richard (whom she suspects has been unfaithful), to the city for a birthday getaway; and single mom Karen tags along for her daughter Shannon’s bachelorette party. Park eases into each character’s story, bringing their struggles, hopes, and loves into delicate relief as they wander through their thoughts and down the cobbled lanes of the wintry city. At once an amalgam of sensitive character studies, Park’s newest is also a gorgeous portrait of the Venice of the North—as Marion, Richard, Jack, et al. navigate their various desires and disappointments, each alights on some bit of beauty. Agent: Rachel Calder, the Sayle Agency. (Nov.)
Details
Reviewed on: 09/03/2012
Genre: Fiction
Hardcover - 371 pages - 978-1-4088-2136-7
Hardcover - 448 pages - 978-1-4448-1304-3
Open Ebook - 978-1-60819-758-3
Paperback - 384 pages - 978-1-62040-070-8
Paperback - 384 pages - 978-1-4088-3154-0