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Christina Schwarz, author of DROWNING RUTH (a novel I particularly liked), has a
winner in her sophomore effort ALL IS VANITY.
Margaret and Letty, now in their 30s, have been best friends since childhood. Married and living on opposite coasts, they are each struggling with an identity crisis fueled by personal ambition. They continue, even at a distance, to support each other via expensive phone calls and then lengthy email messages.
Letty is raising her children and grappling with the upper middle class existence and trappings of her husband's new curatorial position at the Otis Museum --- struggling because, while he has the job, he has only the promise of the salary to match the lifestyle. So on very little money, Letty is refurbishing a home, forking out big cash for haircuts and throwing lavish parties.
Margaret, sure that she was destined to be the author of the next great American novel, quits her job as a teacher at an all-female preparatory school to devote her time to writing. She soon realizes, however, that her dream is not an easily achieved reality. Despite her husband's penny pinching and constant reminders of their financial conditions, Margaret finds all means of distraction to keep her from writing, including painting the house, hanging out in coffee bars and, ironically, writing classes. When she does finally begin to write, the result is less than stellar. Her main character Robert lacks, well, character. He and his tale are anything but engaging and her writing quickly goes nowhere. But Margaret has advertised to everyone that she has taken the year off to produce a book. She MUST produce a book.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Letty is confronting her own problems. Her husband's rise to a prestigious position dictates that she must create an upscale home and present the appearance of wealth and class for his new colleagues. Living a lavish existence comes at a cost and Letty's lifestyle becomes an example of consumerism run amok. Desperate for a plot, Margaret begins to see that, with some slight modifications, Letty's story is the story Margaret has been looking for all along. The crossroads of their desires become the fodder for Margaret's novel and she begins to manipulate Letty in unseemly ways. Rather than advising Letty to cut back and avoid being caught up in the pretension that surrounds her new L.A. acquaintances, Margaret encourages her to live high off the hog --- with disastrous results.
ALL IS VANITY is an exploration of the dangers of human desire and greed. Schwarz's telltale wit is ever-present as she rolls out Margaret and Letty's intertwined fates with dark humor and empathy. Margaret, even in her manipulations, is a likable character, sadly misled by her pride and ego. And Letty is the victim of her need to "measure up." The entire time I was reading the book I found myself saying "no, no, don't do that" and yet oddly satisfied when they did the very thing I discouraged them from doing. To her credit, Schwarz does not wrap up her story in a neat resolution. Letty and Margaret, bruised and banged up, friendship shattered, tumble to a deserved ending.
--- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
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