Anna's relentless curiosity and drive are what make her admirable, but her refusal to accept the world's dismissals drive her further and further into upset. Of course, the memory of her father and a need to understand what happened to him lingers, and when Anna ends up having a chance encounter with Dexter Styles at a buzzing nightclub one evening, the reader is shot into an increasing dramatic momentum that suggests nothing but doom.
In the thick of the Second World War, a new crop of jobs have opened up to women, and the fiercely independent Anna works at a naval shipyard, managing to become the first female diver, and enduring treacherous and even life-threatening conditions to do vital underwater repairs. Further, the foreboding atmosphere suggests something nefarious about Styles, leading us to believe this particular meeting, as uneventful as it seems on the surface, will dramatically alter the lives of all of its players.įast-forward to the life of a young adult Anna and we learn that Eddie has deserted his family – including Anna's beloved younger, disabled sister, Lydia. The scene is finely detailed with Anna's wanting, the subject of her desire a coveted Flossie Flirt doll belonging to Styles's daughter, a concealed want that underscores the disparity and desperation of the era. The novel gracefully opens by introducing us to almost-12-year-old Anna Kerrigan, a dutiful daughter accompanying her father, Eddie, on a visit to the Manhattan Beach home of the mysterious wealthy "businessman" Dexter Styles.
Although the basic structure and setting is perhaps standard, her talent renders it anew – making Manhattan Beach a sparkling, lush epic of a novel. What is revelatory, however, is how beautifully drawn, vivid and moving this familiar setup is when crafted by Egan's skilled hand.
Even its traditional filmic visuals have been revisited time and again, situating itself first in the bleakness of Depression-era New York, and later in the perils of the Second World War. The book tackles precarious familial bonds, secrets and lies, love and lust, abandonment and individualism – all ideas we've encountered in literature many times before.
The book's overarching themes are certainly well-worn, its characters the kind we're accustomed to. The subject matter of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan's latest novel, Manhattan Beach, is not particularly revelatory.
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