Improvement unfolds in a series of interconnected stories focusing on different characters, starting with Reyna whose boyfriend, Boyd, is a prisoner in Rikers Island. When Reyna takes what might be considered a morally correct decision it sets off a chain of unintended consequences whose impact on other people will gradually be revealed.
In some cases, the connections between characters are tangential; the result of a chance moment in time. In others they are more direct – friends, lovers, business contacts. Moving backwards and forwards in time, I found it especially poignant when the reader possesses foreknowledge a character does not. We know why a call is not returned, nor ever likely to be.
Thanks to the skill of the author, all the characters seem totally real. They have flaws, they make poor decisions but they also try to do the correct thing, to right wrongs and make amends. Although, as one character remarks, “How much could ever be fixed?”
My favourite character was Reyna’s aunt, Kiki. Her colourful experiences when younger – “her old and fabled past” – take the reader on an enjoyable detour to Istanbul and the Turkish countryside.
In the book it seems to me ‘improvement’ takes many forms. For some it’s a better economic position or the rekindling of affection within a marriage. For others it’s finding a goal to work toward. As one character puts it, “The point was to ask for strength. Improvement wasn’t coming any other way.” Conversely, as Reyna notes sadly, for Boyd it is “the promise of criminal glory that was giving him his style back”.
Improvement invites us to consider the interconnectedness of the world we inhabit and the consequences of our actions on others. It also demonstrates the acute observational skills and deft touch that has made Joan Silber’s writing so admired.
In some cases, the connections between characters are tangential; the result of a chance moment in time. In others they are more direct – friends, lovers, business contacts. Moving backwards and forwards in time, I found it especially poignant when the reader possesses foreknowledge a character does not. We know why a call is not returned, nor ever likely to be.
Thanks to the skill of the author, all the characters seem totally real. They have flaws, they make poor decisions but they also try to do the correct thing, to right wrongs and make amends. Although, as one character remarks, “How much could ever be fixed?”
My favourite character was Reyna’s aunt, Kiki. Her colourful experiences when younger – “her old and fabled past” – take the reader on an enjoyable detour to Istanbul and the Turkish countryside.
In the book it seems to me ‘improvement’ takes many forms. For some it’s a better economic position or the rekindling of affection within a marriage. For others it’s finding a goal to work toward. As one character puts it, “The point was to ask for strength. Improvement wasn’t coming any other way.” Conversely, as Reyna notes sadly, for Boyd it is “the promise of criminal glory that was giving him his style back”.
Improvement invites us to consider the interconnectedness of the world we inhabit and the consequences of our actions on others. It also demonstrates the acute observational skills and deft touch that has made Joan Silber’s writing so admired.