Delightful testimony to circle of life & human connections the whole world over! Beautifully written, genuinely moving.
Joan Silber’s insightful and compact novel, Improvement, takes the form of a series of interconnected stories and examines how a decision in one characters life can go on to have such a consequential impact on that of another. Spanning the 1970s to 2012 and providing a snapshot of over a dozen characters the result is a rewarding and gently humorous ensemble of stories in which the ramifications of an external influence alter entire lives. Taking in a series of locations from the state of Virginia to the cities of Berlin and Istanbul, the stories are also connected by the wider theme of people attempting to improve their lot, be it in love or wealth, with each thread originating from an instance of smuggling, whether Turkish antiquities or American cigarettes.
The story opens with the first-person narrative of thirty-something Reyna, a white single mother with a four-year-old son, Oliver, living in Harlem with a fondness for meaningful tattoos and an African-American boyfriend, Boyd, who is serving a three month stint in Rikers Island for selling weed. In love with Boyd yet unsure of his own commitment and sincerity, Reyna’s three-hour round trips to visit him coincide with the return of her aunt Kiki to the East Village after eight years living in Turkey. As self-contained Kiki enters Reyna’s life both women come together as adults and Kiki gives her niece a genuine Turkish rug as well as a multitude of pearls of wisdom on the many phases of her life as she recalls men she has loved with a touching spirit of generosity. Despite alarm bells telling Reyna that standing by Boyd has the potential to backfire if his eye wanders or he is led into the criminal pursuits of his cousin and neighbourhood pals upon his release, she stays the course. As open minded Kiki interacts with Reyna’s life the narrative is also punctuated by insights into the decision Kiki made to initially stay in Turkey and throughout her lifetime to date which make her ripe for further exploration.
As Boyd’s release brings domestic bliss for Reyna, the criminal pursuits of his buddies, Claude, Wiley, and his cousin, Maxwell, threaten to land him in strife as they orchestrate a plan to smuggle cigarettes interstate from Richmond, Virginia to New York with the differing taxation rates as the profit. As the reader is drawn deeper into their lives this is woven between snippets of Reyna’s travails along with her discoveries and natural curiosity about her aunt’s colourful life. The novel goes on to capture the ripple effects when a car accident on one such smuggling trip in which Reyna reneges on her agreed involvement ends in tragedy and thereby impacts on an unfortunate long haul truck driver and Claude’s newly deserted love interest. As the repercussions shatter Reyna and Boyd’s fragile relationship and send Reyna into hiding from Claude’s vengeful sister, Lynnette, the consequences resound. Making apparent how a perturbation in one life miles away can have far-reaching effects on the lives of many others and introduce chaos into their own lives, Joan Silber’s novel provides a look at cause and consequence in everyday life.
Part II sees Reyna’s narrative give way to a series of chapters focusing on the characters whose lives and circumstances are altered by the tragedy of part I, along with Kiki’s many friends and those that are played a part in her life. Whilst some of these characters stories, such as Claude’s devastated new girl, Darise, who is left hanging and aged trucker, Teddy, whose livelihood is placed in jeopardy, are as involving and moving as Reyna and Kiki’s stories, others, such as the trio of German antiquities smugglers (Dieter, Bruno and Steffi) failed to hold the same interest for me. However despite this they are all woven together seamlessly and never feel out of place. As Part III opens with a return to Reyna’s first-person narrative it gives some closure to her residual guilt surrounding the tragic incident of Part I and the result is an opportunity to reflect on an big-hearted and insightful story full of understated life lessons.
Silber’s characters, whether likeable or not, leap from the page and she explores them in pared back and uncluttered prose yet manages to capture them perfectly, with even their dialogue ringing true. Everyone of her characters, not just lead protagonists Reyna and Kiki, leave a lasting impression and I was riveted by this study on the ebb and flow of lives all intrinsically connected by the idea of improvement and advancement be it in life, love or happiness. Although the novel may sound a deceptively simple composition, Silber’s brilliance is in making her characters each feel so integral to one another’s stories despite being significant in number and Improvement really is a human testimony to the butterfly effect.
A genuine pleasure to read with an understated premise that shows that geography barely matters, Improvement is a sublime look at cause and consequence in our everyday lives. However it is the compelling and credible voice of mixed-up Reyna, who at times demonstrates exceptional maturity to then stumble over the simplest mistake, and inspirational, freewheeling Kiki that hold the entire novel together and make it a success. On the strength of Silber’s prose alone, form her turns of phrase to her perceptive take on lives across races and cultures worldwide, I am very keen to read more of her work.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
The story opens with the first-person narrative of thirty-something Reyna, a white single mother with a four-year-old son, Oliver, living in Harlem with a fondness for meaningful tattoos and an African-American boyfriend, Boyd, who is serving a three month stint in Rikers Island for selling weed. In love with Boyd yet unsure of his own commitment and sincerity, Reyna’s three-hour round trips to visit him coincide with the return of her aunt Kiki to the East Village after eight years living in Turkey. As self-contained Kiki enters Reyna’s life both women come together as adults and Kiki gives her niece a genuine Turkish rug as well as a multitude of pearls of wisdom on the many phases of her life as she recalls men she has loved with a touching spirit of generosity. Despite alarm bells telling Reyna that standing by Boyd has the potential to backfire if his eye wanders or he is led into the criminal pursuits of his cousin and neighbourhood pals upon his release, she stays the course. As open minded Kiki interacts with Reyna’s life the narrative is also punctuated by insights into the decision Kiki made to initially stay in Turkey and throughout her lifetime to date which make her ripe for further exploration.
As Boyd’s release brings domestic bliss for Reyna, the criminal pursuits of his buddies, Claude, Wiley, and his cousin, Maxwell, threaten to land him in strife as they orchestrate a plan to smuggle cigarettes interstate from Richmond, Virginia to New York with the differing taxation rates as the profit. As the reader is drawn deeper into their lives this is woven between snippets of Reyna’s travails along with her discoveries and natural curiosity about her aunt’s colourful life. The novel goes on to capture the ripple effects when a car accident on one such smuggling trip in which Reyna reneges on her agreed involvement ends in tragedy and thereby impacts on an unfortunate long haul truck driver and Claude’s newly deserted love interest. As the repercussions shatter Reyna and Boyd’s fragile relationship and send Reyna into hiding from Claude’s vengeful sister, Lynnette, the consequences resound. Making apparent how a perturbation in one life miles away can have far-reaching effects on the lives of many others and introduce chaos into their own lives, Joan Silber’s novel provides a look at cause and consequence in everyday life.
Part II sees Reyna’s narrative give way to a series of chapters focusing on the characters whose lives and circumstances are altered by the tragedy of part I, along with Kiki’s many friends and those that are played a part in her life. Whilst some of these characters stories, such as Claude’s devastated new girl, Darise, who is left hanging and aged trucker, Teddy, whose livelihood is placed in jeopardy, are as involving and moving as Reyna and Kiki’s stories, others, such as the trio of German antiquities smugglers (Dieter, Bruno and Steffi) failed to hold the same interest for me. However despite this they are all woven together seamlessly and never feel out of place. As Part III opens with a return to Reyna’s first-person narrative it gives some closure to her residual guilt surrounding the tragic incident of Part I and the result is an opportunity to reflect on an big-hearted and insightful story full of understated life lessons.
Silber’s characters, whether likeable or not, leap from the page and she explores them in pared back and uncluttered prose yet manages to capture them perfectly, with even their dialogue ringing true. Everyone of her characters, not just lead protagonists Reyna and Kiki, leave a lasting impression and I was riveted by this study on the ebb and flow of lives all intrinsically connected by the idea of improvement and advancement be it in life, love or happiness. Although the novel may sound a deceptively simple composition, Silber’s brilliance is in making her characters each feel so integral to one another’s stories despite being significant in number and Improvement really is a human testimony to the butterfly effect.
A genuine pleasure to read with an understated premise that shows that geography barely matters, Improvement is a sublime look at cause and consequence in our everyday lives. However it is the compelling and credible voice of mixed-up Reyna, who at times demonstrates exceptional maturity to then stumble over the simplest mistake, and inspirational, freewheeling Kiki that hold the entire novel together and make it a success. On the strength of Silber’s prose alone, form her turns of phrase to her perceptive take on lives across races and cultures worldwide, I am very keen to read more of her work.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.