Thursday, November 8, 2012

Love Anthony: Lisa Genova

 
 



Love Anthony: Lisa Genova

In her third fictional novel, Love Anthony, author Lisa Genova examines the themes of autism, marital infidelity, motherhood, and female introspection against the beautiful backdrop of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The novel deviates between the female voices of Olivia, a recently separated mother of an autistic child named Anthony and Beth, a local Nantucket mother of three daughters who has found out that her husband, Jimmy has been unfaithful to her. The novel digresses between the two voices of Beth and Olivia.  Olivia struggles to find meaning in life after losing her beloved son, Anthony, as Beth tries to find a new normal without Jimmy. Beth is drawn finding her former writing voice about a young boy she saw one day on Dead Man’s Beach, a place Olivia has frequented before with Anthony.  Similarly, Olivia begins photographing families on the Nantucket beaches to support her income as a single mother. As the novel progresses, their lives intertwine and the women become immersed in each other’s stories. The novel examines themes of motherhood and maintaining the creative voice that drives our artistic passions.

Lisa Genova has built a following with her fantastic gift of portraying authentic female protagonists in her novels. The voices of these women seem real and readers become quietly immersed in her plot lines. In Love Anthony, Genova has also again brought her expertise as a Harvard trained scholar of neurology to discuss the field of autism. I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of Love Anthony and am happy to report that Ms. Genova’s third book is currently receiving rave reviews.  If you are looking for a wonderful novel to dive into in the cold months, this one will not disappoint. I am waiting with excitement for her fourth book to arrive!

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