Outside the Ordinary World
Release date: 2010 / 374 pages
Synopsis (from the back cover): …Sylvia Sandon always swore she wouldn’t become her mother. But one August morning she finds herself walking the same path as the fervently religious yet faithless Elaine…into an affair she feels powerless to resist.
First Sentence: I’m pacing circles in the family therapist’s waiting room, trying to discern what my daughter is saying on the other side of the door.
Review: This novel was so well-written that I’m relieved I did not read the plot synopsis before I agreed to be a part of TLC’s tour.
Ostermiller adeptly weaves the protagonist’s past and present life by alternating between the two narratives. As we get to know the adult version of Sylvia, we are simultaneously discovering why she chooses to make disastrous decisions that could easily destroy her kind-hearted husband and two lovely daughters. Both the past and present narratives are gripping and compelling, so there is never a sense of regret when forced to leave one for the other.
Ironically, the more we learn about Sylvia’s past, the less sympathetic we become regarding her present decisions. So, the effect is a protagonist who becomes increasingly less sympathic the better we get to know her. Usually the reverse is true — the better we get to know a character, the more sympathetic the character becomes and the reader becomes even more compassionate.
As a reader, I find marital infidelity an irritating plot device, but for Sylvia to subject her own daughter to the same burdens that nearly destroyed her as a child, was extremely immature and off-putting. Somehow Sylvia allows herself, consciously, to repeat the mistakes her own mother made, even at the expense of her own daughter, and for little more than an escapist thrill. However, Ostermiller really did create a protagonist I cared about — even at her most unlikeable moments. I believe this is a character-based novel that would lend itself well to book club discussion for this reason.
Beyond Ostermiller’s adept characterization, her writing was exquisite at times. Ostermiller has an intuitive sense of how to infuse objects and images with meaning, and her sense of setting is exceptional:
“The foundation is repaired now, the framing shored up and the house rewired. We can’t use the stair to our bedrooms yet, but we can stand inside the vacant, whitewashed kitchen, pretending to warm our hands at the imaginary woodstove, gazing through the bay window at the view — a view that reminds me, each time, of the one from my grandparents’ house in California; a view I want to breathe and bathe in, almost worth the frustration of endless waiting, the growing divide, the slow unraveling of expectation that is our family life.”
“The laughter was metallic, like a bundle of silver wires being pulled too tight, like something was going to give.”
So, despite my frustration with the protagonist, I definitely recommend this novel to book clubs and anyone who enjoys well-written, character-based narratives with a lovely sense of setting! Interested? Leave me a comment below and I’ll choose a lucky winner this week!
I am the first stop on this book tour, but for future reviews, check out the following sites:
Monday, November 1st: Book Club Classics!
Tuesday, November 2nd: Rundpinne
Wednesday, November 3rd: Cozy Little House
Thursday, November 4th: Lit and Life
Monday, November 8th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, November 9th: I’m Booking It
Thursday, November 11th: Dolce Bellezza
Friday, November 12th: The 3 R’s Blog
Monday, November 15th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Tuesday, November 16th: Reviews from the Heart
Wednesday, November 17th: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Thursday, November 18th: Starting Fresh
Friday, November 19th: Diary of an Eccentric
Monday, November 22nd: Along the Way
Wednesday, November 24th: In the Next Room
You have definitely peaked my interest in this novel. Especially the part where you became less sympathetic to Sylvia’s choices as as her character is revealed.
Excellent review, Kristen. My book club would probably really enjoy this one- any meeting when we get to argue and question a character’s motivations is a good one! Thank you so much for being on the tour.
Sounds like a great discussion book. I’m interested to try this book.
I too would like to read this book. I found your review very interestng. Thanks for the giveaway.