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appalonia's review
3.0
This book is about the childhood friend (Nick) of a charismatic celebrity writer (Rob). Rob shot his girlfriend dead before committing suicide, and the resulting effect on his friends and family are still being felt months later, after the press has finally died down. Nick has a mid-life crisis that finds his wife getting frustrated by his continuing grief for his old friend, and she manages to drag him into couples’ therapy. Meanwhile Nick has hooked up with Belinda, his first girlfriend and Rob’s sister. There was lots of introspection and angst in this one, and none of the characters came out particularly sympathetic. But I did enjoy reading this, particularly the surprising twists at the end.
lisagray68's review
3.0
3.5 really -- it was a good, quick, beachy type summer read. Good writing - an unlikeable main character, but I think that was intentional. I agree with other reviewers that there is a shocking ending, which is a nice touch! Nothing not to like here...
altheodorou's review against another edition
2.0
There isn't much that I can say about this book that the top reviewers have not already said. On the one hand, Gottlieb does include some affecting ruminations on aging, and specifically aging in the face of unrealized potential and dreams. His prose is often overwritten, but every now and then cutting, and he often leans into the ugliness of humans, both individually and in groups:
"We hungered for the media attention. I mean, even as we pretended otherwise. We saw the recognition as deserved, at bottom. It seemed validation for how each of us felt ourselves going along in our lives with some secret rind of personal value not yet noticed by the world, and still awaiting its moment in poignant close-up."
The tension between these lines and the overall context of the media attention revolving around the murder-suicide of a hometown writer who tried to "make it big" is fascinating. However, much of that tension fizzles, because we keep hearing about it from Nick. Nick is a deeply self-pitying man who is seemingly unable or unwilling to halt an utter avalanche of self-destructive behavior, despite explicit warnings from his wife. His wife, Lucy, is astute and at times a stand-in for a reader (like myself) who wants to shake Nick out of his absolute self-absorption. In a novel where no one seems able to communicate, she seems almost too perfect: aware of her wants and needs, aware of her husband's faults and intentions, and aware of the future trajectory of their marriage.
There are heavy and life-changing interpersonal revelations towards the end of the novel, but it's never enough to pull Nick into any semblance of self-possession or adulthood. Frankly, many of the twists and conflicts that Nick finds himself navigating end up reinforcing the understanding that Nick has never quite grown up, and I wish we had spent time exploring the fallout of those twists instead of building to them. There's much to be said about waking up one day and realizing that the world is unfamiliar and strange, but to explore that world with Nick was a drag. He is a man that is indelibly unsatisfied with the mundane, but also incapable of accurately perceiving the world around him. Why, then, should I care why he feels as he does?
"We hungered for the media attention. I mean, even as we pretended otherwise. We saw the recognition as deserved, at bottom. It seemed validation for how each of us felt ourselves going along in our lives with some secret rind of personal value not yet noticed by the world, and still awaiting its moment in poignant close-up."
The tension between these lines and the overall context of the media attention revolving around the murder-suicide of a hometown writer who tried to "make it big" is fascinating. However, much of that tension fizzles, because we keep hearing about it from Nick. Nick is a deeply self-pitying man who is seemingly unable or unwilling to halt an utter avalanche of self-destructive behavior, despite explicit warnings from his wife. His wife, Lucy, is astute and at times a stand-in for a reader (like myself) who wants to shake Nick out of his absolute self-absorption. In a novel where no one seems able to communicate, she seems almost too perfect: aware of her wants and needs, aware of her husband's faults and intentions, and aware of the future trajectory of their marriage.
There are heavy and life-changing interpersonal revelations towards the end of the novel, but it's never enough to pull Nick into any semblance of self-possession or adulthood. Frankly, many of the twists and conflicts that Nick finds himself navigating end up reinforcing the understanding that Nick has never quite grown up, and I wish we had spent time exploring the fallout of those twists instead of building to them. There's much to be said about waking up one day and realizing that the world is unfamiliar and strange, but to explore that world with Nick was a drag. He is a man that is indelibly unsatisfied with the mundane, but also incapable of accurately perceiving the world around him. Why, then, should I care why he feels as he does?
sassychortle's review
3.0
This is a good book to get lost in (which is what I needed!). I found it recommended on NPR. It gets a little slow in the middle, but stick to it, the ending is worth it! It's also beautifully written.
jlc's review
3.0
Not what I expected when I started it, but enjoyable nonetheless. Expertly crafted, especially with a few unexpected turns towards the end.
flogigyahoo's review
5.0
I started reading this book by Eli Gottlieb after picking it at random from my daughter's books. I had never heard of him. To my surprise the writing was excellent, the plot so intriguing, I finished it in 2 days; I could not put it down. Eli Gottlieb is a talented writer and I can't wait to read others by him.
Nick is married unhappily to Lucy; she blames him for being disengaged from their marriage and children especially since the time his boyhood best friend shot his girlfriend and comitted suicide. No spoiler since the book begins with this tidbit. How Nick resolves his and Lucy's problems, how he faces secrets from his past and the suicide of Rob, his feelings for Rob's sister Belinda, take up the bulk of the book. In most novels one waits for the lovers to find each other; in this novel, one waits to see how they don't. An intelligent and fun read. Recommended.
Nick is married unhappily to Lucy; she blames him for being disengaged from their marriage and children especially since the time his boyhood best friend shot his girlfriend and comitted suicide. No spoiler since the book begins with this tidbit. How Nick resolves his and Lucy's problems, how he faces secrets from his past and the suicide of Rob, his feelings for Rob's sister Belinda, take up the bulk of the book. In most novels one waits for the lovers to find each other; in this novel, one waits to see how they don't. An intelligent and fun read. Recommended.
melaniejayne35's review
2.0
2.5 - a tad better than “ok”. I would have rated this higher if it was not such a slog. The sentences were what I call flowery (another reviewer called them overwritten - that’s a better term) and made me impatient. I kept reading because that’s what I do. I have such a hard time abandoning. Although - I’m glad I stuck with it because I was completely caught off guard with the ending. It made the slogging worth it. It would be hard to recommend this one but I certainly won’t forget it.
fictionophile's review
5.0
Male friendship explained -- or not. This literary novel suggests that male friendship can be much more mysterious than female friendship. This is especially true when the friendship began in childhood and has evolved over many years. The friend is a minor celebrity and his suicide has a profound affect on the life of Nick, our protagonist, creating a ripple effect that in turn impacts the lives of those he holds dear.
Rob Castor, an author of minor fame, murders his girl-friend and then commits suicide. Upon hearing this tragic news, Nick Framingham, Rob's oldest childhood friend must come to terms with his own life and past. In doing so he finds that all he holds dear might just be as elusive as the title Now you see him would suggest.
Nick's wife Lucy who had previously been discontent in their marriage, believes that Nick's obsession and grieving over Rob Castor's death might well be the straw that breaks the back of their marriage. This proves to be a belief with grounds when we discover that Rob's sister Belinda was an old love of Nicks and seems to hold an attraction for him still.
Set in upstate New York, in a small town whose secrets become putrid in the heat of the media attention after Rob's death, one can feel the pain of the startling revelations exposed. Skeletons fall from closets and when they do Nick finds that everything he knew to be true is now up for reconsideration. His marriage, his parents, his work, in fact every aspect of his life suffers deeply after the "violent subtraction of Rob from life".
Not a 'whodunit' in the traditional sense, this novel is more a psychological study written in beautiful prose. You know, the kind of novel where certain passages make you want to get out a notebook and write them down because their profoundness strikes a chord in your own life.
I wouldn't term this a mystery novel. There was no crime to solve or perpetrator to catch. With a shocking ending to rival the best thriller, the suspense was in the relationships and how they interconnect. Not a light read, this book is one I'll remember for a long time. A great novel for those who like a psychological study while being entertained.
Rob Castor, an author of minor fame, murders his girl-friend and then commits suicide. Upon hearing this tragic news, Nick Framingham, Rob's oldest childhood friend must come to terms with his own life and past. In doing so he finds that all he holds dear might just be as elusive as the title Now you see him would suggest.
Nick's wife Lucy who had previously been discontent in their marriage, believes that Nick's obsession and grieving over Rob Castor's death might well be the straw that breaks the back of their marriage. This proves to be a belief with grounds when we discover that Rob's sister Belinda was an old love of Nicks and seems to hold an attraction for him still.
Set in upstate New York, in a small town whose secrets become putrid in the heat of the media attention after Rob's death, one can feel the pain of the startling revelations exposed. Skeletons fall from closets and when they do Nick finds that everything he knew to be true is now up for reconsideration. His marriage, his parents, his work, in fact every aspect of his life suffers deeply after the "violent subtraction of Rob from life".
Not a 'whodunit' in the traditional sense, this novel is more a psychological study written in beautiful prose. You know, the kind of novel where certain passages make you want to get out a notebook and write them down because their profoundness strikes a chord in your own life.
I wouldn't term this a mystery novel. There was no crime to solve or perpetrator to catch. With a shocking ending to rival the best thriller, the suspense was in the relationships and how they interconnect. Not a light read, this book is one I'll remember for a long time. A great novel for those who like a psychological study while being entertained.
williamc's review
3.0
As they move in and out of narrator Nick Framingham’s life, the other characters in Now You See Him possess the page with surges of the ugliest emotions: envy and contempt, open hatred, lusts both bold and rotten. Now You See Him is about puzzling out identities: Who would expect, among this small New York state crowd, a killer? Who is the best at swallowing their horrible truth? And who finds themselves soured by what their introspections peel away? All said and done, this novel, in places beautifully written, creates something like a shredded collage of identity - an image wholly manufactured, and destroyed in an explosion of faces and memories and beliefs at the deaths of writer Rob Castor and his wife.
I am surprised to find such strong things to say about these characters because while reading them they seemed as familiar, understandable, even as noble as you could hope for families never forced to confront themselves. And that may be the best thing about this literary thriller: that you come away unsettled, with a strange urge to dig out the seed of your own identity, examine it, and decide if it has grown as healthy as you thought.
I am surprised to find such strong things to say about these characters because while reading them they seemed as familiar, understandable, even as noble as you could hope for families never forced to confront themselves. And that may be the best thing about this literary thriller: that you come away unsettled, with a strange urge to dig out the seed of your own identity, examine it, and decide if it has grown as healthy as you thought.
jennybento's review
3.0
This is billed as the new Donna Tartt-like book--a suspenseful thriller. I enjoyed reading this but didn't find it suspenseful at all. Parts of it are downright mundane--I mean, I think they are supposed to be. All of the "secrets" seemed fairly obvious. It was a super fast and compelling read at the beginning but it faltered as it unraveled. Reading this often reminded me what I hate about fiction--uh, what's the point? I have no idea what I was supposed to get from this book at all. Please enlighten me!