Review: Tuesday Nights in 1980

Review:

 

This was something I requested from Netgalley on a whim. I don't read adult contemporary at all, really, but the title and the premise of the art critic with synaesthesia got my attention immediately. So I figured what the hell - I would give it a shot.

 

Definitely different from what I usually read but in a good way. The book was beautifully written, the sense of place New York at the dawn of the 80s was brilliantly described, plunging right into the grittiness of the scenery with an amazing sense of place and description, making the setting come alive with vividness. The first half of the book, though brilliantly written, was incredibly slow. An introduction to the lives and explorations of characters before anything particularly happened.

 

The novel focuses on James and his wife Marge, a small town girl Lucy with dreams of a life in the big city and Engales, a brilliantly talented artist from Buenos Aires. Of all the characters, James was the most fascinating. He has synaesthesia - he sees the world through colours which adds a whole amazing layer of depth to his character. He's a bit of a bumbling eccentric, nice and sweet if a bit dim, but a brilliant art critic as seeing things through colours help help get an angle on art that most people wouldn't notice. Marge meets James in college when he criticises her paintings and gets her in a way that no one else does.  They fall in love and get married. Part of the novel tells of their lives and struggles.

 

Lucy is a sweet girl from a small town with an art fascination who comes into the city with dreams of meeting an artist and falling in love. Engales lived with his sister Franca and her husband for a time, after always being close with his sister, when the boyfriend came along he didn’t like it at all, the boyfriend was an ass, Engales runs off to New York. He’s always been a brilliant artist and finds a place amongst an artist community full of performers and sculptors and squatters in the same area Lucy finds herself in. Through chance meetings they wind up all running into each other at some point.

 

A beautifully detailed account of three or four lives and the side people who come into shape their futures before things start looking up…then unravelling dramatically. Dealing with everything from gaining art shows, getting names known in the right social circles, to passionate affairs, hideous accidents and other dramatic factors. Marriage issues for James and Marge – money struggles, baby drama etc.

 

For the most part I enjoyed the read as the scenes and setting and the art community were pretty interesting. I didn’t like Engales much as a character at all. He was rude and condescending and a jackass. Talented, yes, but a deplorable personality. Lucy manages to get involved with both him and James. It was also somewhat open ended. Realistically concluded for some points, but others left too many questions and no answers for other characters.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books (UK) for approving my request to view the title.

 

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