He doesn’t quite succeed.
She vanished there after graduation, during a Memorial Day weekend getaway.
But structurally (and, in turn, aesthetically), the novel develops into a masculine melodrama.
Credit: Knopf
Russo asks in his prologues conclusion.
Because yank out one thread from the fabric of human destiny, and everything unravels.
Though it could also be said that things have a tendency to unravel regardless.
In general, Russo works better in memory here.
The prose gets downright maudlin.
With Lincoln deep in wistful thought, Russo mistakes schmaltz for profundity: Hey, Jace.
Remember the Chilmark house?
Our last night together on the deck?
How we all linked arms and sang?
Youd laugh if you could see us now.
Old men, the three of us.
Old men haunted by you.
Still, the plot moves.
And Teddy fares much better in chapters steeped in wistful regret.
Feeling himself begin to harden, he feared he might weep for pure joy.
Then, reflecting in the present: So long ago, that euphoria, and so short-lived.
And, like life itself, over before it could be fully comprehended.
A cheat, really.
The author reminds, constantly, that it was the trioandJacy, once upon a time.
He repeats their motto (All for one and one for all!)
He stuffs the lyrics of Johnny Mathis Chances Are into several too many scenes.
He makes half-hearted attempts at introducing red herrings to the case of Jacys disappearance.
(The neighbor has a criminal record!
Mickey is prone to violence!)
All this straining, to what effect?
(Russo doesnt generally plot this way, and you could see why.)
Someone other than our two central narrators takes hold of the book, revealing what happened to Jacy.
The big unveiling proves desperately lacking.
Jacys entire identity is treated like a plot twist.
Before divulging her fate, Russo ponders via one character, Theyd all been perfect gentlemen with her.
What if it wasnt a gentleman shed been looking for?
Lincoln, Teddy, and Mickey eventually get their answer.
Unfortunately, as with the rest ofChances Are, it doesnt do Jacy justice.
