juggling

Juggling by Barbara Trapido (Bloomsbury USA, 2015)

I’ve been intrigued by Barbara Trapido ever since her name appeared in close proximity to mine in an online literature map that arranges authors of similar sensibilities near to on another.   Perhaps because I read Juggling with a bit of hiatus between the first third and second third, I had trouble following and remembering the many plots and characters.  The book is basically a series of romances played out over several generations and in several countries, and uses many tropes from Shakespearean comedies: separated twins, mistaken identities, coincidence, and abrupt changes of fortune (and sexual identity).  It’s all related with a brisk, and confident charm, and much of the writing is witty and elegant.  But the incessant and unrelenting plot developments prevented any of the characters from achieving compelling believability or complexity, and I finally felt worn down, and a bit betrayed, by the tone and pace of this novel.