(no subject)
The Third Angel, by Alice Hoffman. Shaye Areheart Books, 2008
In structure, Third Angel made me think of The Hours, but played backwards. While each segment focuses on a different woman, they are all connected by both other people (they all meet at one point) and the Lion Park hotel, a second rate London inn, where much of the action takes place. The theme is women who are in love with the wrong men.
These are not happy stories, as one might well imagine from the description. There are no happy endings; even the ghost is an unhappy one. One woman falls in love with her sister’s fiancé. One is infatuated with a wannabe rock star. One is still in love with her ex-husband, even though she is about to marry someone else. Hopeless situations that the women know can come to no good end, yet cannot stop themselves from stepping- leaping!- into.
While I liked the interconnected stories and the format, I never did quite understand the Third Angel. He’s not the Angel of Life, nor the Angel of Death. He’s the angel who can make mistakes. Perhaps this is the angel who follows these women.
In structure, Third Angel made me think of The Hours, but played backwards. While each segment focuses on a different woman, they are all connected by both other people (they all meet at one point) and the Lion Park hotel, a second rate London inn, where much of the action takes place. The theme is women who are in love with the wrong men.
These are not happy stories, as one might well imagine from the description. There are no happy endings; even the ghost is an unhappy one. One woman falls in love with her sister’s fiancé. One is infatuated with a wannabe rock star. One is still in love with her ex-husband, even though she is about to marry someone else. Hopeless situations that the women know can come to no good end, yet cannot stop themselves from stepping- leaping!- into.
While I liked the interconnected stories and the format, I never did quite understand the Third Angel. He’s not the Angel of Life, nor the Angel of Death. He’s the angel who can make mistakes. Perhaps this is the angel who follows these women.