The Hourglass
By Elizabeth Gage
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TEST

I have read only one story by Elizabeth Gage. It appeared in the anthology, Unmasked, and was one of the worst stories I’ve ever read. I hated it. So it was with immense trepidation that I began reading – with a closed heart and a skeptical mind – this author’s latest effort, The Hourglass. Can the same author have penned both stories? All I can say is, I’m stunned.

The Hourglass is a simple story involving the lives of three complex characters. Standing beside her best friend’s grave, Kate remembers Lily, a woman she has known since they were little girls, and in whose house orphaned Kate had lived for a time. Jordan, the third member of the childhood trio, stands beside Kate as they bid farewell to their longtime friend.

Narrated by Kate in the first person, present tense, what begins as an awkward read (due to the unique style and format) moves gradually into the compelling and immediate telling of the “threesome” friendship, how it evolves over time, how each member contributes, and detracts, from its solidarity, and ultimately, how it’s our past, more than anything, that dictates our future. Oh, the hurts we cling to, and how they color our view of the world.

I can’t fit this story into a nutshell; it simply won’t work. The author has deftly moved the reader forward and backward in time to illustrate the interaction between shy Kate, beautiful Lily, and sad-eyed Jordan from the time they meet as young children at the funeral of a schoolmate who has died of leukemia, until Lily’s untimely death some thirty years later. Though this is the tale of a threesome, it is essentially Kate’s story, giving the reader no insight into what the other characters think or feel. Yet, we know anyway, thanks to lovely, insightful writing, eloquent turns-of-phrase, clear imagery, and familiar, universally understood emotions written on the faces and heard in the voices of Lily and Jordan.

This is a love story, and more. While it could have been boiled down to a Big Misunderstanding, Ms. Gage has been very careful to illustrate why opportunities were missed and realizations were not grasped by the character we come to care most about. Kate is an orphan and has learned through experience to expect that no good will come to her, and if it does, it will ultimately be taken away. It is through her eyes that the author demonstrates to us all that we get exactly what we expect. Exactly. Kate feels so unworthy, that the best thing she can do in life is to give the one she loves the gift of someone else.

There is no humor in The Hourglass – no chortles, no giggles, few smiles. Just the story of three children who grow to adulthood, how they love each other, and why their paths take them far afield when all they ever needed was waiting right where they began. If you are the kind of person to sneak a peek at the final pages of a book to see how things end, don’t. Do yourself a favor and just let the story unfold from beginning to end. Resist turning the hourglass, let Ms. Gage do it for you. Come to the final realization of love and resolution along with Kate and Jordan in their own time, in their own way.

This isn’t an easy story to read, and some will undoubtedly not care for it. Like Kate, the reader will have to work to find her happy-ever-after, and for some, it may seem like it came too late, at too high a cost. Perhaps. Who’s to say? The Hourglass is beautifully written, thoughtful, bittersweet and often sad. It’s an emotional journey that sometimes grants a tender joy, and sometimes turns that joy to pain and then back again. Just like an hourglass. Just like life.

Reviewed by Marianne Stillings

Grade: A

Book Type: Fiction

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date: 13/01/98

Publication Date: 1999

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Recent Comments …

  3. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

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