Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent
Nugent opens the book with a startling reflection from renowned children's author, Oliver Ryan, about his wife and career partner, children's book illustrator, Alice Ryan, "I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her." At some recent point, Oliver has assaulted his wife in a near fatal attack and he begins his own tale with the memory of the first time he struck her. What follows is a broad assortment of flashbacks and recollections from Oliver and a wide variety of people in his and Alice's lives.
Delivered in the familiar confessional style, Nugent brings out facets of Oliver to weave together a backstory that could potentially lead to such a burst of extreme violence. We hear from Oliver and many people who make up both his and Alice's past, including a friend from school, the brother of a former girlfriend of Oliver's, Alice's brother, and Alice's former boyfriend, Barney — who was probably my favorite of the bunch.
For a narrative like this, basically consisting of connected vignettes to tie together a larger picture of Oliver, the strength is dependent solely on how well the characters are written. While there is quite a cast of characters sharing their stories in Oliver's tale (some might even say it's a bit crowded), Nugent handles them all with mastery and ease. She brings out their unique roles in both the story and Oliver's life, using them as messengers for all sorts of interesting tidbits and backstory nuggets. So, as we unravel the mystery that is Oliver, we watch him come unraveled.
As she did in Strange Sally Diamond, Nugent manages to build a life around a rather abhorrent person that, while perhaps not garnering sympathy, per se, does manage to offer insight into why he became who he did — and giving room for a little bit of empathy to flourish. The final reveal, explaining why Oliver was ultimately driven to commit brutality against Alice, became evident, in one form or another, quite early in the story. This revelation hinges on a coincidental encounter that might stretch believability a bit too much. Nevertheless, overall her machinations in the story work well, with terrific pacing and thoughtful character development, I was riveted from the opening section.
Audiobook, as narrated by a full cast: Normally I have trouble with a full cast reading, with many narrators and many characters overlapping in each other's stories, the variety of voices used for a single character can be deflating and off-putting. But with the strength of the style from Nugent's structure, not only does each narrator stay true, but each voice performance holds firm, as well. Each performer did a brilliant job, with the narration for both Oliver and Barney rising to the top.
