Fin & Lady (2013) by Cathleen Schine

1,001 Novels: A Library of America

Fin & Lady (2013)

by Cathleen Schine

New York: 62/105

Manhattan: 18/34

   Thankfully, Fin & Lady, a comic novel by author Cathleen Schine about a wealthy orphan and his guardian half-sister set in Greenwich Village in the 1960's is neither tedious nor excruciating, and I actually enjoyed the Audiobook listening experience.  I've accepted that the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America is about representing ALL Americans without regard to race, religion or economic class, but as I've observed before, books written about socio-economically disadvantaged groups- of all races- has a dreary sameness:  The kids wants to escape (or are so downtrodden they can't imagine escaping), the parents are trying to survive, the world around them is limited to a block or two (city version) or whatever local town the action is located (country/suburb version)- no one goes anywhere, no one does anything except suffer and try to survive.    

   Novels about the well educated at least have characters who can make interesting observations about the world beyond their own immediate experience, and they tend to feature in books that have more than one setting.   On the other hand, the problems of the wealthy and educated are far less interesting than the continuous theme of "survival in America" in every book about the poor and less educated.   When I'm reading books like this one- about a precocious orphan and his flighty older half sister- I am quite frequently struck by the thought that every problem in the book could be solved by the main characters going to a gym once a week and running on a treadmill for half an hour. 

   In my experience there is no variety of angst- existential or otherwise that can not be overcome by running for an hour (or half hour).  On the other hand, if you don't have enough money to pay rent or buy food for your children, running isn't going to help. In the case of Daughter- it might even get you killed by NYC cops.   

   Fin & Lady is a decently entertaining comic novel.  It will likely rank in the middle tier when I complete the New York chapter of the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America project.  Nothing in this book made me want to read more books by Cathleen Schine, but I would be open to the idea if the opportunity presented itself.