Der Bisher Beste Tag Meines Lebens (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Despite my ongoing attempt to get Goodreads to notice that I read books set in Buffalo and the surrounding area, this one had apparently escaped their algorithmic net, and it wasn't on any of my TBR lists. So when I saw it at the dollar store, I snapped it up, not expecting much. First off, I'll say that it doesn't deserve to be at the dollar store with all the religious self-help books and knockoffs of bestsellers. It's a good contemporary literary novel. It reminds me of the books from the literary brat pack in the 80s; the theme of a young person returning home to find he's outgrown his old friends is one that never really gets old for me. The details about Buffalo got a little tedious, although I have to admire the photographic accuracy of them. When he says he and his dad went to a Bob Evans a few miles from the airport, I know which one it is. It probably helps that the book takes place in the years I lived there, so it's exactly like I remember it. When he's remembering the 90s on Elmwood, I can hear a friend telling me how Elmwood in the 2000s wasn't the same and how it used to be, back in the 90s. :-) The oral histories are a lot like that too: I'm not sure they added much other than local color to the story, but they were very real. But what really sold the book to me was the dead-on description of dementia and the nursing home. Greg Ames just NAILED that part. He got it exactly right, down to the smallest detail. The protagonist is completely believable: a little pretentious, drifting along in a job he doesn't mind but doesn't love, exactly at the age when he can see how he failed to appreciate his family when he had the chance. Because of the first-person POV, he can tell the kind of almost-lies that you tell people when you feel like they *could* be true.Of course, that's also the source of my biggest quibble with the book. James never gets impatient with his mom (except early on in her dementia), never seems to get angry about the way she's changed, never has any issues with the nursing-home staff. For a guy who's not particularly nice, he's way too nice about all of that. It seems like he's going to have to make a big decision--whether or not to kill his mom--but when the time comes for him to make that decision, the story fizzles out. His various romantic encounters are much the same. Every time it looks like James is going to have a major turning point, he just kind of walks through it. Other people get to make the big decisions and do the big things. While that's in keeping with his character, it doesn't make a strong story. Basically, the writing is excellent, but the plot is... less so. It could have been a truly amazing first novel, but the meandering plot weakens it. In other words, it's a typical first novel from a really promising writer. :-) Normally, I'd rate this a 3 star book, but the constant Buffalo references added to my enjoyment, warranting the 4 star review. There's a lot to like here, but nothing more so than the Ames' writing style: No pretentious language or symbolism, just straight-forward conversational story telling. I also love the way that the narration jumped between the pressing issues of struggling with a gravely ill mother, interacting with family members and friends, all interspersed with narrations of everyday Buffalonians from James' old oral history recordings. There were times where I thought that I might lose interest in the book, but the change of direction in the ensuing chapter brought me right back in. Finally, I really, really liked the unexpected turn in the final chapters!
What do You think about Der Bisher Beste Tag Meines Lebens (2010)?
This book was incredibly depressing and poorly written. I do not recommend this book to anyone.
—LucyF
Surprisingly funny considering the subject matter.
—tori
I give this book an award for best title ever.
—nbaligh
