The Collapsible World: A Novel

By Anne N. Marino

Book Overview

Lillie returns home one night to discover that her mother has disappeared. She is left to care for her father, a drug-addicted anesthesiologist, with little support from her only sibling, a stripper at a North Beach nightclub. Fueled by alcohol and too-little sleep, she seeks comfort in the form of sex and target practice with an attractive cop. Her one true solace is the map store where she works with Finch, the man who was always there for her when her own family wasn't. Grappling with the loss of her mother and her vexatious relationship with her father, Lillie navigates San Francisco's seedy underworld of sex for sale, drugs, and duplicity, in search of a grown-up life that might lie at the periphery.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393049094
• ISBN13: 9780393049091
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 0.8" x 5.9"

Customer Reviews

Poetic and real

Although the book is a quick read (I wanted more), the prose is very tight and polished. The imagery has a poetic edge and the story is told in an honest voice that lends strength to the main character and her situation and how she finds her way 'through the fog' (so to speak). Not bad at all for a first book. Great read.

Lillie: Born and Raised in North Beach

What's at hand here are the dynamics of community--within a family, a neighborhood, and a city--and how they impact the life choices one makes. Marino's story takes us through the personal inventory of a defiant young woman, Lillie, as she is forced to confront a life that has not lived up to its promise or expectation. Forthright with her attitude and sexuality, we come to see these character traits of Lillie's as hardscrabble coping mechanisms developed to deal with the tangled web of dysfucntion that constricts and limits her. Marino delivers this to us with a tight prose that offers a sensuous rhythm, particularly during the passage where Lillie finds herself at the firing range with her latest guy interest (who happens to be an SF cop). As it lends Lillie's account of themes we all confront, The Collapsible World is a fulfilling read that is sure to leave a memorable impression.

You won't want it to end!

This debut novel, following narrator Lillie through the dissolution of her family and other crises, ends all too soon. Marino's characters are given vivid life from their physical descriptions to their mannerisms to the fantastic dialogue. As soon as you put the book down, you'll be missing intense Lillie, gentle Finch, and even drug-addled Larry. The portrayal of San Francisco, as well, is admirable. Metaphors and similies with a near-poetic freshness & originality keep coming one after the other, making the prose as delightful as the story it's telling. Marino's not afraid of strong emotions; Lillie's rage at her father, her despair over her losses, and her sexual hunger for Rick the cop are all examined closely, drawing the reader excitingly close to this young woman with so much inside her. The supporting cast, as well, is lovingly created, from kindly map store owner Finch to the bartenders and strippers Lillie and her sister Nina encounter every day. This book cannot be read subjectively. Pick it up, and you're going to spend some time in San Francisco with a girl named Lillie. You'll be very glad you did. Highly recommended.

For anyone who has a family ...

A most understated study as to how family members can accept aberrations - Dr. Dad is a drug addict, Sis works topless and Mom's split - and delude themselves into believing everything is normal. This is one of those small tales of unraveling that really sinks in.

Exciting debut - watch this author!

This book rocks and has it all: vivid images of San Francisco, an engaging story and steamy sex scenes. What more can you ask for?