Literary, Gorgeous Language, But Not Much Of A Narrative!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        The ingredients are all there for an absorbing narrative novel, but Lucy Ives, better known for her poetry, is a first time novelist here, and it shows.  Though her disparate plot elements include an insider look at corruption and administration, from the curatorial perspective, of a New York City art museum that is obviously a stand in for The Metropolitan, a troubled mother-daughter relationship, marital problems, and a curator who mysteriously vanishes, Ives fails to evoke any kind of liveliness with any of these.  Her book has an overt pedantic quality that shows she can write, but does not allow her to soar.

                                         The curatorial world of the art museum, with its insights into denizens of the art world, is what she excels at, to the point I felt maybe she should have written a non-fiction book.

                                           I know, I have been having too much fun lately, reading about fun things, like serial killers, so "Impossible Views Of The World" represented my return to the cerebral, which I was eager to get back to.  Alas, this was not a triumphant return.  Not a slog, but a disappointing read, in that it could and should have been so much more.

                                             Better luck next time, Lucy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!