House Lights – Leah Hager Cohen

House Lights was a random read, selected at a library sale for the seal proclaiming it to be a New York Times Book Review Notable Book. I enjoyed House Lights, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “notable” (although, to be honest, I don’t know what competition it was up against in 2007). Leah Hager Cohen has written a pleasant story about a young woman coming of age and discovering the disconcerting truth about her family. There is scandal, but nothing too horrible. That is the root of the problem. For all the anguish our narrator, Beatrice, endures, her life doesn’t seem all that bad. The betrayals by her family, in particular by her father, don’t seem that extreme. Many have been through much worse and handled themselves with much more grace than does Beatrice.

I found Beatrice’s naivety and immaturity confusing – she is supposed to be an intelligent girl with enough perception to be a talented actress. I grew frustrated by the lack of communication within her family, something she bemoans but does little to correct. Instead of direct confrontation and explanation, we get eavesdropping, misunderstanding, manipulative outbursts, even overhearing via the listening device in a child’s spy kit. Near the end of the book, Beatrice’s father accuses her of being arrested in her development. I have to agree. Unfortunately, it is clear that the reader is not supposed to see her this way. We are supposed to be sympathetic to her plight, to be on her side. Instead I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get over herself.

What saves the book is Hager Cohen’s language. She can craft a beautiful sentence, and although her images occasionally cross the line into sentimentality, she has a gift for finding magic in the mundane.

House Lights is a nice read. It consumed me on my commute, but I won’t remember it a month from now.