Elizabeth Crane, All This Heavenly Glory

All This Heavenly Glory By Elizabeth Crane

New Yorker Charlotte Anne Byers grows up in a family quite different than seen on sitcoms. For instance Charlotte Anne receives opportunities to perform in mother's opera company. As a teen in the 1970s she begins dating, but finds the boys too boyish for her; in her twenties she dates men, but finds them to boyish for her so relationships always fail. She can thank the men not in her life for her alcohol addiction. Lists keep her going whether it is why she wants to be a filmmaker or the dude that she desires who rejects her.

This biographical fiction is not for everyone as Elizabeth Crane constantly changes writing style to reflect the mood of her heroine, which in turn leads to the reader at times liking and at other segues disliking Charlotte Anne. The story line is non linear following no chronological order, and containing no climax. The approach bewildered this reviewer who considered not finishing, but could not put the book down because Ms. Crane hooks readers with a fascinating insightful character study that reflects the chaos of life. In some ways ALL THIS HEAVENLY GLORY is more a series of vignettes tied together by a lead protagonist normally the type that stars in a novel. Blending chick lit humor with a different approach, Ms. Crane writes a fine randomly scattered look at an intriguing individual that is well written, complex as there is no beginning or ending, just an insightful tale.

Harriet Klausner