Banishing Verona

by Margot Livesey

Book Overview

A couple begins an intense affair, only to be separated abruptly-and perhaps irrevocably-in this surprising, suspenseful love story Zeke is twenty-nine, a man who looks like a Raphael angel and who earns his living as a painter and carpenter in London. He reads the world a little differently from most people and has trouble with such ordinary activities as lying, deciphering expressions, recognizing faces. Verona is thirty-seven, confident, hot-tempered,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805074627
• ISBN13: 9780805074628
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

"A person could not be measured in normal solar time"

Zeke Cafarelli is twenty-nine, rather shy, angelically handsome, an antique clock collector, and a house painter. He's been to college, but he suffers from a mild case of Asperger's Syndrome, so life is often cluttered and disorderly. Zeke's parents love him dearly, but Don, his father has recently had a heart attack and his mother, Gwen is threatening to run away with Maurice, her new lover. They both want Zeke to give up his painting job, and help run their grocery shop. One morning, while painting the house of Gerald and Ariel Barrow, Zeke answers the door, and meets Verona Macintyre, a single, seven months pregnant, thirty seven-year-old London radio talk-show host. With suitcase in hand, she claims to be the niece of the absent owners, and after cooking dinner; she and Zeke spend the night together. The next morning Verona mysteriously vanishes, puzzlingly leaving her coveralls nailed to the floor. But it's all too late because Zeke is absolutely besotted, and instantly becomes obsessed with finding her. Life for Zeke is complicated: his Mother and Father are constantly hounding him, and his disability makes it hard to respond appropriately in social situations. It's as though two large figures are standing on either side of Zeke tugging - "to his left his non-niece whom he wants desperately to find," and to the right, his father, "who has left four messages and who now prefers a parrot to his son." Verona, failed to tell Zeke that Nigel and George, two thugs are harassing her; they're after her unscrupulous and capricious brother Henry. Henry, with his history of sociopathic lies and deceit, has recently got himself involved in a shady real estate deal and the creditors are demanding repayment. Verona flees to America to try to find him - " the boy born without a conscience," while Zeke continues to pine away in London. The remainder of the book alternates voices, as Zeke tries to reunite with Verona, and she, equally smitten, but on the run from her incompetent brother's pecuniary malfeasance, leads him on a far-from-merry chase to Boston and back to London. Zeke readily admits that he doesn't want to rewrite the past, he wants to rewrite the present; it's as if he were viewing, even the people he new best, "through a pane of glass." And part of the joy of this story is not just Zeke's transatlantic journey, but also his journey towards the world of self-confidence and self-assurance. Packed with nuances of everyday life, Livesey has created some totally amazing characters, who are constantly finding themselves in some unusual situations. Her observations on "the unknowable nature of people" are unsurpassed. For Zeke, life's observations are precious: "most things when you get close gradually reveal themselves - like clocks, doorbells, and trains - but humans only grow more puzzling with proximity." Banishing Verona is part eccentric comedy of manners, and also part statement on the difficulties of keeping and maintaining loving

Marvelous

Margot Livesey's Banishing Verona is simply a wonderful novel. The novel concerns the relationship between Zeke, a 29 year old painter and handyman who suffers from mild Asperger's Syndrome (similar to autism) and Verona, a single, pregnant woman in her mid-30s in contemporary London. Zeke's Asperger's makes it difficult for him to understand human relationships. He once asks a therapist why he has to always respond to people who greet him. "What if I don't feel like it?" He is painting a house at the beginning of the novel when he encounters Verona. The two share a connection that defies reason. She leaves the next day, but the two spend the next several weeks struggling to find one another. Zeke's difficulties with human relationships in general and his relationship with Verona in particular accentuate the notion that no one can understand human relationships. Some may be able to perform better on the surface than others, but in the end, don't we all behave badly? Banishing Verona is a marvelous, compelling read. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.

very entertaining read

I am giving Banishing Verona 5 stars because it is such an entertaining book. If you are having a reading slump, I highly recommend this to jump start your reading. The book tells the tale of a pregnant single woman named Verona, who meets a man named Zeke. Zeke has mild Aspergers syndrome, and in the course of a day or so, and under rather unusual conditions, they fall in love. They are separated, and spend the majority of the book trying to get back together. The middle of the book was my favorite part, and it dealt with the recollections and life of Verona's grandfather. That was the book I really wanted to read, and that story elevated this novel to 5 stars in my opinion. For me personally, I had trouble buying into the relationship between Verona and Zeke, although it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. So this book is recommended. It held my interest from page one, right through to the end.

Another beautiful novel by Margot Livesey!

Ever since I read The Missing World, Margot Livesey has been one of my all-time favorite authors. Her novels are often dark and thought-provoking, but with a prose so beautiful that you cannot put her books down. I couldn't wait to read another one of her novels. I am so glad I read Banishing Verona. Zeke is a twenty-nine-year-old house painter and handyman in London. He is described as having the face of a Raphael angel. But Zeke is not good at dealing with people. He possesses communication problems that are not unlike that of an autistic person. However, the appearance of a strange woman changes things in his life in dramatic ways. No sooner does Verona appear at the house that he is working on than she vanishes. Zeke soon finds himself in a cat and mouse chase, trying to track down Verona, while at the same time dealing with unfinished business regarding his family. There are various twists throughout the novel. Once again, Margot Livesey delivers a dark, beautiful novel that enthralls from beginning to end. This novel, while a little complex to describe in a short plot summary, is a literary marvel. It is in some ways better than Eva Moves the Furniture, my favorite Livesey novel. Zeke is a wonderful and abstruse character, and Verona is as elusive as a character could get. The development of the story is a little disjointed in the beginning, but falls into place quickly enough. There are a few disarming surprises in this novel that are not unlike the ones in Criminals and The Missing World, but without the shock factor of the aforementioned novels. The one thing I did not like in the story was how one of the characters settled in and was employed soon after arriving to Boston from London. That bit of the book is quite unrealistic. Other than that, Banishing Verona is a must-read in more ways than one. I urge readers to try Margot Livesey if they haven't done. She is without a doubt one of the best British writers of today.

Excellent writing, plus a real plot!

I was immediately drawn in by the characters, Zeke and Verona. I so much wanted their relationship to work out, that when at one point I wasn't sure it would, my "heart fell." They were totally alive to me, as were the supporting cast of parents, brothers and friends. The descriptions of the way Zeke responded to life were clear and fascinating. I was particularly charmed by his encounter with the nurse, Jill, and their few days together in Boston. There were a few tiny points that might have been hard to believe, such as Jill's beginning her work as a nurse the day after she arrived in Boston from London, but I accepted it all because it was so obvious that Livesey cared about her characters. I recommend this highly to anyone who has suffered through books whose characters' actions make no sense and through books that are written only to confuse the reader. In this case, I knew exactly how I was supposed to feel when it ended.