Restoration Review: This Emotional, Detailed Story Ultimately Feels Unbalanced

Restoration by Carol Davis is an emotionally heavy novel. Following Risa Meier, it’s a portrait, a small snapshot, into her life.

Risa lives with her longtime boyfriend, Hiro, and works as an architect in San Francisco — as far away as possible from the toxic environment she grew up in in New York.

Together, the two have a happy, normal, and quiet life, something Risa had only dreamed of as a child.

Yet that life begins to fracture the minute Risa’s mother, Helen, reappears in her life.

The pair have a rocky relationship and haven’t been close since Risa was small, when Helen left, upending Risa’s childhood and childhood home. Never quite understanding why her mother was sent away, Risa remains somewhat cold and distant, while her mother is needy, often immature, and increasingly dependent on alcohol to dull her emotional pain.

Meanwhile, Risa’s latest architectural project, a new gallery space transformed from an old auto body shop, takes up much of her time. She specializes in architectural restoration, breathing new life into old spaces without diminishing their past.

After experiencing a personal loss, Risa can feel herself unraveling slightly. Thankfully, Hiro is there for her; he is the one constant in her life. She powers on as the gallery is set to open soon.

The night of the grand opening, Helen nearly ruins everything with her alcohol-induced outbursts in front of dozens of important and influential guests. Risa is embarrassed and says things she later regrets that ultimately lead to Helen taking her own life.

Here, the novel takes a turn. Going through another devasting loss, this time, Risa cannot handle the pain and the guilt. She accepts a short-term position working to restore a crumbling barn in the English countryside, seeking any chance to escape her life.

She settles in well enough in a small cottage on the same property as the barn, meeting the contractors and others she’ll be working with on this project. The barn is made with many stones that were part of an ancient stone circle, until farmers in past centuries tore them down.

The locals believe the barn is imbued with elements of the supernatural and otherworldly forces. Risa scoffs at this, and some tensions ensue.

Her skepticism aside, Risa is welcomed by the earnest villagers and soon becomes close with Reggie, a young, energetic, and passionate man who works at his parents’ pub. She feels guilty, though, when she considers Hiro, who is waiting for her back home in California.

Will she start a new life in England, or will Risa heal enough to face her past and return to San Francisco? How will the restoration — both of the barn and of her spirit — occur, if she doesn’t completely commit to either?

These questions carry us through much of the rest of the novel. As the nearly 400 pages come to a close, however, some elements feel unresolved.

One of the most captivating aspects of this story is Risa’s childhood and adolescence, but we don’t get much of a glimpse into it. The descriptions of how uncaring her father was are visceral. Her determination to forge a better life for herself is inspiring, if bleak.

Some details are revealed, slowly, as the book uncovers its secrets.

Restoration introduces and explores many relationships, some through flashbacks, yet none of them feel ultimately resolved in the end.

An example of this is Risa and her brother Max. The two haven’t seen each other for years, ever since Max, who is older, left home when their stepmother’s hateful reign over their home became too much to bear.

Early on in the book, Risa discovers her mother has received a letter from Max. Later, Risa herself receives a letter from him. And the story never lets us know what was in it.

Often aloof and standoffish, Risa’s treatment of the people in her life can come across as distasteful. Certainly, no one wants a perfect protagonist — that would be boring — but a largely unlikeable one makes it hard to connect and emphasize with.

Plus, readers are constantly made aware — bombarded, even — with how Risa feels, what emotions she’s experiencing, what she’s thinking. These descriptions bog down the overall story, leaving readers to wonder about character development.

We get to know how Risa is feeling intimately, but we don’t necessarily get to know her.

Additionally, there are only a couple of instances where the story’s action sweeps readers away, because there isn’t much, aside from a truly bizarre dream sequence.

Risa experiences visions and mythical adventures over the course of one night. This supernatural element, introduced late in the story, makes readers sit up in their seats, but it’s out of place. There is nothing else like it in the story, hints here and there, and only while Risa is in the English countryside.

Starting off one way, then twisting and turning, this novel isn’t really sure of what it wants to be. This identity crisis causes it to discredit itself slightly; it’s as if it’s trying to cram too much into one narrative.

As more than half of the story takes place in England, the writing is expressive and the landscapes are vividly realized no matter the setting, England or California. There is a coziness infused into many scenes, and the book’s strengths lie in setting and description.

Restoration is a book to savor; it encourages readers to slow down and to really feel. It is certainly character driven, rather than plot driven.

While Restoration concludes on a happy note, it doesn’t solve or even address all of its depressing elements. The mother-daughter relationship ends badly, with no chance of reconciliation — ever.

Risa’s father has already died by the time the story begins, so there’s no chance of reuniting happily with that parent, either. Not that we’d want that, based on his heinous behavior.

But Risa deserves some sort of closure — and so do we. The letter from her estranged brother is only visible to her. This novel reveals all in time, so why not the contents of this letter?

Even the subplot with the barn feels incomplete. Risa begins to accept — and feel — the currents running through it, and suddenly her work is finished. She leaves to return to California and her life with Hiro, returning when it’s completely restored.

And speaking of Hiro, he simply deserves better. Risa is unmoving compared to his compassion, steadfastness, and solidness. Their relationship, much like the novel itself, never quite feels in balance.

Restoration is Davis’ debut novel. She certainly has a knack for setting a time and place, for realizing the emotional depth of her characters.

We’d love for her to show more than tell when it comes to emotions and add just a bit more action. Even exploring more than a touch of the supernatural would have been welcome, done right, which Davis demonstrates she could handle.

Restoration publishes Sept. 29.

 

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