Even before I finished it, I was desperate to read it again... This is, quite simply, the best book I've read in a long time. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, responding more to cover art than anything else, but wow, this was a shockingly wonderful surprise. This isn't a quick, easy read, and I mean that in the best possible way. The author uses this dark, brutal novel as an exercise in storytelling, narrative tropes, and reader involvement. Section to section, this story is told from every conceivable point of view, including first person, several instances of third person limited, and most surprising of all, second person. They all interlace to give the reader a well-rounded experience while he or she picks up clues and details and subtle nuances to compose a full picture of what really happened and why. In a weird way, it almost felt like the televisions series Lost at times, where the author would tell me something, then later on, I'd get the same event from a different perspective which would shed an entirely new light on what happened. I felt like a collector of brutal details and nuanced reveals as I read this book, desperate for every single tidbit. I read this book very slowly and even before I had finished it the first time, I wanted to read it again. It's the kind of book that you could read 5 times and pick up something new with every read.
Best of all, in conjunction with Valentine's unconventional narrative approach, her language is completely engrossing. Her words wash over you before you can fully comprehend their full impact. I got so immersed that when a line would come along that cut to the bone, it felt like I had to come up for air for a moment and really process what she'd said. I read somewhere that this book is like a punch in the gut, in the best possible way. I couldn't agree more. Each line is powerful and incisive without being overwrought or forced. Valentine doesn't foist some florid picture on readers using $10 words just because she can. She simply states things exactly the way they are, in the most searing and powerful way possible.
By the end of the book I was completely invested in every single character, even ones that I didn't think would factor into the story in a substantive way when I started. These aren't simply characters with simple motives. Valentine doesn't spoonfeed their agendas or thought processes. Even when you think you know why they are doing what they're doing, the truth is layered and murky in a way that keeps you on your toes, parsing each and every line for illuminating subtext. It's strange, all the while you're unsure of their motivations, all their actions make perfect sense in their own twisted way.
There are a million things I could say about this book, but to put it mildly, I'm in love. I don't think this is the kind of book everyone will love, but I think if this is the kind of book you respond to, you'll REALLY respond to it.
As a final sidenote, I have to point out that the representations of women in the novel are compelling and dark and strong. I am keenly attuned to representations of women in fiction and this is one of the few cases in which I was not only pleased, but thrilled. The women in this novel aren't perfect or impervious by any stretch, but they have enough layers that their flaws seem like far more than narrative ploys.
I don't often review books on Amazon, but I couldn't help but to write a love letter to Genevieve Valentine and her wonderful tale. I like a book that challenges me and this was a challenge in the most satisfying of ways. Kudos!
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