A sublime tale that explores theology with profundity and black comedy.
In this dark debut satire, a reputed prophet stirs up villagers living in a dystopian world that has banned God and religion.
People in Underhill are understandably shaken by the sudden appearance of Jem. She claims that God, who regularly speaks to her, told her to travel to their village. This is long after religion fueled “the Wars,” which ultimately killed billions. Consequently, religious beliefs and even saying the word Godare against this world’s Laws. But some villagers believe the new arrival is the voice of God, including Eileen, who begins writing Jem’s “prophet book.” Jem amasses followers, or Threads, as she preaches messages, the most significant one claiming God has chosen the inhabitants of Underhill to survive a worldwide Cleansing. But not everyone is a believer; Kat is a skeptic whose husband, Ed, and daughter become Threads. Kat sees this as a delusion that could turn dangerous. Ed, for example, works at the turbines, which provide Underhill with power. If the turbines start failing, Ed may simply neglect their care, assuming God will save Underhill. Tensions escalate as the Cleansing rapidly approaches. Jem’s prophecy, if disproven, will be disastrous for villagers who’ve spent months preparing for the event. Hailey delivers an effective and engrossing tale, set entirely in Underhill, that keeps things like the governing “authority” largely mysterious. Eileen and Kat, who alternate narrating, aptly showcase the diverse religious motivations. Some believers are searching for peace while others want merely to be part of something larger than themselves. The smooth, perceptive story is often somber, especially as Kat frustratingly can’t convince her family of her genuine concerns. But Eileen’s droll narration is laced with black humor; she habitually updates a “List of Enemies” (which includes heat) and considers her hands around someone’s throat a “warning gesture.” While the author’s powerful narrative questions many aspects of religion, it’s never disdainful, as it primarily criticizes individual interpretations.
A sublime tale that explores theology with profundity and black comedy.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-83800-431-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Watermark Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
A quick, biting critique of the publishing industry.
What happens when a midlist author steals a manuscript and publishes it as her own?
June Hayward and Athena Liu went to Yale together, moved to D.C. after graduation, and are both writers, but the similarities end there. While June has had little success since publication and is struggling to write her second novel, Athena has become a darling of the publishing industry, much to June’s frustration. When Athena suddenly dies, June, almost accidentally, walks off with her latest manuscript, a novel about the World War I Chinese Labour Corps. June edits the novel and passes it off as her own, and no one seems the wiser, but once the novel becomes a smash success, cracks begin to form. When June faces social media accusations and staggering writer’s block, she can’t shake the feeling that someone knows the truth about what she’s done. This satirical take on racism and success in the publishing industry at times veers into the realm of the unbelievable, but, on the whole, witnessing June’s constant casual racism and flimsy justifications for her actions is somehow cathartic. Yes, publishing is like this; finally someone has written it out. At times, the novel feels so much like a social media feed that it’s impossible to stop reading—what new drama is waiting to unfold. and who will win out in the end? An incredibly meta novel, with commentary on everything from trade reviews to Twitter, the ultimate message is clear from the start, which can lead to a lack of nuance. Kuang, however, does manage to leave some questions unanswered: fodder, perhaps, for a new tweetstorm.
A quick, biting critique of the publishing industry.Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9780063250833
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An uncompromising message, delivered via a gripping story with two engaging heroines.
An undergraduate at Brown University unearths the buried history of a Latine artist.
As in her bestselling debut, Olga Dies Dreaming (2022), Gonzalez shrewdly anatomizes racial and class hierarchies. Her bifurcated novel begins at a posh art-world party in 1985 as the title character, a Cuban American land and body artist, garners recognition that threatens the ego of her older, more famous husband, white minimalist sculptor Jack Martin. The story then shifts to Raquel Toro, whose working-class, Puerto Rican background makes her feel out of place among the “Art History Girls” who easily chat with professors and vacation in Europe. Nonetheless, in the spring of 1998, Raquel wins a prestigious summer fellowship at the Rhode Island School of Design, and her faculty adviser is enthusiastic about her thesis on Jack Martin, even if she’s not. Soon she’s enjoying the attentions of Nick Fitzsimmons, a well-connected, upper-crust senior. As Raquel’s story progresses, Anita’s first-person narrative acquires a supernatural twist following the night she falls from the window of their apartment —“jumped? or, could it be, pushed?”—but it’s grimly realistic in its exploration of her toxic relationship with Jack. (A dedication, “In memory of Ana,” flags the notorious case of sculptor Carl Andre, tried and acquitted for the murder of his wife, artist Ana Mendieta.) Raquel’s affair with Nick mirrors that unequal dynamic when she adapts her schedule and appearance to his whims, neglecting her friends and her family in Brooklyn. Gonzalez, herself a Brown graduate, brilliantly captures the daily slights endured by someone perceived as Other, from microaggressions (Raquel’s adviser refers to her as “Mexican”) to brutally racist behavior by the Art History Girls. While a vividly rendered supporting cast urges Raquel to be true to herself and her roots, her research on Martin leads to Anita’s art and the realization that she belongs to a tradition that’s been erased from mainstream art history.
An uncompromising message, delivered via a gripping story with two engaging heroines.Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781250786210
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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