Book Review: Self-Portrait With Nothing

 

Self-Portrait With Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka 

Goodreads Description: Abandoned as an infant on the local veterinarian’s front porch, Pepper Rafferty was raised by two loving mothers, and now at thirty-six is married to the stable, supportive Ike. She’s never told anyone that at fifteen she discovered the identity of her biological mother.

That’s because her birth mother is Ula Frost, a reclusive painter famous for the outrageous claims that her portraits summon their subjects’ doppelgangers from parallel universes.

Researching the rumors, Pepper couldn’t help but wonder: Was there a parallel universe in which she was more confident, more accomplished, better able to accept love? A universe in which Ula decided she was worth keeping? A universe in which Ula’s rejection didn’t still hurt too much to share?

My Review: What a weird little book. 

If I had to sum up this book in a single word, it would be: contrived. Everything in this book is so forced that it was difficult to read at times. Characters often acted against their own established motivation in order to advance the plot. Pepper, the main character, acts on flimsy assumptions that turn out to be correct, making it feel like she's pulling answers out of thin air. She also comes across as a Mary-Sue in the sense that nearly every character falls over themselves to help her. Characters she's never met approach her with critical plot information because she "seems nice." Some even wait on her hand and foot, literally, like in the scene where a supporting character rubs Pepper's feet. Her boyfriend has no life outside her, people fall over themselves to help her for no reason-- after a certain point, it all started to feel a little narcissistic. Perhaps this story works as wish-fulfillment for people who dream of being the center of the universe, but it just reminded me that this was some writer's fantasy, which kept pulling me out of the story. 

It's a shame, too, because there's an interesting idea at the core of this story -- painted portraits as portals to parallel worlds-- but sadly Pokwatka doesn't do anything interesting with this concept. It ends up being a lame excuse to make clones, as Pepper soon finds herself overrun with multiple versions of her mother. This could have been an interesting analysis of motherhood -- how does each version respond to Pepper, and what does that say about her relationship with the mother from her own universe? Instead of exploring the concept with any depth, the book focuses on the 'wacky hijinks' of a bunch of clones who need to do a Serious Job™ yet can't stop fighting like the Three Stooges.

TL;DR: All in all, 2/5 stars. A great concept wasted through a horribly contrived execution.

Book Review: The Buried Giant

 

 

 

Book Review: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro 

 

Goodreads Description: "You've long set your heart against it, Axl, I know. But it's time now to think on it anew. There's a journey we must go on, and no more delay..."

The Buried Giant begins as a couple set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen in years.

Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel in nearly a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge, and war.

 

My Review: Ugh. That's all that comes to mind when I think of this book. Just, ugh. I WISH before I'd picked it up that it was mentioned SOMEWHERE that this book is based on Arthurian folklore. I've never been a fan of Arthurian-style stories (the only exception being Monty Python) and would have never picked it up had I known this was the case. However, I did finish it, and while I was very unsatisfied on the whole, Ishiguro's writing style was enigmatic enough to keep my attention. I'd be interested in checking out more of Ishiguro's work just based on his use of language and atmosphere; I just wish this wasn't my first introduction to him.

A lot of the faults in this book could be attributed to its Arthurian style -- but perhaps that's my bias showing. The book is slow, it's boring. It fully embodies the traits of a mythical knight's tale, with plenty of armored men standing around, preaching about honour and chivalry. The characters felt less like people and more like archetypes serving a role, which made the story feel wooden. There are certainly some gems within the text, like the dynamic tension and intimacy between the married couple, but these small sparks are drowned out by the blandness surrounding it. I'd hoped that the ending and the reveal of the mystery -- why the mist made people forget-- would compensate for the boring journey to get there, but that sadly wasn't the case. Unfortunately, the book was utterly flavourless and not worth sinking my teeth into. 

TL;DR: All in all, 2/5 stars. A bland Arthurian journey story with a lackluster ending.

Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society

Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi 

Goodreads Description: When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls "an animal rights organization." Tom's team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.

It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society that's found its way to the alternate world. Others have, too--and their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

My Review: Oh man, this book was so much fun. It's a perfect dose of wish-fulfillment to combat how fucking depressing the world is these days. There's another world filled with wonder and majesty and kaijus? Jobs that offer stability, community, a decent salary, BENEFITS?? And to top it off, the corporate cronies destroying our environment and taking advantage of workers finally get what's coming to them? Sign me the fuck up! 

This book calls back to the old days of sci-fi, with a dose of hearty science and expansive world-building. The narrative doesn't linger on the science aspects, but it does offer more technical explanations than many other modern sci-fi novels, which may be a hit for nerdy world-building types. I was particularly fascinated with the science behind the kaijus, as they're often described as living worlds unto themselves. The book also dives into multiple ethical quandaries that are deeply applicable to our own world: should unregulated capitalism be allowed to reek havoc on the natural world? How much does corporatism influence science? How do we balance our needs while being environmentally sustainable? While these questions are explored throughout the text, at its core, this book is a wish-fulfillment fantasy that doesn't dive too deep into introspection. Most of the characters are fairly static, including Jamie himself, who doesn't learn a lesson or grow over the course of the story. Jamie functions as an everyman who has been screwed over by late stage capitalism in a way most of us can relate to, and serves as stand-in that readers can project themselves onto. Because of that, he doesn't come with much personality, or goals, or purpose of his own besides paying his rent. But this lack of dimension doesn't hurt the book at all, as it allows readers to turn their brain off as they wrangle some wily kaiju and take back a sense of control. 

TL;DR: All in all, 4/5 stars. A delightful action-comedy romp with heavy world-building and a heart of gold.