Book review: Solitaire by Kelly Eskridge
Aug. 11th, 2011 09:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kilroyPrint date: 2002 (20s: 1, 50s: 2, 60s: 4, 70s: 9, 80s: 8, 90s: 9, 00s: 23, 10s: 2)
Verdict: Keep. (39/96)
The day I finished this book I ended up having one of those deep, searching relationship conversations with my significant other and I kept referring back to things from it even though she hadn't read it. I'm not entirely sure what to make of that.
I tend to think of Solitaire as a companion piece to her partner's Slow River: both novels are about young women of privilege who have utterly horrible things happen to them and how they put themselves back together afterwards. This novel is a little more sociological, though, and a lot less bleak.
Although... the middle portion of the book involves the narrator being stuck in virtual solitary confinement for eight relative years. Unlike real solitary confinement, there isn't even the occasional flash of a hand or the sound of footsteps; she is utterly alone with her own thoughts, completely disconnected from any kind of context. She goes mad, and then mad again, and we get to watch her. It's harrowing. The book in general may be less bleak than Slow River, but that section leaves a mark.
It's a strange book narratively. When I started reading, I was asked several times "Oh, what's it about?" and I was utterly unable to answer. It seemed like it was maybe the story of a special girl, but the through-line wasn't obvious. Then the middle portion was like a series of punches to the face, just an emotional meat-grinder. And then the book ended with your textbook-standard dramatic climax and happy ending. It was compelling enough to keep me going throughout, but looking at the text as a whole leaves me thinking that certain threads could have been shaved off to make it leaner and meaner. Its edges aren't clearly defined.
Perhaps the book runs on empathy rather than plot. I like the characters I'm supposed to like, and love the characters I'm supposed to love. I took Jackal's journey to heart and felt what she felt. Certainly that's enough for me to keep this one.
Page count: 341 (20159 total)
Completed: 58 (27 female authors, 27 male authors, 4 anthology)
Rejected: 38 (23 male authors, 15 female authors)
Next book due Tuesday, August 30th-- giving myself a one-week extension because the book is 650 pages long and I have a busy few weeks.
Verdict: Keep. (39/96)
The day I finished this book I ended up having one of those deep, searching relationship conversations with my significant other and I kept referring back to things from it even though she hadn't read it. I'm not entirely sure what to make of that.
I tend to think of Solitaire as a companion piece to her partner's Slow River: both novels are about young women of privilege who have utterly horrible things happen to them and how they put themselves back together afterwards. This novel is a little more sociological, though, and a lot less bleak.
Although... the middle portion of the book involves the narrator being stuck in virtual solitary confinement for eight relative years. Unlike real solitary confinement, there isn't even the occasional flash of a hand or the sound of footsteps; she is utterly alone with her own thoughts, completely disconnected from any kind of context. She goes mad, and then mad again, and we get to watch her. It's harrowing. The book in general may be less bleak than Slow River, but that section leaves a mark.
It's a strange book narratively. When I started reading, I was asked several times "Oh, what's it about?" and I was utterly unable to answer. It seemed like it was maybe the story of a special girl, but the through-line wasn't obvious. Then the middle portion was like a series of punches to the face, just an emotional meat-grinder. And then the book ended with your textbook-standard dramatic climax and happy ending. It was compelling enough to keep me going throughout, but looking at the text as a whole leaves me thinking that certain threads could have been shaved off to make it leaner and meaner. Its edges aren't clearly defined.
Perhaps the book runs on empathy rather than plot. I like the characters I'm supposed to like, and love the characters I'm supposed to love. I took Jackal's journey to heart and felt what she felt. Certainly that's enough for me to keep this one.
Page count: 341 (20159 total)
Completed: 58 (27 female authors, 27 male authors, 4 anthology)
Rejected: 38 (23 male authors, 15 female authors)
Next book due Tuesday, August 30th-- giving myself a one-week extension because the book is 650 pages long and I have a busy few weeks.