reading novels from the goodreads’ choice awards, part three
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Nominated for Best Horror
1/5
[The end of this review contains spoilers.]
Starting off strong! I'm just confused, I guess. Look, it has been a bit since I've read through a good chunk of mystery-thrillers, and when beginning this novel, I was basically an amateur. I'd lost all my ability to predict the endings of mysteries on the first page, but gained the same skill for horrible romances and fantasy instead.
Hidden Pictures starts off with Mallory Quinn, a recovering addict, when she gets hired to be a babysitter for Teddy Maxwell, son of Ted and Caroline Maxwell. Teddy appears to be a very gifted artist, until he starts drawing curiously specific images of gruesome, murderous acts. To this, Mallory decides to forget what's good for her and investigate the possibly supernatural forces behind this unusual occurrence.
Before getting into the pretentious part of my reviews—the criticism or praise on writing, pacing, etc—let's discuss the plot. It was actually mind-boggling how many times Mallory failed to have basic common sense. Scene upon scene she was delving into loopholes she was warned multiple times to shy away from, which by itself would have been fine, until she would voluntarily spill all the details about what she was doing to those who warned her. And then had to think long and hard about how those people weren't exactly pleased. Oh, I wonder why. On top of that, she was annoyingly confused about whether Teddy was okay or not? First of all, I'm supposed to be confused, not you. Second, what do you mean you didn't know? He was enlarging in inhuman ways? Demonstrating stupid talent for a five-year old? Acting in a suspicious manner?
But obviously, she doesn't do anything substantial to solve the problem. She's Mallory, after all. She's going to do the dishes for the billionth time while daydreaming about that dumb landscaper guy she compulsively lied to [not that her lying wasn't justified, it's normal to be insecure; I just didn't want to hear it so many times].
The writing was not bad, not special. Neither was the pacing. The suspense was okay, until I stopped trying to suspend my disbelief and raged a little too much about the sheer impossibility of anything like this novel happening today.
Lastly, Hidden Pictures left me with a bad taste in my mouth, primarily because of the plot twist at the end quite possibly referencing transphobic sentiments. Basically, the child, Teddy, is revealed to be born as and identify as a girl. This concludes to simultaneously show how the parents, Caroline and Ted, stole the kid and forced her to transition for their own evil mafia agenda, or something [it was actually because of fertility problems, but it is never really developed much and just felt like an easy cop out]. Personally, this makes me uncomfortable because the idea that trans people, with a focus on trans kids, are not actually trans but just confused is a very popular conservative or transphobic talking point. Teddy being taken away from the "bad people," who were also described as being progressive, and back to her home where she could live her "natural life" as a girl coincides way too much with the traditional transphobic rhetoric for me to like it.
Besides the subtext, the plot twist was also horrifically bad and left millions of loopholes. Maybe Rekulak got too carried away with his "agenda" that he forgot to have common sense (like Mallory! And they say writers don't project).
2. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Nominated for Best Romance
1/5
Another banger, clearly. Every Summer After follows main character Persephone Fraser, who used to spend summers at Barry's Bay, a small town. At Barry's Bay she met the Floreks, the family who lived next door, and became good friends and eventually, one half of a couple, with the younger son, Sam. Now, she lives perpetually in the city, shying away from any mention of those summers, until she answers a call that urges her to come back to the town. The novel covers six summers with Percy [and Sam], a huge blow-up, and one weekend twelve years later.
I don’t even want to talk about this book. It genuinely started off so well, though the immediate attraction both physically and emotionally was boring. The characters were set up fine, they both seemed to have decent personalities, the premise was remotely believable—all more than I needed and, honestly, expected for a contemporary romance novel.
And then it all fell apart. The switches between present day and how-many-ever years ago, always during the summer, became yawn-inducing and uninteresting. I became more and more impatient, waiting for the end to come because I didn’t really care about their past, I just wanted to know what was going to happen in their immediate future. The pacing dragged on as the pages progressed, and the content just was not gripping enough to continue.
Also, the plot twist is absolutely horrendous. I am not sure what possessed Fortune to choose this demented combination of classic romance tropes, but I'm absolutely aghast. Beyond what was happening, let's talk about the whos in this situation, because I genuinely have no words. The twist was so out of character for Percy [and the other character(s)] that when I first read through it I didn't even believe it was happening. It was a joke, plain and simple. Please, I'm waiting for the second draft.
Finally, I'm not a huge fan of the short time period the novel took place over—I know they had history, and technically it spanned years, but the present day happenings only took up a few days which made me doubt a lot of the feelings and the long-term possibilities of it all.
I don't recommend this book, but I think that's just for someone like me because I'm sure someone out there will like it. Actually I know someone out there likes it. Just look at the Goodreads average star rating.
3. Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
Nominated for Best Fantasy
5/5
It's really admirable when you read a piece of fiction—or nonfiction really, any sort of writing—and can immediately tell and understand the amount of work and research the author put in. That kind of feeling is pervasive throughout Babel, and the attention to detail and intricacies is unsurprising when considering R.F. Kuang. As she is also the author of the widely acclaimed The Poppy War Trilogy, I had incredibly high expectations for her new standalone. And Babel certainly did not disappoint.
Babel investigates an altered version of Victorian England, where translators are instrumental and in the spotlight. The novel is a thick one, exploring a multitude of concepts including but not limited to European industrialization, colonialism by the West, and the complexities of the class system. The pages are rich with obscure facts about the art of translation, true due to the fact that Kuang herself is a translator. I was learning something as I read the 545 pages, and that made me feel so much more accomplished—especially because this only added to the enjoyment of the novel. The writing is amazing, but that's no surprise because Kuang is known for her ability to maneuver language, and should be rightfully commended.
It is important to note that while Babel takes inspiration from past events and follows a real historical timeline, it is not an exactly accurate retelling. Kuang takes liberty in introducing fantastical elements—officially making Babel a fantasy—and in my opinion, enhances the already existing tendrils of knowledge packed in the past.
I would recommend Babel to those who are intense fans of Kuang previously, as well as those who generally like the dark academia aesthetic. Books that I believe share the same general mood, to differing extents, are The Secret History by Donna Tartt, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, and The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake. I would recommend taking these comparisons with a large grain of salt.
4. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Nominated for Best Debut
4/5
Kaikeyi is less a novel and more a love letter to ancient Indian [religious] mythology. Just as Patel describes her listening to her grandparents recall and dispute the classic stories, I too remember hearing the same epics from my own relatives. While the obvious artistic creativity taken with Kaikeyi has been debated in prior reviews, I am personally pro-author interpretation. I believe Patel's judgment of the mythology is true to her own opinions and generally respectful—there is really nothing more to say about that.
The novel centers on Kaikeyi, a character largely disregarded in the traditional scripts. As the daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she sees and hears stories of the world's evils and concurrent benevolence, the gods' place and character, and more. The text is almost a coming-of-age, traveling with Kaikeyi as she battles with her past and grows into her adult self.
I absolutely loved the plot, regardless of the inconsistencies other reviewers seem to relish in picking on. I'm here to say, for the millionth time, that this is a retelling or a reimagining and it doesn't have to be exactly the same as the traditional texts. Also, even the traditional texts differ in details because of speaker and perspective, so why should it matter for Kaikeyi? Regardless, I loved seeing Kaikeyi's interactions with her family—especially her twin—and her friends, and seeing her grow through her new ability and learn about the world around her was a wonderful experience.
The audiobook made the novel doubly better. Narrated by Soneela Nankani, Nankani's voice is so soothing and true to Kaikeyi's character voice that I was immediately relaxed. It's really easy to make a terrible audiobook, and the great listening time this provided is definitely a plus in the novel and its creators' directions.
I would recommend this novel to people who were unhealthily obsessed with Percy Jackson when they were in elementary and middle school, and those who were horribly distraught by reading any one of Madeline Miller's novels.