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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
Roughly, the story is told by a sister about a brother who is one of those "lost" cult rock artists. In this case, her brother has not only been recording in obscurity, but he has created a personal mythology around his works, with his own archive of fake bands, fake reviews, fake interviews. It is very plausible, for good reason: Spiotta got the idea of the story from the creative (non-)career of her stepfather. It's good stuff. I enjoyed reading it.
Dana Spiotta is a great writer of words, but I'm afraid this has some writerly tricks to create closure where there isn't much.
So, without doing spoilers: A classic writer's trick to create a sense of closure / finish / "ending"by shifting the narrative in some way at the end. Spiotta does it twice. Toward the end she has her narrator revisit a relatively minor incident; and then at the end there's a time-shift. These are supposed to provide some "ahas" for the reader, or at least puzzles -- but I don't think she pulls it off.
I think the thematic continuities between the bulk of the story and the ending(s) are pretty weak, and that in some sense this novel is a bit of a placeholder in a distinguished career.
Having said that:
If you're interested in any of the following: the history of rock and its cult heroes; the 1970s and 80s; California; family relationships; menopause . . . read it.
Dana Spiotta is a great writer of words, but I'm afraid this has some writerly tricks to create closure where there isn't much.
So, without doing spoilers: A classic writer's trick to create a sense of closure / finish / "ending"by shifting the narrative in some way at the end. Spiotta does it twice. Toward the end she has her narrator revisit a relatively minor incident; and then at the end there's a time-shift. These are supposed to provide some "ahas" for the reader, or at least puzzles -- but I don't think she pulls it off.
I think the thematic continuities between the bulk of the story and the ending(s) are pretty weak, and that in some sense this novel is a bit of a placeholder in a distinguished career.
Having said that:
If you're interested in any of the following: the history of rock and its cult heroes; the 1970s and 80s; California; family relationships; menopause . . . read it.
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A sister examines the wild, free, and edgy youth she and her brother had growing up in Southern California in the 70s.
When did she make the transition from freewheeling party-girl to worrying caregiver to mother and brother? When--and why-- did Nik, her wildly creative brother, turn all of his creative impulses inward? Is caregiving any less genuine when it's reluctant? Is creativity any less meaningful when the intended audience is...nobody?
And what's with the title?
Stone Arabia is a book of questions which is, like Spiotta's other novels, brilliantly written and utterly compelling.
When did she make the transition from freewheeling party-girl to worrying caregiver to mother and brother? When--and why-- did Nik, her wildly creative brother, turn all of his creative impulses inward? Is caregiving any less genuine when it's reluctant? Is creativity any less meaningful when the intended audience is...nobody?
And what's with the title?
Stone Arabia is a book of questions which is, like Spiotta's other novels, brilliantly written and utterly compelling.
Middle age, memory & music - and a sister's love for her brother. I really loved it.
What an odd novel. Nik Worth is a 50-year-old bartender who mooches off his sister, Denise. In the 70's, Nik and his band almost made it big and after his period of "almost famous" status dies out, Nik continues making music under several fictional bands and eventually creating a collection of fake documents he calls “The Chronicles.” Even as his real life stagnated into loneliness and poverty, he wrote Rolling Stone profiles of himself, Los Angeles Times reviews of his music (good and bad), fan magazines and newsletters. lol
He created his own concert posters and album covers. He wrote lyrics and recorded his own CDs. Over time, “The Chronicles” grew to more than 30 volumes of faux history that describe the lifework of a musical colossus on a par with Elvis complete with all the usual news about band breakups, court-ordered rehab, divorce and paparazzi photos.
Hilarious!!!
Denise's daughter Ada, decides to make a film about Nik and everything crumbles. This wasn't the greatest book I read, but I did get a good laugh out of Nik's craziness. lol
He created his own concert posters and album covers. He wrote lyrics and recorded his own CDs. Over time, “The Chronicles” grew to more than 30 volumes of faux history that describe the lifework of a musical colossus on a par with Elvis complete with all the usual news about band breakups, court-ordered rehab, divorce and paparazzi photos.
Hilarious!!!
Denise's daughter Ada, decides to make a film about Nik and everything crumbles. This wasn't the greatest book I read, but I did get a good laugh out of Nik's craziness. lol
Spiotta is a beautiful writer, but this is the second book of hers that seemed to fall flat for me near the end. It feels like there's more story and she just cuts it off, then goes back and half heartedly ties it up.
I'm a sucker for fictionalized, found chronologies anyway.