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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Tess, David, Tazio and Anjelica arrive in New York City soon after 9/11. Fifteen years later David and Tess are married with two small boys,Tess having quit her first professional acting job to take care of her husband who is recovering from a brain injury. Meanwhile Tazio and Anjelica move towards formalizing a commitment to each other, while wrestling with demons that could derail their relationship. On top of all this Trump has just been elected which only adds to the general despondency in their lives.
The Body Politic is an interesting yet confusing novel that follows Tess and David, a married couple, along with Angelina and Tazio, a recently engaged couple. Tess, who has a history of severe trauma (having watched her father murder her mother) is a chronic cheater while David, who was trying to fix his marriage before the events of the novel begin, has had a debilitating fall which appears to have sparked an invisible chronic illness. The two of them have been best friends with the charismatic, alcoholic Tazio who has previously worked on the Edwards campaign and the Hilary campaign yet has a crisis of identity when both of his candidates lose. Angelica, his fiancé, has never allowed herself to get close to the married couple but when Tazio runs off, she begins to rely on the couple to help her through her own traumatic experience. I loved Angelina’s storyline, as it mirrors mine to the T. I felt sympathy with Tess as well, battling being a mother of 2 small children while going through a sever depression bout and becoming the primary caretaker of her family. I didn’t like the male characters in this novel at all. I thought they were selfish, weak men who were handed continual opportunities and they just threw said options away. I liked this novel but I felt like the storyline could have been pushed farther than it was.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Representation: Black-Thai biracial supporting/main character, Latino biracial supporting character, Latina side character, Trans woman side character and challenges ableism by the MC attempting to work through chronic pain
Single Sentence Review: A character-driven novel–albeit with a frustrating heroine–that unhesitantly confronts the darker realities of dealing with the instability of America post-Trump election and the resulting memories and trauma the election accentuates.
Read my FULL review on my blog:
Talk Nerdy Book Blog | The Body Politic Review
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Safety Rating (of the married couple, Tess and David): Not Safe
• Does have cheating (Tess has cheated on David multiple times and with little regret)
• Does have OM drama
— OM is David and Tess’s best friend, Tazio, who is a main supporting character
— Tess also recently cheated on David with a co-star
• Does have OW drama
— Tess feels like David’s new business partner wants to get with him... but decides to trust David (it’s left unresolved)
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing each other away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Witnessing the murder of a parent by another parent
• Depression
• Parental abandonment
• Physical abuse
• Rape
• Alcoholism
• Death of a parent
Ending:HFN... I guess.
Single Sentence Review: A character-driven novel–albeit with a frustrating heroine–that unhesitantly confronts the darker realities of dealing with the instability of America post-Trump election and the resulting memories and trauma the election accentuates.
Read my FULL review on my blog:
Talk Nerdy Book Blog | The Body Politic Review
Follow Me
Blog • Instagram • Goodreads • Facebook • BlogLovin'
Safety Rating (of the married couple, Tess and David): Not Safe
• Does have cheating (Tess has cheated on David multiple times and with little regret)
• Does have OM drama
— OM is David and Tess’s best friend, Tazio, who is a main supporting character
— Tess also recently cheated on David with a co-star
• Does have OW drama
— Tess feels like David’s new business partner wants to get with him... but decides to trust David (it’s left unresolved)
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing each other away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Witnessing the murder of a parent by another parent
• Depression
• Parental abandonment
• Physical abuse
• Rape
• Alcoholism
• Death of a parent
Ending:
Brian Platzer’s newest novel somehow managed to distill that feeling in the telling of the lives of these four friends: Tess, David, Tazio, and Angelica. Tess, an actress in New York, is caring for her husband as he struggles to recover from an accident. Not only is their relationship suffering because of David’s injury, but they are also struggling to overcome the effects of Tess’s infidelity as they raise their two young sons. Their best friend Tazio, who had worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has disappeared and left his fiancé Angelica wondering what made him leave. As we learn more about each of the four main characters, we delve into their own personal traumas that they have experienced and how those events influence the people they have become and how they interact in the various relationships in their lives.
The emotional impact of this novel is so striking. Brian Platzer manages to make his readers truly feel that hopelessness that the characters experience. 2016 was a very difficult year for me on a personal level and I know that it was for many of my peers as well. I had to grow up a lot that year and I felt many similar feelings that the characters in this novel went through. One of the main themes of this book is that of trauma and the effects that it can have on memory and with PTSD.
The emotional impact of this novel is so striking. Brian Platzer manages to make his readers truly feel that hopelessness that the characters experience. 2016 was a very difficult year for me on a personal level and I know that it was for many of my peers as well. I had to grow up a lot that year and I felt many similar feelings that the characters in this novel went through. One of the main themes of this book is that of trauma and the effects that it can have on memory and with PTSD.
A very interesting character study about a group of four friends whose personal lives intertwine with the state of politics in different ways. Platzer is a great writer and his style made the book more captivating.
This Body Politic begs the question that everything is inherently political. This book portrays that November 5, 2016 gut punched feeling in an extremely visceral way. The book covers a lot of ground in 320 pages. The characters are frustrating and the relationships are messy, but I think the strongest part is the depiction of chronic dizziness (own voices!) and mental health. How hard it is to live with it, how hard it is to be with someone living with it and the depression with knowing that things are just going to kind of be like this from now on. Platzer’s writing is unique and engrossing. I loved it and will be checking out his other work for sure.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This felt like an honest and candid book about the complex relationships often experienced in life - friendships, marriage, with parents and colleagues. There was no sugar coating here. Tess and David are struggling though the effects of David's accident. Both Tess and Angelica are healing from prior wounds. Tazio is complicated and also dealing with his past. I thought the effects of the current state of politics on each of the characters was interesting. Regardless of where you lie on the political spectrum, we are all affected by politics and can have strong emotions towards politicians and their supporters and it felt realistic to read about how these characters felt politically. The writing and timeline felt a little choppy to me. I had hard time fully understanding the sequence of each of the characters life events, since there were various flashbacks. I also ultimately did not connect with the characters as much as I need to to fully enjoy a book. But I did appreciate the honest and seemingly realistic portrayal of these four middle aged characters dealing with complicated and traumatic pasts.