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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
You gotta love a book written by an author who apparently attends a Baptist church (in the acknowledgments?) but can write such a rollicking book about the Hindu gods/goddesses stories. What a great book about a flawed mother/daughter dyad. The main character was definitely flawed but in ways that were so true to how she was brought up. It almost couldn't have been any other way. I've pretty much loved everything Joshilyn Jackson has written - I hope she's prolific, keep em comin, I'll read whatever you write!!!!
I'm always gonna be a sucker for a Joshilyn Jackson novel - artful storytelling, characters with a little bite to them, and something daring about the risks she takes in her writing. Plus, she was silly and dramatic and unpretentious when I heard her read at the Word of South festival, which makes her more fun to recommend and gives me hope that Southern women writers can keep interrupting and disrupting literary elitism.
I extremely dislike this book.
Someone else called this "the opposite of a good book," and I'm like PREACH.
Someone else called this "the opposite of a good book," and I'm like PREACH.
Meet Paula Vauss (or meet her again, if you've read [b:Someone Else's Love Story|17349119|Someone Else's Love Story|Joshilyn Jackson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415586564s/17349119.jpg|24034796]). She's a tough divorce lawyer who voluntarily takes pro bono cases involving abused street girls. She was born blue-skinned with the umbilical cord around her neck, which prompted her mother to name her Kali after the Hindu goddess (how "Paula" ended up on her birth certificate is a whole other story). She is deliberately promiscuous, always ending a relationship the moment before she starts to care. She is sharp-edged at best, and at her best angry. She hasn't spoken to her mother Kai in a decade and despairs of ever being forgiven. Now here to rock her world is news that the woman is dying and that Paula might have more family than only Kai, if she can only track her mother down. For this, she employs Zach Birdwine, a PI who knows his job when he's sober and falls off the wagon at least yearly. He's also one of her exes; they were together just long enough for Paula to start possibly caring.
In many ways, this novel is classic Joshilyn Jackson: a story of dysfunctional people whose lives intersect all over the place. Some secondary characters are more outlandish than others, yet their human foundation keeps me believing in their reality. As always, Jackson's dialogue sings and crackles and all-around delights with its genuineness, and her narrative voice gives me craft envy.
But in other ways, this book makes me wonder if Jackson somehow read my 2-star review of her last book and actually decided not to repeat the things that angered some of her readers (minority though we were).
First of all, this book does not feature a pull-the-rug-out POV cheat masquerading as a clever twist. In fact, it doesn't really feature any twist. Not that it's predictable, but the characters come first, and these characters are who they are. When things happen as they happen, the reader gets to say, aha, yes rather than what the--?! It's a great improvement.
Second, Jackson somehow manages to be more tasteful with the sexual content in this book (about a woman who is ticked off at herself for wanting monogamy with someone) than she was in the last book (about a woman who claims to have had a child via immaculate conception). Part of me wonders if this isn't a deliberate joke of the author's (and if so, I begrudgingly tip my hat to her wit; but I still won't read Shandi's book again). I wanted to like Paula's book, didn't really expect to, and then ... did. Despite the fact that Paula's solution to her life spinning out of control is If I go sleep with an ex, I'll be myself again and things will be fine.
I think the reason for this is a simple one: Paula changes. That in a nutshell is why I enjoyed this book so much. Both Paula and Birdwine have serious dysfunction in their lives, yet both of them learn and grow in this story. By the end, I can root for their future as a couple, because Jackson has sown the hope that they will keep on getting healthier and they will end up okay. The same goes for other relationships in the book, especially Paula's with her unexpected family. They all have a long way to go, but Jackson makes us care about their journey and makes us believe they will get there. This one goes on my keeper shelf.
In many ways, this novel is classic Joshilyn Jackson: a story of dysfunctional people whose lives intersect all over the place. Some secondary characters are more outlandish than others, yet their human foundation keeps me believing in their reality. As always, Jackson's dialogue sings and crackles and all-around delights with its genuineness, and her narrative voice gives me craft envy.
But in other ways, this book makes me wonder if Jackson somehow read my 2-star review of her last book and actually decided not to repeat the things that angered some of her readers (minority though we were).
First of all, this book does not feature a pull-the-rug-out POV cheat masquerading as a clever twist. In fact, it doesn't really feature any twist. Not that it's predictable, but the characters come first, and these characters are who they are. When things happen as they happen, the reader gets to say, aha, yes rather than what the--?! It's a great improvement.
Second, Jackson somehow manages to be more tasteful with the sexual content in this book (about a woman who is ticked off at herself for wanting monogamy with someone) than she was in the last book (about a woman who claims to have had a child via immaculate conception). Part of me wonders if this isn't a deliberate joke of the author's (and if so, I begrudgingly tip my hat to her wit; but I still won't read Shandi's book again). I wanted to like Paula's book, didn't really expect to, and then ... did. Despite the fact that Paula's solution to her life spinning out of control is If I go sleep with an ex, I'll be myself again and things will be fine.
I think the reason for this is a simple one: Paula changes. That in a nutshell is why I enjoyed this book so much. Both Paula and Birdwine have serious dysfunction in their lives, yet both of them learn and grow in this story. By the end, I can root for their future as a couple, because Jackson has sown the hope that they will keep on getting healthier and they will end up okay. The same goes for other relationships in the book, especially Paula's with her unexpected family. They all have a long way to go, but Jackson makes us care about their journey and makes us believe they will get there. This one goes on my keeper shelf.
Joshilyn Jackson has become an author whose books I read as soon as I can get my hands on them. I think this is about the sixth book of hers that I've read and enjoyed. They are all well-plotted, the characters are interesting, and they read quickly while nailing some deeper emotions and subjects than the lightness of the tone suggests. While there are similarities, this isn't formulaic stuff. Each story is unique and stands alone. Here, a loner divorce lawyer is forced to reconsider her lone wolf status as family and love come poking into her carefully organized life. A friend of mine described the writing here as "effortless" and that about captures it. She is able to write scenes ranging from a foster home to a client meeting in ways that get right to the heart of the interaction. Very enjoyable book and I also enjoyed hearing the author narrate it herself for the audio version.
Paula Vauss is a ruthless, take-no-prisoners divorce attorney - if your soon-to-be ex-spouse is somehow breaking into your house and peeing in your makeup to mess with you, she is the one you want on your side. Unfortunately, almost no one knows how fragile she is on the topic of family. Raised by a hippie-wannabe-Hindu-but-actually-more-like-a-white-Southern-gypsy, Paula was actually named Kali after the Hindu mother goddess. She never knew who her father was (or what her race is - she's a mix of something but has never been sure what), and her mom, Kai, raises her in a roving hippie lifestyle, moving from town to town, from boyfriend to boyfriend, always the two of them a team that can't be destroyed...until Paula does something that seems unforgiveable, and the two are torn apart for decades. Paula has toughened herself up, but when a cryptic note comes from Kai indicating that she'll be dying soon, Paula sort of falls apart. And then she has to put herself back together when a series of really unexpected family secrets are exposed, and she has to get everything back in order - her career, her love life, and the family she never thought she'd have.
I love every book this woman puts to page, but I think this one might be her very best. The pace of the story is always driving forward, forward, forward - much like Paula herself. It's a mystery and a family drama all rolled into one, told both in the present day and in flashbacks to her life with Kai as Kali. I've always said Between, Georgia was my favorite of JJ's books - and it is definitely at the top for me, in large part because I identify so strongly with Nonny - but on a storytelling craft level? This book is the best book she's ever written. And that is high praise coming from someone who has loved all of her books!
I love every book this woman puts to page, but I think this one might be her very best. The pace of the story is always driving forward, forward, forward - much like Paula herself. It's a mystery and a family drama all rolled into one, told both in the present day and in flashbacks to her life with Kai as Kali. I've always said Between, Georgia was my favorite of JJ's books - and it is definitely at the top for me, in large part because I identify so strongly with Nonny - but on a storytelling craft level? This book is the best book she's ever written. And that is high praise coming from someone who has loved all of her books!
This was an easy read but felt a little long to me. I was originally fairly invested. Paula/Kali has become an impressively successful lawyer despite her horrific upbringing, and I appreciated that storyline. I definitely enjoy the trope of the tough girl softening to something you’d assume she doesn’t care about. In this case though, it was a little too much. I think maybe if it was a little shorter I would have continued to enjoy it, but having so many different storylines really pulled me away. By the time I got to the conclusion, I had already known how it would end for a good while and was just waiting for it to actually happen. The writing is casual and feels like fluff, (and the phrase “sotto voce” is used at least three times) but the topics felt deserving of something more serious.
I hope there's a sequel to this novel. I really want to know what happens with / to Kali / Paula and her new found siblings and Birdwine, of course! Kali is an established lawyer - despite being raised by a mother that was essentially nomadic. I really like Ms. Jackson's novels. I can't say they fit in with any other books I read and I'm not sure how to describe them. The novel gods in Alabama is still my favorite. I described it the other day as really good and truly different - Southern Fried ODD! Read it! And then read the rest of Ms. Jackson's novels!
If you need a high-profile divorce in Atlanta that you’re willing to pay megabucks for, Paula Vauss can make that happen. She’s essentially in the business of breaking up families. Her own family has been anything but conventional. She has no idea who were biological dad was, and her hippy mom fed her on whatever her latest boyfriend had in the house and stories that were a mix of Hindu religious figures and southern U.S. lore. As the book opens, Paula, who had originally been named Kali Jai by her mom, is about to come face to face with Julian, a young man who looks a great deal like Paula and her estranged mother. There’s a good reason for that; it turns out that Julian is Paula’s half brother. Suddenly, the woman who thought she had it all and needed nothing in terms of family commitments, was feeling the stir of a different biological breeze. This overly optimistic half brother of hers was growing on her; he was slowly carving out a place for himself in her heart.
For 15 years, Paula had been sending checks to her mother because Paula is convinced she has destroyed her mother’s life. You don’t know why early on, but keep reading.
Her mom sends back the most recent check, announcing that she has cancer and will soon be dead. But that returned check was only the beginning of a life-altering change for Paula that would ensure that things could never again be as they were. For somewhere out there is a pre-teen half sister. Both Paula and Julian know they must find the girl, and with the help of a former lover whom Paula still loves at some level, they embark on the search of their lives.
The National Library Service audio on this is quite good, but the commercial audio is narrated by the author, and no one anywhere does as good a job with audiobooks in general, not to mention her own work, as Jackson does. Her inflections, her diction, her cadences, all of it is a combination of music delivered on photons. She seems to reflect and refract her narrations in ways that few others replicate. Her narration infuses this book and morphs it into something that is better than any compilation of written words can ever be.
There’s some strong language here, and the f-bomb falls moderately often. There is also a lot to revel in if you love words and appreciate the immense talent of those who use them with such amazing effect.
For 15 years, Paula had been sending checks to her mother because Paula is convinced she has destroyed her mother’s life. You don’t know why early on, but keep reading.
Her mom sends back the most recent check, announcing that she has cancer and will soon be dead. But that returned check was only the beginning of a life-altering change for Paula that would ensure that things could never again be as they were. For somewhere out there is a pre-teen half sister. Both Paula and Julian know they must find the girl, and with the help of a former lover whom Paula still loves at some level, they embark on the search of their lives.
The National Library Service audio on this is quite good, but the commercial audio is narrated by the author, and no one anywhere does as good a job with audiobooks in general, not to mention her own work, as Jackson does. Her inflections, her diction, her cadences, all of it is a combination of music delivered on photons. She seems to reflect and refract her narrations in ways that few others replicate. Her narration infuses this book and morphs it into something that is better than any compilation of written words can ever be.
There’s some strong language here, and the f-bomb falls moderately often. There is also a lot to revel in if you love words and appreciate the immense talent of those who use them with such amazing effect.
This book completely wrapped me around it's finger, from the prose to the gut wrenching honesty to the real world love story between two broken but healing people. Had me laughing out loud and then quietly crying. Exactly what I needed. Really excited to pick up more by this author.