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sarah_kula's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Medical content, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
caroisreading's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is my first Melissa Broder book, and now I'm a huge fan. I cracked up so many times during this read, and felt so much affection for this protagonist.
This is a story about staring death in the face, and the in-between space of anticipatory grief and grief grief. A scorching, unforgiving desert is the symbolic backdrop, as made obvious by the title. Our narrator is an author, who feels intimately modeled after Melissa, herself, and she is navigating her father's near-death, post-accident condition, as well as her husband's debilitating and amorphous illness. We join her as she's arriving at a Best Western in the middle of nowhere, carving out a space for her own self-pity, care and emotions, and ideally, some writing inspo. When she takes a desert hike on the recommendation of the hotel staff, it unleashes a wild fever dream, where we are trying to grasp the edges of reality and hope alongside her.
Let me just say, the line, "Listen, Best Western cares, but not this much" made me have to put the book down and howl-laugh.
Definitely read this book if you're exploring your own mortality, the meaning of your life, or experiencing grief, but need to laugh about it.
This is a story about staring death in the face, and the in-between space of anticipatory grief and grief grief. A scorching, unforgiving desert is the symbolic backdrop, as made obvious by the title. Our narrator is an author, who feels intimately modeled after Melissa, herself, and she is navigating her father's near-death, post-accident condition, as well as her husband's debilitating and amorphous illness. We join her as she's arriving at a Best Western in the middle of nowhere, carving out a space for her own self-pity, care and emotions, and ideally, some writing inspo. When she takes a desert hike on the recommendation of the hotel staff, it unleashes a wild fever dream, where we are trying to grasp the edges of reality and hope alongside her.
Let me just say, the line, "Listen, Best Western cares, but not this much" made me have to put the book down and howl-laugh.
Definitely read this book if you're exploring your own mortality, the meaning of your life, or experiencing grief, but need to laugh about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Excrement, and Medical content
Moderate: Addiction
orlagal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Sexual content
a_novel_craving's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Medical trauma, Blood, Alcohol, Grief, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
gondorgirl's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Chronic illness, Death, and Car accident
kaseythefairy's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Excrement
Minor: Excrement, Car accident, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Death of parent
brianareads's review
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Car accident
alligatortoast's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Where to begin with this book? It was...different, to say the least. The premise is simple enough - a woman struggling with her father's health after a car accident and her husband's chronic illness runs off to a Best Western in the California desert to clear her head. She goes on a hike through the desert that results in her getting lost and fighting for survival, while having psychedelic experiences or hallucinations. I feel like the blurb of this book is misleading. We're told she finds a giant cactus on the trail ( she does) and has visions (she does) but I was expecting much more from this. In my head, she was going to find a fantasy world within the cactus and be transported to some magical place. This sort of happens, in the form of hallucinations that are never fully explained. Was she imagining them? Were they projections? Were they spirits guiding her? You never find out.
Another gripe I have with this book is the main character. She's at once witty, funny, selfish, and irritating. The book turns into a survival story half way through, and though we're supposed to be concerned and rooting for the MC, I found myself annoyed by her. She's literally dying in the desert and somehow I found it hard to feel sympathy for her at times. Maybe it was just my personal tastes, but the book was honestly painful to read sometimes, and I had to force myself to finish it.
It's also pretty bizarre and surreal at times. She has full blown conversations with rocks, not once but throughout the entire novel. There's also a part where she rides on the back of a giant bird and is brought back to the beginning of the trail. This is never explained, and you're left wondering if this was real or imagined. Not to mention the cactus that is the "star" of the book only making an appearance a handful of times. It appears, disappears and reappears randomly, and this is also never explained.
I will say, a positive of this book is the format. The chapters are incredibly short, ranging from 1 to 6 pages at most. This makes for a quick read, or at least it should. Again, I was struggling about halfway through to finish. I stopped about 2/3's of the way through to read another book (Open Throat by Henry Hoke) before finishing, and I almost DNF.
It's not all bad, as it has some powerful wisdom and views on grief, love, and loss. Anyone with family or friends who are chronically sick or in hospital care will likely get something out of this, though it may also be triggering for some. The ending is hopeful, though again, we're never given a proper explanation as to the events of the novel. It's basically one giant fever dream, or a metaphor, or these impossible things really happened and we'll just never know which is the true answer. Maybe that's the point, maybe it's meant to be enjoyed and not analyzed too deeply. But for a novel as reflective as this, I was longing for an explanation.
Overall, I'd recommend this if you like odd, bizarre, and surreal reads. It's humorous, raw, emotional and uncomfortable. So if that's your cup of tea, I say go for it. I don't think it's worth full price though ($30!) so I say get it used. I use Pango Books, it's a life saver.
Another gripe I have with this book is the main character. She's at once witty, funny, selfish, and irritating. The book turns into a survival story half way through, and though we're supposed to be concerned and rooting for the MC, I found myself annoyed by her. She's literally dying in the desert and somehow I found it hard to feel sympathy for her at times. Maybe it was just my personal tastes, but the book was honestly painful to read sometimes, and I had to force myself to finish it.
It's also pretty bizarre and surreal at times. She has full blown conversations with rocks, not once but throughout the entire novel. There's also a part where she
I will say, a positive of this book is the format. The chapters are incredibly short, ranging from 1 to 6 pages at most. This makes for a quick read, or at least it should. Again, I was struggling about halfway through to finish. I stopped about 2/3's of the way through to read another book (Open Throat by Henry Hoke) before finishing, and I almost DNF.
It's not all bad, as it has some powerful wisdom and views on grief, love, and loss. Anyone with family or friends who are chronically sick or in hospital care will likely get something out of this, though it may also be triggering for some. The ending is hopeful, though again, we're never given a proper explanation as to the events of the novel. It's basically one giant fever dream, or a metaphor, or these impossible things really happened and we'll just never know which is the true answer. Maybe that's the point, maybe it's meant to be enjoyed and not analyzed too deeply. But for a novel as reflective as this, I was longing for an explanation.
Overall, I'd recommend this if you like odd, bizarre, and surreal reads. It's humorous, raw, emotional and uncomfortable. So if that's your cup of tea, I say go for it. I don't think it's worth full price though ($30!) so I say get it used. I use Pango Books, it's a life saver.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Grief
bootsmom3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Blood, and Excrement
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Car accident
woolfinbooks's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I have so many thoughts on this, yet no ability to archive them cohesively.
Melissa Broder is my favorite author of all time. I've been a fan since I read Meat Heart about a decade ago (how hipster of me) Witnessing her shift from poetry to prose has been quite the journey; one I'm gladly still embarking on.
Death Valley is an isolating novel about anticipatory grieving a parent and surviving shit. Compared to Milk Fed, her sapphic masterpiece, the romantic messiness is calmer, but the action (not that kind) is faster... yet slower? Each chapter is short, most landing under 5 pages. It makes for a read that feels fast-paced yet like the action is lacking. Until it's not. Is that medium paced? Maybe. Who knows.
The protagonist (unnamed) has an increasingly homebound husband and a father that has died multiple times in the hospital after a near-fatal accident (does it count as near-fatal if he's died already) She takes a trip into the desert and stumbles upon a cactus. A cactus one of the hotel workers claims doesn't, and can't, exist. When she goes back to visit the cactus, it's not there. She remembers the flesh, the moisture, the coolness, the visions inside of it. She continues her hike until realizes that she's lost. As the day passes time is ticking. Her water is running low. The sun is blistering. She needs to make it back. But every step leads her somewhere new. Somewhere she's not meant to be. Are her visions real? Is her father gone? Is her husband better? Can she survive? Can she grieve? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows. I know because I read it. You can know if you read it too.
What I loved - Melissa's writing is always a joy (and by 'joy' I mean it sends me into a helical storm of reflection, depression, and anxiety over someone knowing too much about me and I hate it and hate her and I love her and love her. Fuck her for doing that. But also thanks)
What I disliked - Nothing. Melissa Broder has never done anything wrong a day in her life. (something something I didn't connect to the father dying stuff because mine is dead and I hated him, but it's not her fault that she wrote a weirdly specific book about a situation relating to me soon after his death... fuck her for doing that. But also thanks)
Did reality meet expectations - Nope. I went into it expecting an absolute shit show of a relationship. I thought she would cheat on her husband with one of the side characters. I thought their fight would be bigger. I thought the mommy issues would exist (rip Melissa's mommy issues era, hello Jethra fanfic) I thought the father/daughter dynamic would be more toxic and cruel (what does that say about me) Instead we get a shit show of a person. Which is great. I love inserting myself into shit show characters. I loved that it didn't go the way I expected. I loved how I was wrong about everything. That's what makes Melisa bae.
5/5 stars because it's my favorite, just like everything she does is my favorite. I can't help that my fav only writes iconically.
Melissa Broder is my favorite author of all time. I've been a fan since I read Meat Heart about a decade ago (how hipster of me) Witnessing her shift from poetry to prose has been quite the journey; one I'm gladly still embarking on.
Death Valley is an isolating novel about anticipatory grieving a parent and surviving shit. Compared to Milk Fed, her sapphic masterpiece, the romantic messiness is calmer, but the action (not that kind) is faster... yet slower? Each chapter is short, most landing under 5 pages. It makes for a read that feels fast-paced yet like the action is lacking. Until it's not. Is that medium paced? Maybe. Who knows.
The protagonist (unnamed) has an increasingly homebound husband and a father that has died multiple times in the hospital after a near-fatal accident (does it count as near-fatal if he's died already) She takes a trip into the desert and stumbles upon a cactus. A cactus one of the hotel workers claims doesn't, and can't, exist. When she goes back to visit the cactus, it's not there. She remembers the flesh, the moisture, the coolness, the visions inside of it. She continues her hike until realizes that she's lost. As the day passes time is ticking. Her water is running low. The sun is blistering. She needs to make it back. But every step leads her somewhere new. Somewhere she's not meant to be. Are her visions real? Is her father gone? Is her husband better? Can she survive? Can she grieve? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows. I know because I read it. You can know if you read it too.
What I loved - Melissa's writing is always a joy (and by 'joy' I mean it sends me into a helical storm of reflection, depression, and anxiety over someone knowing too much about me and I hate it and hate her and I love her and love her. Fuck her for doing that. But also thanks)
What I disliked - Nothing. Melissa Broder has never done anything wrong a day in her life. (something something I didn't connect to the father dying stuff because mine is dead and I hated him, but it's not her fault that she wrote a weirdly specific book about a situation relating to me soon after his death... fuck her for doing that. But also thanks)
Did reality meet expectations - Nope. I went into it expecting an absolute shit show of a relationship. I thought she would cheat on her husband with one of the side characters. I thought their fight would be bigger. I thought the mommy issues would exist (rip Melissa's mommy issues era, hello Jethra fanfic) I thought the father/daughter dynamic would be more toxic and cruel (what does that say about me) Instead we get a shit show of a person. Which is great. I love inserting myself into shit show characters. I loved that it didn't go the way I expected. I loved how I was wrong about everything. That's what makes Melisa bae.
5/5 stars because it's my favorite, just like everything she does is my favorite. I can't help that my fav only writes iconically.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Excrement, Grief, Vomit, Car accident, Death, and Medical trauma
Minor: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Addiction
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