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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Dealing with loss and grief, a family has an opportunity to remember those lost in surprising ways in Brandon Hobson’s The Removed.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Fifteen years ago, a teenaged Ray-Ray was shot and killed by police, leaving his parents and siblings suspended in private grieving of his loss. Every year the Echota family marks Ray-Ray’s death, and the National Cherokee Holiday, with a bonfire, but this year has presented some challenges that seem to pull the family further apart; Maria struggles coping with her own mental health, but now also must help manage her husband Ernest’s decline with the onset of Alzheimer’s, their daughter Sonja’s life of quiet solitude with periodic romantic obsessions grows distracting to new levels, and Edgar’s drug addiction keeps him away from his family despite their wishes for him to come home. As the bonfire draws nearer and the family begin thinking more about the memories they could share, the spirit world seems to bleed into the real world far more tangibly, blurring the lines of reality for the family members.
A captivating and haunting read, this novel presents some Cherokee folklore in an immersive manner that draws out the concept of a collective memory through direct exploration of character memories as well as ancestral memory in the form of stories passed down that seem to intersect with what the Echota family are currently experiencing; the narrative offered an overlay of current and related and resonating historical or mythical action, which aided in establishing the magical realism aspect of the narrative but did, at times, make it more difficult to connect with or make sense of. The shifting chapter perspectives of four different narrators provided a more comprehensive picture of the larger situation; however, this was an overly ambitious undertaking as the voices weren’t quite distinct or compelling enough to fulfill the potential they individually presented. While some of the prose repeated established information later in the text, distracting from the topics addressed and emotional atmosphere built, the story was one that provoked thought and stuck with you after you set the book down, demonstrating a power in what it explored.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Fifteen years ago, a teenaged Ray-Ray was shot and killed by police, leaving his parents and siblings suspended in private grieving of his loss. Every year the Echota family marks Ray-Ray’s death, and the National Cherokee Holiday, with a bonfire, but this year has presented some challenges that seem to pull the family further apart; Maria struggles coping with her own mental health, but now also must help manage her husband Ernest’s decline with the onset of Alzheimer’s, their daughter Sonja’s life of quiet solitude with periodic romantic obsessions grows distracting to new levels, and Edgar’s drug addiction keeps him away from his family despite their wishes for him to come home. As the bonfire draws nearer and the family begin thinking more about the memories they could share, the spirit world seems to bleed into the real world far more tangibly, blurring the lines of reality for the family members.
A captivating and haunting read, this novel presents some Cherokee folklore in an immersive manner that draws out the concept of a collective memory through direct exploration of character memories as well as ancestral memory in the form of stories passed down that seem to intersect with what the Echota family are currently experiencing; the narrative offered an overlay of current and related and resonating historical or mythical action, which aided in establishing the magical realism aspect of the narrative but did, at times, make it more difficult to connect with or make sense of. The shifting chapter perspectives of four different narrators provided a more comprehensive picture of the larger situation; however, this was an overly ambitious undertaking as the voices weren’t quite distinct or compelling enough to fulfill the potential they individually presented. While some of the prose repeated established information later in the text, distracting from the topics addressed and emotional atmosphere built, the story was one that provoked thought and stuck with you after you set the book down, demonstrating a power in what it explored.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really excited to read this book and explore something I haven’t really read before, but I just felt...meh. It felt incredibly undercooked and confusing.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Overall, I don't think I really "got" this book. I found some story lines more engaging than others (Maria's chapters were definitely most engaging for me, followed by Sonja, Edgar and Tsala in that order). I did like how vivid the characters seemed; the author did a good job of developing their personalities. The story lines that were happening in this book just didn't hold my attention so it was an okay, but not great read for me.