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A review by emilyisliterate
Central Places by Delia Cai
2.0
i read CENTRAL PLACES in close proximity to HOMEBODIES, another debut novel with nearly the exact same premise: a woman who lives in new york, works at a magazine, and is in a long-term committed relationship, ends up returning to her small hometown, where she encounters an old flame from high school and basically derails her life (arguably for the better... ig, anyway).
like HOMEBODIES, i found this novel frustrating. audrey is selfish and shirks accountability for her downright rude behavior. at one point, she does a Bad Thing and literally thinks to herself 'well that wasn't even me, that was Another Audrey who doesn't exist anymore, so i've done nothing wrong.'
we also didn't get much interiority here beyond passing scene-to-scene observations. arguably the central conflict between audrey and her mother basically appears, fizzles, festers, resolves, and disappears. overall, i wanted more from CENTRAL PLACES but am so frustrated by the MC that i'm also just... fine with it being over.
like HOMEBODIES, i found this novel frustrating. audrey is selfish and shirks accountability for her downright rude behavior. at one point, she does a Bad Thing and literally thinks to herself 'well that wasn't even me, that was Another Audrey who doesn't exist anymore, so i've done nothing wrong.'
we also didn't get much interiority here beyond passing scene-to-scene observations. arguably the central conflict between audrey and her mother basically appears, fizzles, festers, resolves, and disappears. overall, i wanted more from CENTRAL PLACES but am so frustrated by the MC that i'm also just... fine with it being over.