Scan barcode
A review by projectmayhem7
Long Division by Kiese Laymon
4.0
I didn’t really know what to expect going into this, but hoped it would be weird. It was, in a way that totally worked for me. The narrator sounds like Holden Caulfield (who happens to be one of my favorite characters of all time) if he was Black in rural Mississippi, so you know I love the narrative voice in Long Division. I love the writing style and the format of this book. My copy looks the same on the front and back covers, which tripped me up when I first opened it, not knowing which end to start with. You read Book One first (obviously), then you flip the book over and read Book Two (which is upside down if you keep going that way) starting from the back. I don’t think I explained that well. It’s formatted cool, alright?
I don’t even know what to say about the plot that will do it justice or make sense or not spoil anything. Here’s a little bit of random stuff (spoilers are tagged):
- It’s heavy content with humor sprinkled about. SPOILER:At one point someone asks our narrator, City, what his name is and he says, “Voltron” with a straight face and had me cracking up for almost the rest of the book every time I saw it. And him wanting to help that abusive white man was wild.
- The science fiction element doesn’t come in until Book Two, and it’s light sci-fi. I was expecting as much, so I wasn’t disappointed, but that’s something you should know before going in. This isn’t a time travel book, but there’s time travel in it.
- This deals with racism in a way that will and should make some people uncomfortable. The n-word is all over the book. It’s honest about it, much like our narrator is in (almost) everything he does.
- I love City. He’s blunt and genuine. He’s so wonderful in all of his innocence that battles with his big personality. His inner monologues made me laugh and cringe and feel my heart pinch up within moments of each other. His interactions with LaVander were so strange and some of my favorite scenes (the ones with his Grandmother and MyMy coming in close second).
- This is an important book that is getting a rerelease. I know it wasn’t fully appreciated back then and, sadly, I can see why. Hopefully it’s received better now and people can appreciate how original and strange it is.
So, lastly, I’m a little bit disappointed with the ending. I’m probably just dumb, but I don’t get what happened and why the last sentence just hangs, no period, like it’s incomplete. Is this just in my ARC copy? I doubt it. SPOILER:I think it has something to do with the book in this book (there’s a book called Long Division in this book that… you know what, I’m not going to explain it, but it’s important and there’s a reason the real title is the same as that one), but is it because the last few pages were blank? If so, shouldn’t there have been ellipses after the last word, like there was in the other book? And was it City, City’s double, and Shalaya in the hole on the last page? Or Evan? Or LaVander? I have to know! I think I’m supposed to be confused, but it drove me crazy to read that last page. And I wanted more LaVander! I wasn’t done with his story!
Yeah, this was a good one. I read it in one sitting, meaning I started when I woke up and finished before bed. There are some slow bits, but not enough to bring it down too much. Don’t go into this thinking you’re getting only one thing, because it’s a lot of things, and you might not get the answers you’re looking for. Me? That’s what I’m always looking for in my reading, so I’m happy.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster, for sending me a copy!
I don’t even know what to say about the plot that will do it justice or make sense or not spoil anything. Here’s a little bit of random stuff (spoilers are tagged):
- It’s heavy content with humor sprinkled about. SPOILER:
- The science fiction element doesn’t come in until Book Two, and it’s light sci-fi. I was expecting as much, so I wasn’t disappointed, but that’s something you should know before going in. This isn’t a time travel book, but there’s time travel in it.
- This deals with racism in a way that will and should make some people uncomfortable. The n-word is all over the book. It’s honest about it, much like our narrator is in (almost) everything he does.
- I love City. He’s blunt and genuine. He’s so wonderful in all of his innocence that battles with his big personality. His inner monologues made me laugh and cringe and feel my heart pinch up within moments of each other. His interactions with LaVander were so strange and some of my favorite scenes (the ones with his Grandmother and MyMy coming in close second).
- This is an important book that is getting a rerelease. I know it wasn’t fully appreciated back then and, sadly, I can see why. Hopefully it’s received better now and people can appreciate how original and strange it is.
So, lastly, I’m a little bit disappointed with the ending. I’m probably just dumb, but I don’t get what happened and why the last sentence just hangs, no period, like it’s incomplete. Is this just in my ARC copy? I doubt it. SPOILER:
Yeah, this was a good one. I read it in one sitting, meaning I started when I woke up and finished before bed. There are some slow bits, but not enough to bring it down too much. Don’t go into this thinking you’re getting only one thing, because it’s a lot of things, and you might not get the answers you’re looking for. Me? That’s what I’m always looking for in my reading, so I’m happy.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster, for sending me a copy!