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A review by justinkhchen
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
5.0
An all encompassing emotional journey. I don't think I've been this invested in a story in quite awhile, The Changeling is a modern day fairy tale, in a dark and explicit, non-Disney-gentrified kind of way. Even though on the surface it is a straightforward adventure plot about a father's quest searching for his lost son, with its contemporary New York setting, Victor LaValle manages to weave together the fantastical elements with urban grittiness and modern day anxiety like nothing I've read before.
I can see some readers taking issue with its on-the-nose puns/wordplays(such as the protagonist's name being Apollo, and light/sun does come into play at some point), I find them quite endearing and fitting to the folklore genre it's referencing (where characters often behave as what they are named), and The Changeling still contains nuances elsewhere (when it touches upon parenthood, social medias and racism). Victor LaValle also narrates his own audiobook, which is an excellent way to experience this.
I can see some readers taking issue with its on-the-nose puns/wordplays(such as the protagonist's name being Apollo, and light/sun does come into play at some point), I find them quite endearing and fitting to the folklore genre it's referencing (where characters often behave as what they are named), and The Changeling still contains nuances elsewhere (when it touches upon parenthood, social medias and racism). Victor LaValle also narrates his own audiobook, which is an excellent way to experience this.