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A review by grouchomarxist
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
2.0
I wanted to like this book. Frankly, I want to like all books. And I should preface this review by noting I personally have a hard time with books about prison. I get way too angry and upset about the atrocities destroying lives for-profit in America to enjoy the story, and I'm often suspicious of savior complexes, whether they're white or simply upper-middle class.
That being said, I'll start with the good. This edition of the book has a Nan Goldin picture on the cover! And...there are a handful of very witty lines which may have done better had they been on Twitter.
Other than that, I agree with the other reviewers who said the voice felt inconsistent. There was, as someone else pointed out, a weird emotional distance with all of the narrators. A lot of the story felt told, not shown, which gave it the feel of being very fragmented and which frustrated this particular reader. The main narrator, Romy, is either overly smart or overly naive when it when it suits the narrative, particularly with respect to the... (WARNING POSSIBLE MILD SPOILER THAT REALLY SHOULD NOT BE ONE GIVEN THE PLOT)
ok people who are enraged by spoilers, did you back away and avert your eyes?
How about now?
....extremely obvious outcomes vis-a-vis parents who are in jail for life and their legal relationship with their children. It should never have been a surprise and was a very weak plot point, insofar as the book, uh, had a plot.
OK END WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE A SPOILER
The main thesis of the book seemed to be, golly, spending the rest of your life in prison is terrible! And as theses go, let's face it. That is not a particularly provocative idea that pushes the boundaries of human thought or contributes much to global discourse. At times it felt like Kushner just wanted to write a scathing article in the Atlantic or Mother Jones about how bad the prison system is. Instead it was just illustrated in thin vignettes narrated by a disadvantaged (white) person who was there anyway. Thank God for white people to explicate the ways poverty compounds the lives of people of color, amirite?
Sigh!
Well, I don't wholly regret reading this book. Indiespensable sends them in pretty packages with autographs. I guess this one is good for people who like Orange is the New Black but just don't find it depressing enough. And it's definitely not for people like me, who curl up into the fetal position just thinking about the horrific, systematic violence of the prison industry in this country.
That being said, I'll start with the good. This edition of the book has a Nan Goldin picture on the cover! And...there are a handful of very witty lines which may have done better had they been on Twitter.
Other than that, I agree with the other reviewers who said the voice felt inconsistent. There was, as someone else pointed out, a weird emotional distance with all of the narrators. A lot of the story felt told, not shown, which gave it the feel of being very fragmented and which frustrated this particular reader. The main narrator, Romy, is either overly smart or overly naive when it when it suits the narrative, particularly with respect to the... (WARNING POSSIBLE MILD SPOILER THAT REALLY SHOULD NOT BE ONE GIVEN THE PLOT)
ok people who are enraged by spoilers, did you back away and avert your eyes?
How about now?
....extremely obvious outcomes vis-a-vis parents who are in jail for life and their legal relationship with their children. It should never have been a surprise and was a very weak plot point, insofar as the book, uh, had a plot.
OK END WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE A SPOILER
The main thesis of the book seemed to be, golly, spending the rest of your life in prison is terrible! And as theses go, let's face it. That is not a particularly provocative idea that pushes the boundaries of human thought or contributes much to global discourse. At times it felt like Kushner just wanted to write a scathing article in the Atlantic or Mother Jones about how bad the prison system is. Instead it was just illustrated in thin vignettes narrated by a disadvantaged (white) person who was there anyway. Thank God for white people to explicate the ways poverty compounds the lives of people of color, amirite?
Sigh!
Well, I don't wholly regret reading this book. Indiespensable sends them in pretty packages with autographs. I guess this one is good for people who like Orange is the New Black but just don't find it depressing enough. And it's definitely not for people like me, who curl up into the fetal position just thinking about the horrific, systematic violence of the prison industry in this country.