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A review by lolajoan
Reproduction by Ian Williams
5.0
As I started to get into this book, my main impression was that it is very Giller-prize-y. So then I realized that I have a hot take on what makes book-prize-books feel similar: they're like vegetable side dishes. The great ones can be richly creative, decadent, filling and satisfying, and the mediocre ones can be bitter or bland or mushy or just leave you hungry and cold, but they all make you feel like you've done something virtuous and nourishing and self-improving by reading them. They're not junk food.
So, yeah, this one starts out very virtuous and healthy - complex interpersonal relations with at least one unreliable narrator and a setting that is simultaneously precise enough to be evocative and yet vague enough to feel universal.
Then it throws a little spice into the mix with some salacious behaviour and extremely grey morals. Then it starts breaking down the entire idea of language and narrative, which is like putting a layer of delicious decadent cheese on top and baking until bubbly.
The characters and voices are so rich and alive and yet inscrutable, which is good because real people are generally quite lacking in scrutability. The plot is believable and yet kind of cinematic. The settings are largely irrelevant which is kind of odd for a "Canadian" novel - it could be set anywhere, really.
The recurring titular theme (in all its possible definitions) is sometimes obvious and sometimes requires a bit of reflection to see. It's clever without being tooooo clever.
I chuckled a few times. I bawled at the end.
So, yeah, this one starts out very virtuous and healthy - complex interpersonal relations with at least one unreliable narrator and a setting that is simultaneously precise enough to be evocative and yet vague enough to feel universal.
Then it throws a little spice into the mix with some salacious behaviour and extremely grey morals. Then it starts breaking down the entire idea of language and narrative, which is like putting a layer of delicious decadent cheese on top and baking until bubbly.
The characters and voices are so rich and alive and yet inscrutable, which is good because real people are generally quite lacking in scrutability. The plot is believable and yet kind of cinematic. The settings are largely irrelevant which is kind of odd for a "Canadian" novel - it could be set anywhere, really.
The recurring titular theme (in all its possible definitions) is sometimes obvious and sometimes requires a bit of reflection to see. It's clever without being tooooo clever.
I chuckled a few times. I bawled at the end.