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A review by khopeisz
Revival Season by Monica West
2.0
Oh boy….i am conflicted as I do not want to speak unkindly. But here goes:
I was held captive by the experience of reading this book. Perhaps because it read like narrative summary, a real Tell-not-Show run down of events. As a writer reading this book, I felt like I was reading the long summary of a novel and not the novel itself. We are trapped in Miriam’s head, which would have been fine had the narrative voice reflected a fifteen year olds. I did not believe the internal struggle Miriam was experiencing. I kept being told of the struggle but the narrative never slowed down to show it to me.
Another point to the writing: there were some very beautiful descriptions, and then there were others that just felt like placeholders. I’m trying to be kinder when I read, but I maybe should have put the book down at the mere mention of “orbs” in the first or second chapter.
Now to the plot: I was engaged. We had a villain, Papa. And I wanted nothing but pain and suffering to come to him. This is all that needed to happen to make this book worthwhile to me. Did we get that? No. We get the most unsatisfactory cop out of a nonending. I do not care if the ending is supposed to depict some sort of realism; where was this realism when the universe of the book accepted that Miriam could actually heal people?! Where was this realism when the universe of the book allowed for Papa to roam free despite having publicly assaulted a pregnant woman?!?! How did he not go to jail for that? Who was that woman? My head cannon says that that’s his mistress but why am I filling in these gaps with my own imagination, since this was never even implied!!
Another note to the plot: writing about domestic abuse is tricky. This is going to sound insensitive and I apologize, but domestic abuse is narratively unsatisfactory when the abuser does not get his comeuppance, or his victims do not get their freedom. Furthermore, I understand the mentality of staying with an abuser, as I have been in that position. But unless your victims have been thoroughly humanized, the reader is going to be judgmental toward Ma for sacrificing Miriam to Papa and also absconding in the middle of the night WITHOUT HER KIDS. I am told she feels sorry and apologizes for that. But what about her as the caring mother she has proven to be would lead her to sacrifice and think about deserting her kids like that??? I’m not arguing that she shouldn’t have done it. I want to be shown more as to why. I felt no human connection to her. These characters were two dimensional. And I did not understand the point of Caleb at all.
Finally, the most abhorrent scene of the book involves dear sweet Hannah. I will not describe what happens. And I’m not arguing against that the scene at the end of the book should not have happened. What I am angry with is the following: in no way was this ableist moment resolved with any dignity or true reflection. Once again, we get a verbal apology from a character and a one off narrative summary about Miriam confessing that she understood that Hannah did not need to be healed. Hannah was absolutely stripped of her dignity and was not restored it in my eyes. To the extent that I thought to myself, “how dare this be happening?” not necessarily to the character, as I’ve mentioned the characters are all two dimension, but how dare this be happening as a plot point? Once again, ableism can exist in a book, but the author is responsible for its portrayal. And in my opinion, the author really stripped Hannah of her dignity without much restoration.
I grew up Pentecostal. I’m very familiar with signs and wonders. My critiques do not stem from a misunderstanding of this world. I’m just flabbergasted. I have not used that word ever. That’s how flabbergasted I am.
I was held captive by the experience of reading this book. Perhaps because it read like narrative summary, a real Tell-not-Show run down of events. As a writer reading this book, I felt like I was reading the long summary of a novel and not the novel itself. We are trapped in Miriam’s head, which would have been fine had the narrative voice reflected a fifteen year olds. I did not believe the internal struggle Miriam was experiencing. I kept being told of the struggle but the narrative never slowed down to show it to me.
Another point to the writing: there were some very beautiful descriptions, and then there were others that just felt like placeholders. I’m trying to be kinder when I read, but I maybe should have put the book down at the mere mention of “orbs” in the first or second chapter.
Now to the plot: I was engaged. We had a villain, Papa. And I wanted nothing but pain and suffering to come to him. This is all that needed to happen to make this book worthwhile to me. Did we get that? No. We get the most unsatisfactory cop out of a nonending. I do not care if the ending is supposed to depict some sort of realism; where was this realism when the universe of the book accepted that Miriam could actually heal people?! Where was this realism when the universe of the book allowed for Papa to roam free despite having publicly assaulted a pregnant woman?!?! How did he not go to jail for that? Who was that woman? My head cannon says that that’s his mistress but why am I filling in these gaps with my own imagination, since this was never even implied!!
Another note to the plot: writing about domestic abuse is tricky. This is going to sound insensitive and I apologize, but domestic abuse is narratively unsatisfactory when the abuser does not get his comeuppance, or his victims do not get their freedom. Furthermore, I understand the mentality of staying with an abuser, as I have been in that position. But unless your victims have been thoroughly humanized, the reader is going to be judgmental toward Ma for sacrificing Miriam to Papa and also absconding in the middle of the night WITHOUT HER KIDS. I am told she feels sorry and apologizes for that. But what about her as the caring mother she has proven to be would lead her to sacrifice and think about deserting her kids like that??? I’m not arguing that she shouldn’t have done it. I want to be shown more as to why. I felt no human connection to her. These characters were two dimensional. And I did not understand the point of Caleb at all.
Finally, the most abhorrent scene of the book involves dear sweet Hannah. I will not describe what happens. And I’m not arguing against that the scene at the end of the book should not have happened. What I am angry with is the following: in no way was this ableist moment resolved with any dignity or true reflection. Once again, we get a verbal apology from a character and a one off narrative summary about Miriam confessing that she understood that Hannah did not need to be healed. Hannah was absolutely stripped of her dignity and was not restored it in my eyes. To the extent that I thought to myself, “how dare this be happening?” not necessarily to the character, as I’ve mentioned the characters are all two dimension, but how dare this be happening as a plot point? Once again, ableism can exist in a book, but the author is responsible for its portrayal. And in my opinion, the author really stripped Hannah of her dignity without much restoration.
I grew up Pentecostal. I’m very familiar with signs and wonders. My critiques do not stem from a misunderstanding of this world. I’m just flabbergasted. I have not used that word ever. That’s how flabbergasted I am.