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A review by lit_laugh_luv
Death Valley by Melissa Broder
2.0
I went into this with high hopes but unfortunately it missed the mark entirely for me. The serious, clairvoyant moments from our narrator are where the book is at its best - there's definitely an importance to highlighting the burnout and anticipatory grief that a lot of caretakers experience. With that said, these musings are far and few between, and the comedic tone of the writing feels so incredibly forced. Without enough contrast between serious and satire, this just feels forced and cringeworthy in its delivery.
The amount of brand references feels so American and out of place - maybe it's just the disconnect I have with the consumerist aspect of American culture? It felt so gimmicky and like an elongated ad campaign for Best Western. The novel itself feels like a short story that was drawn out to a novella without expanding the plot accordingly; it feels repetitive at best, and every minor characters exists as nothing more than comedic relief. If you re-wrote this novel without her husband or his illness, you'd effectively convey the same message and mitigate how trivializing the depiction of chronic illness is. I personally didn't enjoy the ending either - it feels too "safe" in a book that largely takes risks throughout.
With that said, I do want to highlight that I think there is a fair bit of creativity underpinning this story and I think the desert is the perfect setting to convey the theme of survival, loss and mourning. I have mixed feelings on this because I do think Broder is a talented writer and I don't think this is an objectively bad book; it has the usual elements I enjoy in fiction (introspective, surreal, emotional) but the delivery wasn't necessarily for me. I appreciate when authors take risks and flex their creativity - it may result in a book being (somewhat) polarizing, but I think it helps create something more unique and memorable. My personal enjoyment was a two star, but I would say the book is overall closer to a 3 star.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!
The amount of brand references feels so American and out of place - maybe it's just the disconnect I have with the consumerist aspect of American culture? It felt so gimmicky and like an elongated ad campaign for Best Western. The novel itself feels like a short story that was drawn out to a novella without expanding the plot accordingly; it feels repetitive at best, and every minor characters exists as nothing more than comedic relief. If you re-wrote this novel without her husband or his illness, you'd effectively convey the same message and mitigate how trivializing the depiction of chronic illness is. I personally didn't enjoy the ending either - it feels too "safe" in a book that largely takes risks throughout.
With that said, I do want to highlight that I think there is a fair bit of creativity underpinning this story and I think the desert is the perfect setting to convey the theme of survival, loss and mourning. I have mixed feelings on this because I do think Broder is a talented writer and I don't think this is an objectively bad book; it has the usual elements I enjoy in fiction (introspective, surreal, emotional) but the delivery wasn't necessarily for me. I appreciate when authors take risks and flex their creativity - it may result in a book being (somewhat) polarizing, but I think it helps create something more unique and memorable. My personal enjoyment was a two star, but I would say the book is overall closer to a 3 star.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!