A review by carmenere
Black Wave by Michelle Tea

3.0

This novel is divided into 2 halves, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The main focus is on Michelle. She is a transplant from Boston and, when we meet her, living the artsy/hipster/LGBTQ lifestyle. Her sexual liaisons are many. Sometimes casual, sometimes more meaningful. She spends her nights drinking and doing drugs, her days are spent getting sober so she can do it all over again. This lifestyle carries on until she receives a call from her brother in LA with news that the world is about to end soon and she should come out to LA and be with him. As with many literary journey's, her drive down the coast brings a change, a transition if you will. I think, and I'm saying this because I'm really not all that sure what the author wants the reader to take away from this story, Michelle realizes a few things about her life in San Francisco and learns what she wants but now the world is ending.
Although this novel was quite a stretch from my usual genre I'm glad the Tournament of Books pointed me in this direction and hear a new voice.