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A review by sonictomato
Lurkers by Sandi Tan
3.0
I loved Sandi Tans award winning autobiographical documentary Shirkers which investigates the mystery of stolen film footage, betrayal of trust and coming of age. So I was intrigued to find out about her writing style and how the clear voice that comes through on the screen transmutes to the page.
The book is set in suburban Los Angeles on the whimsically named Santa Claus Lane and here we meet a disparate cast of characters. We begin with the Park family who are South Korean immigrants, Mr Park dies by suicide and leads his family to find a collection of short stories which are in the "so bad they are good" mould. We meet Mary-Sue and adopted daughter Kate (brought from Vietnam) who seems unable to reconcile her life with her Vietnamese roots and then there is Raymond a lonely horror novelist coming to terms with suburbia.
We then have a trio of male characters who quite frankly I detested, Bluto a brooding, unhealthy presence lurking in Kate's life, Mr.Zehring drama teacher with a penchant for the young and nubile, and Arik a manipulative, violent boyfirend.
The book was gripping but for me an uncomfortable read given the portrayal of mens manipulation of women. I know some readers found the sex, swearing and violence not to their tastes but all I can say is that I didn't find any of this gratuitous. It is a novel about people, place and consistent with it's setting in the early 2000s.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, all views are my own.
The book is set in suburban Los Angeles on the whimsically named Santa Claus Lane and here we meet a disparate cast of characters. We begin with the Park family who are South Korean immigrants, Mr Park dies by suicide and leads his family to find a collection of short stories which are in the "so bad they are good" mould. We meet Mary-Sue and adopted daughter Kate (brought from Vietnam) who seems unable to reconcile her life with her Vietnamese roots and then there is Raymond a lonely horror novelist coming to terms with suburbia.
We then have a trio of male characters who quite frankly I detested, Bluto a brooding, unhealthy presence lurking in Kate's life, Mr.Zehring drama teacher with a penchant for the young and nubile, and Arik a manipulative, violent boyfirend.
The book was gripping but for me an uncomfortable read given the portrayal of mens manipulation of women. I know some readers found the sex, swearing and violence not to their tastes but all I can say is that I didn't find any of this gratuitous. It is a novel about people, place and consistent with it's setting in the early 2000s.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, all views are my own.