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ryreadsbooks 's review for:
Groundskeeping
by Lee Cole
I hate to say this, but as an Appalachian, I find the contemporary narratives that have played out in the wake of the 2016 election tired. We’ve analyzed the dichotomy of coastal elites and small town America six ways from Sunday. For something released in 2022 to still be covering these themes, I’d expect it to be unique, fresh, and brave.
This book wasn’t that.
As an author, I appreciate Lee Cole’s style and writing in this debut, but I wish they were showcased in a different vehicle. In Groundskeeping, we are beholden to the narration of Owen, a native Kentuckian with a passed dotted with with mediocrity. As he moves back to Kentucky after a failed stint in Colorado, he immediately attached himself to Alma, a visiting writer at the college where he serves as a groundskeeper in order to take a free class each semester. Though the book, the passage of time is our plot, as Owen grapples with his own unstellar life, the shame and pride that comes with growing up in a small rural area, and trying to carve out a different path forward as a self-made writer.
As the book progresses, Owen attaches himself to Alma like a parasite, going so far as to co-opt her own stories into his own writing and suing their relationship as fodder to get ahead.
The book is a character study, which I usually like. However, when the character we’re studying is self-aware yet always the victim of his circumstance, it’s insufferable. The author imbues this sense of apology, not just for the character and his actions, but into the plot and discussions of literature that happen in the novel. The result is a book that feels like it’s apologizing for its own existence every few pages.
As much as I wanted to like this book, reading it brought me very little of what I expect in a coming-of-age character study. We got little discovery, much hand wringing, and a dissatisfying ending.
I do hope Lee Cole get success with this novel though, because I want to see what else is rattling about in his brain.
This book wasn’t that.
As an author, I appreciate Lee Cole’s style and writing in this debut, but I wish they were showcased in a different vehicle. In Groundskeeping, we are beholden to the narration of Owen, a native Kentuckian with a passed dotted with with mediocrity. As he moves back to Kentucky after a failed stint in Colorado, he immediately attached himself to Alma, a visiting writer at the college where he serves as a groundskeeper in order to take a free class each semester. Though the book, the passage of time is our plot, as Owen grapples with his own unstellar life, the shame and pride that comes with growing up in a small rural area, and trying to carve out a different path forward as a self-made writer.
As the book progresses, Owen attaches himself to Alma like a parasite, going so far as to co-opt her own stories into his own writing and suing their relationship as fodder to get ahead.
The book is a character study, which I usually like. However, when the character we’re studying is self-aware yet always the victim of his circumstance, it’s insufferable. The author imbues this sense of apology, not just for the character and his actions, but into the plot and discussions of literature that happen in the novel. The result is a book that feels like it’s apologizing for its own existence every few pages.
As much as I wanted to like this book, reading it brought me very little of what I expect in a coming-of-age character study. We got little discovery, much hand wringing, and a dissatisfying ending.
I do hope Lee Cole get success with this novel though, because I want to see what else is rattling about in his brain.