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nehaanna 's review for:
Long Bright River
by Liz Moore
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked up this book because the opioid crisis has been an area of professional and academic interest for me as someone getting a degree in public health. So naturally, I was intrigued to get my hands on a work of fiction that accurately portrays the ravages of the opioid epidemic, the generational cycles of abuse, and the continued struggles that those suffering from opioid use disorder and their loved ones face. I figured this on its own would be a highly engaging plot, and a subplot of a mystery would be interesting too.
What I didn’t anticipate was the fact that even this topic, too, can be rendered into something so hideously banal and dry. I knew going into this that Liz Moore’s writing isn’t too engaging (I read god of the woods and had to struggle to keep going many times), but my goodness this is incredibly dry. I don’t know how she managed to take such a complex and emotionally fraught situation and make it such a banal and monotone narrative. The protagonist is a cop and as such this reads a lot like a cop thriller, which just isn’t my thing.
I also think this work suffers from having two mysteries going on - the mystery of where Kacey is and the mystery of the murders. The murder subplot is shoddy work, drawn out, and easily solvable. It takes away valuable page time in this work and doesn’t move the story forward (which is why we have a nearly 500 page novel that doesn’t have any interesting elements until the last 30%). This novel would have done miles better if it was just about the mystery of Mickey locating her sister and uncovering the trial of where she has gone, as that already had plenty of ground to follow.
I do think this novel does get some things right, which are the portrayal of opioid use disorder and its effect on northeastern cities in the US, the cycle of poverty many of these individuals face, the link between substance use disorder and other high risk and dangerous scenarios, and a picture into the life of the low-middle to blue collar class of citizens. Other topics are discussed such as the children born to women who are suffering from opioid use disorder, and the heartache that comes from treating children with neonatal abstinence syndrome. However, while these elements are all done well, it doesn’t cover the fact that the delivery of this story is dry, cumbersome, and excessive morose to a fault, as well as the fact that there are vying plot points for the readers attention that simply fall flat.
What I didn’t anticipate was the fact that even this topic, too, can be rendered into something so hideously banal and dry. I knew going into this that Liz Moore’s writing isn’t too engaging (I read god of the woods and had to struggle to keep going many times), but my goodness this is incredibly dry. I don’t know how she managed to take such a complex and emotionally fraught situation and make it such a banal and monotone narrative. The protagonist is a cop and as such this reads a lot like a cop thriller, which just isn’t my thing.
I also think this work suffers from having two mysteries going on - the mystery of where Kacey is and the mystery of the murders. The murder subplot is shoddy work, drawn out, and easily solvable. It takes away valuable page time in this work and doesn’t move the story forward (which is why we have a nearly 500 page novel that doesn’t have any interesting elements until the last 30%). This novel would have done miles better if it was just about the mystery of Mickey locating her sister and uncovering the trial of where she has gone, as that already had plenty of ground to follow.
I do think this novel does get some things right, which are the portrayal of opioid use disorder and its effect on northeastern cities in the US, the cycle of poverty many of these individuals face, the link between substance use disorder and other high risk and dangerous scenarios, and a picture into the life of the low-middle to blue collar class of citizens. Other topics are discussed such as the children born to women who are suffering from opioid use disorder, and the heartache that comes from treating children with neonatal abstinence syndrome. However, while these elements are all done well, it doesn’t cover the fact that the delivery of this story is dry, cumbersome, and excessive morose to a fault, as well as the fact that there are vying plot points for the readers attention that simply fall flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment