Scan barcode
A review by literarylucie
Say Goodbye When I'm Gone by Stephen J. Golds
4.0
Say Goodbye When I’m Gone jumps around manically in time and space to show us the lives of Hinako and Judy, as they inevitably come together in one of the most intense and heart-wrenching climaxes I’ve ever read.
This novel is not for the faint-hearted - please don’t read it while eating like I did. It is full to the brim of violence; there is murder, spousal abuse, rape, sexual assault, and even a young boy who gets off on hurting people. But when you look underneath all this, there are some deeply complex characters. Rudy falls in with a bad crowd which results in his eldest daughter, Grace, being fatally shot. His pain and guilt is something he carries with him for his whole life, even when all his family are either moved away or dead. Despite being a murderer, we still sympathise for him, possibly because of the flashbacks where we see how he cares so much for his wife and family, and his treatment of Hinako.
Hinako’s strand of the storyline was my favourite. Hinako is a young Japanese girl who wants to go to the US to have individuality and freedom, and get away from the monotony and depravity of Nagoya. She spots an ad for a maid job in a beautiful hotel in Hawaii and instantly jumps at the chance. However when she gets there, she is dehumanised and treated in the worst way possible; her time with Rudy in his antiques shop are her only moments of solace.
This book has one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen, a sideways cover is always intriguing but this is a work of art. It’s bold and bright, reminiscent of a postcard or video case, with a little touch of blood, of course.
Overall, Say Goodbye When I’m Gone is everything one would want in a gritty noir. It’s incredibly dark and gruesome; there’s moral ambiguity, there’s cruelty, and there is sex. What more could one want?
This novel is not for the faint-hearted - please don’t read it while eating like I did. It is full to the brim of violence; there is murder, spousal abuse, rape, sexual assault, and even a young boy who gets off on hurting people. But when you look underneath all this, there are some deeply complex characters. Rudy falls in with a bad crowd which results in his eldest daughter, Grace, being fatally shot. His pain and guilt is something he carries with him for his whole life, even when all his family are either moved away or dead. Despite being a murderer, we still sympathise for him, possibly because of the flashbacks where we see how he cares so much for his wife and family, and his treatment of Hinako.
Hinako’s strand of the storyline was my favourite. Hinako is a young Japanese girl who wants to go to the US to have individuality and freedom, and get away from the monotony and depravity of Nagoya. She spots an ad for a maid job in a beautiful hotel in Hawaii and instantly jumps at the chance. However when she gets there, she is dehumanised and treated in the worst way possible; her time with Rudy in his antiques shop are her only moments of solace.
This book has one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen, a sideways cover is always intriguing but this is a work of art. It’s bold and bright, reminiscent of a postcard or video case, with a little touch of blood, of course.
Overall, Say Goodbye When I’m Gone is everything one would want in a gritty noir. It’s incredibly dark and gruesome; there’s moral ambiguity, there’s cruelty, and there is sex. What more could one want?