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A review by tanyadillyn
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
3.0
So I had a friend point out that one of the upsides of this book's existence is that it brings ideas of harm reduction and support services to a group of readers who may not often be exposed to this if they're reading mostly crime fiction. I think yes, that's a step in the right direction.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the theories that there are many kids' books, Berenstein Bears for instance, where the main character can act like a jerk the whole book and then learn his lesson at the very end, and the kids reading these books walk away more often thinking that "being a jerk is fun" rather than "thank goodness Brother got his comeuppance, he is sure bad."
I worry that the tone of this book, the perspective of the narrator, carries a lot of misplaced judgement for addicts, poor families, sex workers, and symptoms of systemic issues, and that the slight redemption/revelation she begins to grow into comes too far into the book. It's a jarring transition, and it's messy, and maybe I was reading with my own judgement and cynicism, but I don't know how successful that messiness is.
Anyway, I do think it puts plenty of important ideas in a well-constructed crime narrative, and I hope it makes room for more like it (executed better) in the future.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the theories that there are many kids' books, Berenstein Bears for instance, where the main character can act like a jerk the whole book and then learn his lesson at the very end, and the kids reading these books walk away more often thinking that "being a jerk is fun" rather than "thank goodness Brother got his comeuppance, he is sure bad."
I worry that the tone of this book, the perspective of the narrator, carries a lot of misplaced judgement for addicts, poor families, sex workers, and symptoms of systemic issues, and that the slight redemption/revelation she begins to grow into comes too far into the book. It's a jarring transition, and it's messy, and maybe I was reading with my own judgement and cynicism, but I don't know how successful that messiness is.
Anyway, I do think it puts plenty of important ideas in a well-constructed crime narrative, and I hope it makes room for more like it (executed better) in the future.