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A review by bookph1le
Friends in Napa by Sheila Yasmin Marikar
4.0
This was an excellent palate cleanser after having finished a book that was SO not for me.
Now, my two big thoughts about this book are:
1. The prologue is terrible and almost made me quit reading the book. I'm on record many times hating prologues, but it was especially true for this book. Later on, it all made a lot of sense, but placing that prologue at the front of the book, before the reader gets to know any of the characters, was a very bad choice. We know it's a murder mystery/thriller, publishers. You don't need to reassure us that we're reading what the genre classification has told us we're reading.
2. I think this dips into satirical territory, so if you're expecting a regular mystery/thriller, you may not enjoy where this book goes.
Spoilers blurred.
I thought this book did a bang-up job of creating its cast of characters, and it did so in such a way that I did not mind the constant switching of perspectives. The characters' voices felt distinct to me, and I didn't have any problems keeping track of whose point of view I was reading. I also think the shifting POVs helped create a 360-degree picture of who the characters were and what drove them, and that really made the book. I've read my fair share of thrillers about groups of "friends" who actually hate one another and go somewhere for a reunion only for someone (or someones) to end up dead. The biggest problem I have with books like these is it is sometimes so hard for me to fathom why the characters even want to hang out when they all seem to openly despise one another. I never got that sense with this book. Sure, it's patently obvious that this group of people is pretty mismatched, that there are intensive rivalries and more than a few frenemies vibes, but I thought the book did an excellent job of showing what each person got out of being around the others, so that even when they were annoyed with or disdainful of one another I could understand why they still chose to be together.
My other favorite thing about this book was the way it examined how misogyny and racism blend, and how being marginalized shapes not only the way a person experiences the world, but what they may ultimately become because of it. All of the female characters illustrate this in one important way: none of them entirely feel like they're valued for their minds and capabilities. I think this is a struggle many women experience, and I liked how the book explored how a confluence of various factors, such as motherhood, gendered expectations of martial roles, etc., combine to usher women toward a place they didn't anticipate being, making it difficult for them to articulate why they aren't satisfied. It's extremely realistic to me that all of them try to quell the cognitive dissonance by reminding themselves of how lucky they are, how they ask for too much, etc., etc., etc. Women are taught from a very, very early age that they should not only stay in their lane, they should be grateful for the opportunity to be in that lane, no matter how much they hate being in it.
Big spoiler about the ending behind the blur.
This book was a delight, and I very much look forward to reading more from Marikar.
Now, my two big thoughts about this book are:
1. The prologue is terrible and almost made me quit reading the book. I'm on record many times hating prologues, but it was especially true for this book. Later on, it all made a lot of sense, but placing that prologue at the front of the book, before the reader gets to know any of the characters, was a very bad choice. We know it's a murder mystery/thriller, publishers. You don't need to reassure us that we're reading what the genre classification has told us we're reading.
2. I think this dips into satirical territory, so if you're expecting a regular mystery/thriller, you may not enjoy where this book goes.
Spoilers blurred.
I thought this book did a bang-up job of creating its cast of characters, and it did so in such a way that I did not mind the constant switching of perspectives. The characters' voices felt distinct to me, and I didn't have any problems keeping track of whose point of view I was reading. I also think the shifting POVs helped create a 360-degree picture of who the characters were and what drove them, and that really made the book. I've read my fair share of thrillers about groups of "friends" who actually hate one another and go somewhere for a reunion only for someone (or someones) to end up dead. The biggest problem I have with books like these is it is sometimes so hard for me to fathom why the characters even want to hang out when they all seem to openly despise one another. I never got that sense with this book. Sure, it's patently obvious that this group of people is pretty mismatched, that there are intensive rivalries and more than a few frenemies vibes, but I thought the book did an excellent job of showing what each person got out of being around the others, so that even when they were annoyed with or disdainful of one another I could understand why they still chose to be together.
My other favorite thing about this book was the way it examined how misogyny and racism blend, and how being marginalized shapes not only the way a person experiences the world, but what they may ultimately become because of it. All of the female characters illustrate this in one important way: none of them entirely feel like they're valued for their minds and capabilities. I think this is a struggle many women experience, and I liked how the book explored how a confluence of various factors, such as motherhood, gendered expectations of martial roles, etc., combine to usher women toward a place they didn't anticipate being, making it difficult for them to articulate why they aren't satisfied. It's extremely realistic to me that all of them try to quell the cognitive dissonance by reminding themselves of how lucky they are, how they ask for too much, etc., etc., etc. Women are taught from a very, very early age that they should not only stay in their lane, they should be grateful for the opportunity to be in that lane, no matter how much they hate being in it.
Big spoiler about the ending behind the blur.
Spoiler
Which is why I truly, very much appreciated the ending. Now, I'm not advocating for murdering bad men here, but I loved that these three women, who the world had set up to compete with one another, came together in the end and figured out a way to get what they wanted. I adored that the author turned the mean girls trope on its head, that the women in this book buck the odds and convention in order to seize control of their lives on their own terms. I wish I could read a thousand more thrillers like this, instead of the many, many, far too many I do seem to read about women murdering each other or murdering men because of woman-on-woman jealousy.This book was a delight, and I very much look forward to reading more from Marikar.