A review by plantybooklover
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

In Nightcrawling, we are introduced to Kiara and her brother Marcus - both high school drop outs who are incomprehensibly surviving after their father has died and their mother has gone to prison/halfway house. Neither has any marketable skills, and unlike so many of these stories, neither has a burning talent or motivation to "do whatever it takes"  or "to make something of themselves." Marcus dreams of becoming a rap star, but lacks the discipline - and talent- to achieve this.  Kiara, the main character is focused on trying to keep her family- Marcus- housed and intact.  She lives very much in the moment and never has a care for future goals, or even a thought for what her life may be like in 3 months or 3 years.  As Kiara focuses on the immediate picture of a rent increase and needing to cover the rent, she finds herself falling into a situation which pays but leaves all sorts of scars and create more problems as she continues on. She demonstrates almost no forethought and just cannot seem to extricate herself. Kiara is then fingered as a star witness in a police scandal - she agrees to testify only because she believes it will help her brother, and her to obtain a bit of cash, and get him out of jail.  Things don't go exactly according to plan, and in the end Kiara is left to find her own truth.
   I appreciated the insights in this novel. It highlights the difficult choices that people make, as well as the reality that even when one stands up for what's right, a conclusion of justice doesn't always come, and that even when justice doesn't occur, everyone's lives continue and we all must find a way to create meaning to move on. 
  To be honest, I didn't totally "enjoy" this novel. It made me very uncomfortable at times and left me with a feeling that our social service type "nets" are wholly inadequate. So it's not a "cozy" read. I think this book, however, does have a place and is an important piece of fiction. (which a lot of the cozy fiction reads are not.) I was glad to discover it was long listed for the Booker Prize. It will be interesting to see more work from the author. 
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