A review by zamziva
Stone Junction by Jim Dodge

Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.

It was such a promising start! Then all the female characters served as eye candy, sexual objects who were faceless and nameless. And the named women, barely spoke, dead or disappeared. I haven't read a book about a cis-straight white man in over a year and I can really see the difference. I got used to having characters of different genders having personalities and motives, I forgot that in a lot of writing women exist as props. The ironic racism of Guido speaking in a Mexican accent just didn't work - it felt lazy - Jim Dodge tries to argue it's Guido's way of catching out the racists around him and yet it feels like Jimmy was giggling to himself because Hispanic accents are so funny. The formula of Daniel being shifted between different eccentric male teachers who passed on alternative educations from meditation, drugs and poker (poker is incredibly boring to read about - that was the nail in the coffin for me!). I wish I could complete it, I hate not finishing books, especially books recommended by friends. But there's just so much other books out there I'd like to read.