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A review by sofiamarielg
Cataract City: A Novel by Craig Davidson
4.0
Craig Davidson just does not disappoint. Many moments in this novel echoed the inventive, disgustingly realistic descriptions and metaphors he employed in [b:Rust and Bone: Stories|87015|Rust and Bone Stories|Craig Davidson|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355086108s/87015.jpg|83988], to great effect. Davidson has proved himself a master at creating unabashedly violent and gritty scenes, plucking the reader from their seat and placing them in the midst of the action, right behind the character's eyes. Want to know what it'd be like to shatter all the bones in your hand, or to nearly starve to death in the Canadian not-quite-wilderness? Just pick up one of Davidson's books.
Although the novel ostensibly follows the lives of its two male protagonists as they face the three central conflicts (man vs. self, man vs. man, man vs. nature), Niagara Falls plays a substantial role, becoming a larger, ambiguous third character. Davidson portrays the city as grimy, hopeless, churning out as many lowlifes as it does cookies and baked goods at the factory where all of its residents seem to work. For the protagonists, the city is the cause of their problems, but it is also familiar and warm, and it ultimately has a Stockholm syndrome hold on them. It is fascinating to see the protagonists' lives unfold with them being fully aware of this, down to where they'd be able to provide specific details of their lives in 10, 20 years were they to succumb to the city's grasp.
What Cataract City has, in addition to its probing into larger, universal human issues, is a really great story. The narrative weaves the past and present seamlessly, juggling between the protagonists' points of view in order to paint a full picture. It has a ton of action, plenty of heartbreak, and also small, fleeting moments of hopefulness. It feels spontaneous, but upon completion, the underlying unity to the work makes itself known.
It's basically a dark, twisted, very "human" story with just enough graphic gory flashes to make it a page-turner. (So it's definitely not a beach read. Unless you take your relaxation time with a handful of heart-stopping literature.)
Although the novel ostensibly follows the lives of its two male protagonists as they face the three central conflicts (man vs. self, man vs. man, man vs. nature), Niagara Falls plays a substantial role, becoming a larger, ambiguous third character. Davidson portrays the city as grimy, hopeless, churning out as many lowlifes as it does cookies and baked goods at the factory where all of its residents seem to work. For the protagonists, the city is the cause of their problems, but it is also familiar and warm, and it ultimately has a Stockholm syndrome hold on them. It is fascinating to see the protagonists' lives unfold with them being fully aware of this, down to where they'd be able to provide specific details of their lives in 10, 20 years were they to succumb to the city's grasp.
What Cataract City has, in addition to its probing into larger, universal human issues, is a really great story. The narrative weaves the past and present seamlessly, juggling between the protagonists' points of view in order to paint a full picture. It has a ton of action, plenty of heartbreak, and also small, fleeting moments of hopefulness. It feels spontaneous, but upon completion, the underlying unity to the work makes itself known.
It's basically a dark, twisted, very "human" story with just enough graphic gory flashes to make it a page-turner. (So it's definitely not a beach read. Unless you take your relaxation time with a handful of heart-stopping literature.)