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A review by pearloz
We Are Made Of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner
3.0
I finished the book but did I read it? It was vague, elusive, spoke in riddles and a secret language I wasn't really privy to. For instance:
"They are second generation migrants (Shae), ecological refugees (the polar bears) and African elopers I mean antelopes (the reeboks) from North West London."
The Polar Bears and the Reeboks make appearances throughout the novel so I presume they are...people, yes? Our narrator and the character Shae are best friends, as far as I can gather, and work...at a hotel?, a "no-star hotel--the 'New House of Normal,'" on the Isle of Wight, employed by a woman named House Mother Normal, herself derived from a character from a BS Johnson novel; BS Johnson who is a known English experimental novelist. It's like a Brexit-nightmare this book.
Interspersed throughout are random histories: nomenclature of American military helicopters, the flag colors of various LGBTQI+ communities, etc.
Unlike other novels where I couldn't find a narrative purchase to hold onto, WAMODS was just tantalizingly close enough to my reach that I am excited to read it again. I'll be reading D and W authors in April so I hope to read this and [b:Gaudy Bauble|36304263|Gaudy Bauble|Isabel Waidner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506374339l/36304263._SY75_.jpg|57972977], along with their PhD thesis which I think will illuminate their style of writing a great deal (thesis here: https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/366410/Isabel_Waidner_Thesis.pdf).
2nd read thoughts: I found it easier to trace but no less inscrutable—I think the Polar Bears and Reeboks are just that: polar bears on Shae’s top, Reeboks on her feet? even though at some point they were personified. They fed worked in a hotel, lots of shenanigans occurred, Mother used locals to sell drugs, our main characters sold knock off clothes? Needless to say, it did not coalesce for me.
"They are second generation migrants (Shae), ecological refugees (the polar bears) and African elopers I mean antelopes (the reeboks) from North West London."
The Polar Bears and the Reeboks make appearances throughout the novel so I presume they are...people, yes? Our narrator and the character Shae are best friends, as far as I can gather, and work...at a hotel?, a "no-star hotel--the 'New House of Normal,'" on the Isle of Wight, employed by a woman named House Mother Normal, herself derived from a character from a BS Johnson novel; BS Johnson who is a known English experimental novelist. It's like a Brexit-nightmare this book.
Interspersed throughout are random histories: nomenclature of American military helicopters, the flag colors of various LGBTQI+ communities, etc.
Unlike other novels where I couldn't find a narrative purchase to hold onto, WAMODS was just tantalizingly close enough to my reach that I am excited to read it again. I'll be reading D and W authors in April so I hope to read this and [b:Gaudy Bauble|36304263|Gaudy Bauble|Isabel Waidner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506374339l/36304263._SY75_.jpg|57972977], along with their PhD thesis which I think will illuminate their style of writing a great deal (thesis here: https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/366410/Isabel_Waidner_Thesis.pdf).
2nd read thoughts: I found it easier to trace but no less inscrutable—I think the Polar Bears and Reeboks are just that: polar bears on Shae’s top, Reeboks on her feet? even though at some point they were personified. They fed worked in a hotel, lots of shenanigans occurred, Mother used locals to sell drugs, our main characters sold knock off clothes? Needless to say, it did not coalesce for me.