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A review by alisonburnis
A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
A Filipino spirit, an aswang, steps into Marina’s body at the site of her murder. How did she get there? Her story comes out, interspersed with the story of her murderer, and with her lola, her mother, and her best friend. Marina was a bright, sensitive child, crushed by the life she ended up living.
I regret finishing this book; I really do. For starters: the author chose to use Robert Pickton as the inspiration and name for her fictional but no less brutal version of him. This felt exploitative and also kept trying to show the beauty in characters who were cruelly murdered - and also told Pickton’s story, which frankly I don’t care about. Chadburn was trying to do some sort of work spotlighting violence against women and Filipino culture, and while parts were really well done, overall this book was just too much crammed in, never mind the Pickton character (she used his name and life story! She says so in the notes at the back even if you didn’t immediately identify it). Do not read.
I regret finishing this book; I really do. For starters: the author chose to use Robert Pickton as the inspiration and name for her fictional but no less brutal version of him. This felt exploitative and also kept trying to show the beauty in characters who were cruelly murdered - and also told Pickton’s story, which frankly I don’t care about. Chadburn was trying to do some sort of work spotlighting violence against women and Filipino culture, and while parts were really well done, overall this book was just too much crammed in, never mind the Pickton character (she used his name and life story! She says so in the notes at the back even if you didn’t immediately identify it). Do not read.