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adam_mcphee 's review for:
Cold Water
by Gwendoline Riley
A short, vibes-based barfly novel. The characters and setting are well-observed. Halfway through I realized the dialogue was dated, but in the best sense, because it brought me back to that time and place.
Felt a weird reverie, because I was only a kid then, in the late 90s/early aughts, but this was the future I was preparing for, both looking forward to and dreading, but for better or worse it was robbed from us by the internet. On the one hand, there was possibility. You didn't know what the future was going to hold and what strange culture, art, or people you were going to meet. On the other hand, there was also a sort of staleness. An awareness that it was all too easy to fall into a rut and never meet likeminded people or find the ideas that would spark something inside of you. The internet (which is never even mentioned in this novel) kept getting faster and faster and took that away. Art is no longer connected to any material culture, and it's so easy to find online that it comes looking for you. With people it's still a little harder, there's still a great deal of loneliness, but it's easier than ever to find community by going online, and you don't even have to swear allegiance to some dumb countercultural tribe.
None of this has much to do with the novel, except that I think Riley inadvertently captured that era quite well. Looking forward to reading more of her novels.
Felt a weird reverie, because I was only a kid then, in the late 90s/early aughts, but this was the future I was preparing for, both looking forward to and dreading, but for better or worse it was robbed from us by the internet. On the one hand, there was possibility. You didn't know what the future was going to hold and what strange culture, art, or people you were going to meet. On the other hand, there was also a sort of staleness. An awareness that it was all too easy to fall into a rut and never meet likeminded people or find the ideas that would spark something inside of you. The internet (which is never even mentioned in this novel) kept getting faster and faster and took that away. Art is no longer connected to any material culture, and it's so easy to find online that it comes looking for you. With people it's still a little harder, there's still a great deal of loneliness, but it's easier than ever to find community by going online, and you don't even have to swear allegiance to some dumb countercultural tribe.
None of this has much to do with the novel, except that I think Riley inadvertently captured that era quite well. Looking forward to reading more of her novels.