The Silver Linings Playbook | Book Review

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I saw this movie and loved it and knew I had to read the book. I started reading and was blown away by the quality of writing - not just the story, but the humor and drama and subject matter and every tiny ingredient involved in this delicious literary casserole. As a writer myself, there are so many things here to commend, and I try to note them all in my review. The movie and the book are different in a lot of ways. But I think the movie retained the spirit of the book. And so does the author. So I'm with him.

Writing Technique: ★★★★1/2 Quick is a brilliant writer. He turns a guy with crippling mental illness, violent tendencies, and a serious one-track mind into a heart-warming, charming, hilarious, and moving narrative. Let this be a study for all novelists in voice, because this guy nails it. He also unravels a compelling modern hero's journey with a very limited first person POV. This work is fantastic.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ As I said, this is a modern hero's journey. Pat is not your typical hero (see more in char dev). But his journey is truly admirable. He leaves a neural health institution with one goal in mind: be reunited with his wife Nikki. Every single action he takes is made with her in mind: working out obsessively, his attitude and actions toward others, his pursuit of a greater literary education, etc. He is trying to write his own story - his own movie. He is single-minded in his pursuit of a happy ending, a true silver lining. It doesn't go exactly as planned, which is to be expected. And here is where novelists should study Quick's work, because it is a model case study of want v. need. As The Rolling Stones said so eloquently: "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well you might find...you get what you need." (Now that song's stuck in your head. You're welcome.)

Character Development: ★★★★1/2 So what does Pat need? Well, he thinks he needs Nikki. But we all know he doesn't need Nikki. He needs to adjust to his new reality. To find embrace his new life and find a happy ending in it and not in the past. Pat's not your typical hero because he's psychologically ill. His treatment, his healing is a long internal process. And I love seeing where he's at on the last page. The closing line for me is beautiful.

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ I love the difficult issues this book tackles. And having read some author interviews, I admire him for writing something that reflects at least in part a personal struggle. SLP addresses depression, mental illness, grief, physical and emotional abuse, marriage, love, friendship, family, obsession, personal growth, and the true nature of happy endings.

Rating: R for language and sexuality

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★ Ray Porter is a great voice for Pat's somewhat deranged inner monologue. He also excels at all the men's voices - Philly, Indian, inner city black accents - he nails 'em all. But all the women sound exactly the same. It's difficult being a voice actor, I know, but it drew me out of the moment a few times. Especially when Jeanie and Tiffany talk back and forth, there was no change. So points lost.

Overall: ★★★★1/2 This is a great read. I don't think I could possibly recommend it more.
And yes, you should watch the movie too. Here, watch the trailer.


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The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Book Review

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me an eternity to read this book. I don't know why. It's easy to get through, but I guess I'm easily distracted. The movie (written, directed, and produced by the author) is incredible and I highly recommend it. It's not one of those things where you must read the book first or you must watch the movie first. They are perfect companion pieces.

And let me give a huge shout out to my best friend, Tiffany, who first told me about this novel and insisted I read it. You were right, love.

Writing Technique: ★★★★★ Perks is a unique reading experience. I believe Chbosky to be a genius writer for penning such a poignant coming of age epistolary tale from the limited POV of a shy but observant, damaged but learning, ignorant but exposed high school freshman. This author captures Charlie's voice perfectly. He offers a lot of philosophical commentary on life and growing up, culture and relationships. And he does it in a way that is equal parts subtle and... not subtle. It's an easy, simple read, light. But I consider that one of its virtues. A novel packed with so much drama could be dense or heavy-handed. I think Chbosky handles it well. Very well.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ The plot is not that complicated. Things happen, yes. But the meat of this story is Charlie's internal struggle. The notable events are in great part a conduit for his journey of self-discovery. So let's get to character development, shall we?

Character Development: ★★★★★ Charlie's story is a classic coming of age story. He's spent his life on the sidelines, watching but not doing. His English teacher's challenge to participate catapults him into a group of friends who are most definitely doers. His friendship with Sam and Patrick exposes him to a whole new way of life - loud, wild, fearless, and infinite. And ultimately, he learns the value and necessity of friendship; he deals with long buried wounds from his past; he hurts and he heals; he finds hope. And that's a great character arc.

Message/Theme: ★★★★ This is a book jam-packed with themes: observing v. participating in life, isolation v. integration, being who you are v. being who others want you to be, tolerance, acceptance, abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual), self-esteem, friendship, family, innocence, love, freedom, hope, beauty, etc. etc. etc. There is a strong undisguised sexual revolution message here - casual sex, homosexuality, and abortion are just a few topics presented and embraced over the course of the story. And while I don't agree with all of the more liberal messages Chbosky clearly advocates, I appreciate the sentiment.

Rating: R for language, sexuality, drug use, violence

Overall: ★★★★ This book has become a classic, and rightly so. It's quiet and reserved, quirky and spunky, simple and deep. And it's neck-deep in poetic introspection that will leave you feeling a little more whole, a bit more hopeful, and a lot more infinite.



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Easy | Book Review

Easy by Tammara Webber

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Oh Goodreads, you failed me this time. As a writer, I feel bad for what I'm about to do. But as a reader, it seems necessary to tell the truth, no matter how painful. And I just can see my literary snob friend Zach (I mean that affectionately, Zach, if you're reading. Okay, go away now...) judging me and rolling his eyes as this pops up on his feed - like, look at the cover! What did you expect?! Well, I expected a low budget indie book with a poor marketing team but a precious literary gem inside because friends of mine gave it five stars.

Warning: this is the harshest review I've ever given. In summary, this book was TERRIBLE. File it under DANA READ THIS BOOK SO I DON'T HAVE TO.

Actually file it under: DON'T READ THIS BOOK, READ THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY INSTEAD. (I read The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. It blew me away. I died a thousand beautiful deaths of love for that book and wanted to read something similar. Girl suffers attack. Boy has dark and twisty past involving lots of death. Boy and Girl heal themselves and each other. Laughter and pain and love love love. TSoT did this well. Easy should've been lit on fire before hitting a publisher's desk...to put it mildly.

Writing Technique: ★ None. Honestly, Webber is the worst writer I've ever read. (Including some horribly cheesy romantic Christian fiction.) Some of the most basic good writing techniques were completely absent. Things like show, don't tell. So many times I observed as Jacqueline strung all the pieces of the plot together for us, explaining easily what we should be figuring out. Don't believe me? (These are examples from two consecutive chapters near the end because they are the freshest in my mind, but I assure this is a consistent problem throughout.)

Pg. 287 My eyes stung. No wonder his father had shut down. From what Dr. Heller told me, Ray Maxfield was a logical, analytical person. His only emotional exception must have been his wife. 
You can't really know that, Jacqueline. You're telling me what to think, and I don't like it. 
 
Pg. 288 His grief was so tangible. I knew in that moment that he hadn't worked through it--not at all in the eight years it had been. His protective wall had become a fortress holding him hostage rather than giving sanctuary. he might never fully recover from the horror of what happened that night, but there had to be a point where it wouldn't consume him. 
Over-sharing much? Yeah some of those words are pretty, but this outright statement means less to me than if I'd put it together on my own based on a stronger narrative voice. 
 
Pg. 300 As I stroked his hair and held him tight, I knew this night had struck a chord at the heart of his pain. What tormented Lucas went further than the horror of that night eight years ago. What haunted him was guilt, however insanely misplaced.
I might forgive this straight telling if Jackie had put it in the context of her own revelation, "I realized this must have tortured Lucas blah blah blah." But that never happens. Jackie doesn't realize things, she just gives it to you.

In my opinion, this is just lazy writing. Show, don't tell is rule no. 1. And it wasn't the only problem with the book. Obvious characterization. Predictable plot in absolutely every way. It's completely unimaginative. I'm starting to feel romance as a genre - forgive me my generalization, I know there are always exceptions - is breeding ground for this kind of authorial laziness. (I know, I know...I sound mean, don't I? Sorry. But it PISSED.ME.OFF.)

Plot/Story Development: ★★ While the bare-boned skeleton of this story is okay, the meat and muscle of it are what really sucked. I can appreciate a simple if predictable plot if the details are handled well and the prose is good. Alas, you know I don't appreciate this book.

This story has a very traditional romantic plot arc. Brokenhearted damsel in distress is rescued from soulless villain (obviously out to steal the damsel's "virtue" - whatever remains of it) by hunky tortured badboy knight in shining armor. Damsel (Jacqueline -- and can I just say...I hate characters ((and real people!)) who are sticklers over others using their full name. Nicknames/shortened names are a sign of affection and intimacy. Get over yourself...) and Knight (Lucas -- also known by a host of other names throughout) are thusly thrown together by a host of circumstances beyond their control until flirty texts and emails devolve into a chest-heaving, eye-rolling surrender to their lusty passions.

[Plot dev spills into character dev now...]

Character Development: ★★★ Damsel gets all fem-powered and learns to defend herself (although Knight continues to swoop in at the last moment just to make sure all baddies are sufficiently man-squashed). Knight, sensitive stud that he is, has demons of the past and secrets of the present - to match those sexy tats and lip ring - which he learns to relieve and release through the power of their Most Epic Love-Lust. And together -- they find The True Meaning of Christmas! or whatever...

[We interrupt this scathing sarcasm for a moment of truth: Jacqueline is an idiot -- kind of. I feel bad for her. But she's slow and kind of annoying. I don't think this because of her actions, because she really didn't do anything wrong. It's not her fault she gets attacked/stalked. But based on her narrative, her "inner monologue" (both of which is a reflection of the author's lack of writing technique)...she's a moron. I'm glad she got all fem-powered in the end. But I hated being in her head. And Lucas had a lot of traits of real good guys I know...but in the end, he's just a caricature of the Romantic Hero...even with all his baggage. It's resolved too easily. It doesn't feel genuine. Hence...all the mockery.]

Message/Theme: ★★★ This book gets points for message (not very many, obviously, but some). Rape/assault is a very serious thing, and I appreciate the author trying to awaken her readers to its danger and inspire them to be proactive.

Theme: love heals all wounds. Love, lust, victimization, empowerment, healing, friendship, .... aaaaaaand not much else. There really isn't much going on here besides the whole "Don't get raped, but if you do, it's not your fault" vibe.

Rating: R. Very R. Possibly NC-17, but I'm not exactly sure what that would entail because I've never seen one. This book is basically erotica or really close (I'm not technically sure, because I don't read that genre - on purpose.) Also much swearing, some violence, and as always thematic elements.

[PS: My hatred of my book is not even about the graphic and profuse sexual content, although that's why I can't even say, "Yeah, try it out. maybe you'll like it." I think no one should read this book. Zero redeeming value. But my hatred of this book is based solely on the lazy, uninspired, dear-god-how-the-heck-did-you-even-get-this-published poor quality of writing.]

Overall: ★ If I've offended you with this review because you thought this book was some undiscovered masterpiece, all I have to say is - get out and read some other freaking books! Most of my reviews are not this mean, but I feel like I'm healing myself from this traumatic reading experience just by writing this, and hopefully I've spared someone else. Let me know if I spared you.



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