Recommended by Mr Hager
A hard-hitting and very readable novel from the creator of the well-regarded Juniper Song detective series, this recent work from Steph Cha explores the repercussions from the LA race riots of 1991 by focusing on two families who are drawn together in very unexpected ways.
The novel is set mostly in 2019, with flashbacks to 1991, and is particularly interested in family ties, how they continue and how they are dissolved, and how the past becomes lost through acts of conscious and unconscious revision or obfuscation. It asks important questions about our relationship with ourselves, our families and the wider community, whilst the shocking event at the centre of the novel asks important moral and ethical questions of the reader and of the characters themselves. All of this is done within a ‘thriller’ framework, making the novel something of an addictive reading experience whilst challenging us to think more deeply about important and polarising issues.
The novel created something of a Twitter storm before its UK publication, and is well worth a read. It also allows you to think about the great literary difficulty that is ‘ending a novel well’. Critical opinion on the final sections of this novel has been divided. See what you think, and let the blog know!
More details are available here from the publisher, Faber & Faber.
If you want more details about the Juniper Song series, click here.
More details are available here from the publisher, Faber & Faber.
If you want more details about the Juniper Song series, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment