on July 3, 2015
Many novels feature a woman who moves from the city to bucolic wonderland... then learns to ride a horse to win over the rough hewn man who doesn't put up with her cosmopolitan guff.Mills flips the script then tears it up and brings Ame from bucolic wonderland ("Green Mountains") to the city.
Mills doesn't weave a story so much as switch gears. Ame is hearing voices at age 22, typically 3-4 years after schizophrenia or manic depression unveils itself. Quickly, though, the story turns linear with Ame as reliable narrator. The voices are never heard from again. Ame is Patty Hearst indoctrinated to Tanya in an hour rather than days, by daddy of darkness Freddy. Pages later, a character says, "You're not Patty Hearst. This isn't the SLA." More or less. Ame gives us GPS on the streets of Oakland, a story, some social commentary on the criminal culture, and poetic flourishes. And she uses an inordinate amount of (not-big-city-jaded-but-rather-inner-child) exclamation points!
Toward the end, the novel veers toward words - Mills' comfort zone. One would think Mills is another writer writing for writers in their echo chamber where they only write for each other. On the whole, though, the book is explicitly for a general audience. Kudos.
A kidnapping, guy thrown out of a van with spooky force, party, fight, dislocated knee -- 4 stars, check it out.
on May 7, 2015
I love the character of Ame...can't wait till the next book in this series...fun read!...😸
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