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sarah_kula's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
carojust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a story about staring death in the face, and the in-between space of anticipatory grief and grief grief. A scorching, unforgiving desert is the symbolic backdrop, as made obvious by the title. Our narrator is an author, who feels intimately modeled after Melissa, herself, and she is navigating her father's near-death, post-accident condition, as well as her husband's debilitating and amorphous illness. We join her as she's arriving at a Best Western in the middle of nowhere, carving out a space for her own self-pity, care and emotions, and ideally, some writing inspo. When she takes a desert hike on the recommendation of the hotel staff, it unleashes a wild fever dream, where we are trying to grasp the edges of reality and hope alongside her.
Let me just say, the line, "Listen, Best Western cares, but not this much" made me have to put the book down and howl-laugh.
Definitely read this book if you're exploring your own mortality, the meaning of your life, or experiencing grief, but need to laugh about it.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction
orlagal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
a_novel_craving's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
gondorgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
kaseythefairy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Moderate: Blood, Excrement, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Car accident, and Death of parent
brianareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent
alligatortoast's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Another gripe I have with this book is the main character. She's at once witty, funny, selfish, and irritating. The book turns into a survival story half way through, and though we're supposed to be concerned and rooting for the MC, I found myself annoyed by her. She's literally dying in the desert and somehow I found it hard to feel sympathy for her at times. Maybe it was just my personal tastes, but the book was honestly painful to read sometimes, and I had to force myself to finish it.
It's also pretty bizarre and surreal at times. She has full blown conversations with rocks, not once but throughout the entire novel. There's also a part where she
I will say, a positive of this book is the format. The chapters are incredibly short, ranging from 1 to 6 pages at most. This makes for a quick read, or at least it should. Again, I was struggling about halfway through to finish. I stopped about 2/3's of the way through to read another book (Open Throat by Henry Hoke) before finishing, and I almost DNF.
It's not all bad, as it has some powerful wisdom and views on grief, love, and loss. Anyone with family or friends who are chronically sick or in hospital care will likely get something out of this, though it may also be triggering for some. The ending is hopeful, though again, we're never given a proper explanation as to the events of the novel. It's basically one giant fever dream, or a metaphor, or these impossible things really happened and we'll just never know which is the true answer. Maybe that's the point, maybe it's meant to be enjoyed and not analyzed too deeply. But for a novel as reflective as this, I was longing for an explanation.
Overall, I'd recommend this if you like odd, bizarre, and surreal reads. It's humorous, raw, emotional and uncomfortable. So if that's your cup of tea, I say go for it. I don't think it's worth full price though ($30!) so I say get it used. I use Pango Books, it's a life saver.
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, and Car accident
bootsmom3's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Blood, and Excrement
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Car accident
woolfinbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Melissa Broder is my favorite author of all time. I've been a fan since I read Meat Heart about a decade ago (how hipster of me) Witnessing her shift from poetry to prose has been quite the journey; one I'm gladly still embarking on.
Death Valley is an isolating novel about anticipatory grieving a parent and surviving shit. Compared to Milk Fed, her sapphic masterpiece, the romantic messiness is calmer, but the action (not that kind) is faster... yet slower? Each chapter is short, most landing under 5 pages. It makes for a read that feels fast-paced yet like the action is lacking. Until it's not. Is that medium paced? Maybe. Who knows.
The protagonist (unnamed) has an increasingly homebound husband and a father that has died multiple times in the hospital after a near-fatal accident (does it count as near-fatal if he's died already) She takes a trip into the desert and stumbles upon a cactus. A cactus one of the hotel workers claims doesn't, and can't, exist. When she goes back to visit the cactus, it's not there. She remembers the flesh, the moisture, the coolness, the visions inside of it. She continues her hike until realizes that she's lost. As the day passes time is ticking. Her water is running low. The sun is blistering. She needs to make it back. But every step leads her somewhere new. Somewhere she's not meant to be. Are her visions real? Is her father gone? Is her husband better? Can she survive? Can she grieve? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows. I know because I read it. You can know if you read it too.
What I loved - Melissa's writing is always a joy (and by 'joy' I mean it sends me into a helical storm of reflection, depression, and anxiety over someone knowing too much about me and I hate it and hate her and I love her and love her. Fuck her for doing that. But also thanks)
What I disliked - Nothing. Melissa Broder has never done anything wrong a day in her life. (something something I didn't connect to the father dying stuff because mine is dead and I hated him, but it's not her fault that she wrote a weirdly specific book about a situation relating to me soon after his death... fuck her for doing that. But also thanks)
Did reality meet expectations - Nope. I went into it expecting an absolute shit show of a relationship. I thought she would cheat on her husband with one of the side characters. I thought their fight would be bigger. I thought the mommy issues would exist (rip Melissa's mommy issues era, hello Jethra fanfic) I thought the father/daughter dynamic would be more toxic and cruel (what does that say about me) Instead we get a shit show of a person. Which is great. I love inserting myself into shit show characters. I loved that it didn't go the way I expected. I loved how I was wrong about everything. That's what makes Melisa bae.
5/5 stars because it's my favorite, just like everything she does is my favorite. I can't help that my fav only writes iconically.
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Death, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, and Car accident
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, and Chronic illness