jbrown_leo's review against another edition
4.0
Last thoughts as I closed the book were “huh?”...as I proceeded to tear up. Did I understand the point to the book? No, but the ending was still incredibly sad to me. Everything was written very well. I love the characters, I love the storylines, but nothing connected. It was almost like this was a book of a few short stories but instead of reading one short story at a time, you read a little bit from each story in every other chapter. I kept waiting for it to “click“, for some connection to be made but that never happened. So I don’t want to give this book a bad score because overall I really enjoyed the stories, but I can’t give it a five because I don’t really understand the point to the book and that irritates me.
hreed7's review against another edition
4.0
In the past few years of reading new fiction with more regularity, I’ve learned that most novels are not just birthed of an author’s knowledge and life experience, but of laborious, library-basement research. This fact is clear enough in historical fiction—Orhan Pamuk’s introduction to My Name Is Red remains my favorite note on historiography that I’ve yet found—but even contemporary works often seem designed to unload sheaves of “information” under a fictive veneer.
The Mars Room exhibits this quality in particular because prisons are definitionally so opaque to the outside that any hint of creativity or complexity or humanity from incarcerated characters lands with a surprise. Everything from “use peanut butter to hide a pill on the roof of your mouth” to “flush things down the toilet to pass them between cells” prods the mind with a sort of “where did Rachel Kushner learn this so she could fold it into her book?”
Still, as this year’s opening round Tournament of Books judge Evan Handler notes, “Though the world Kushner creates feels more investigated, and less lived, it’s still The Mars Room that demonstrates greater insights into people and their peculiarities.” And that fact remains, this was a book that read fast but moved slow, brought us through the minds of many characters while dwelling very little on their subconsciousnesses, and ultimately tied together just complete enough of a narrative to satisfy.
Whereas other works on incarceration use brutality to emphasize dehumanization, The Mars Room does so by emphasizing rules and repetition, and in the end we feel that the main character Romy Hall’s fate is a product of bureaucratic indifference. It’s an on ramp for anyone who has had to deal with call centers or cable companies, scaled up to the very most precious elements of life. It’s a good book, not Great but thought provoking and certainly not the worst book of this year’s Tournament.
The Mars Room exhibits this quality in particular because prisons are definitionally so opaque to the outside that any hint of creativity or complexity or humanity from incarcerated characters lands with a surprise. Everything from “use peanut butter to hide a pill on the roof of your mouth” to “flush things down the toilet to pass them between cells” prods the mind with a sort of “where did Rachel Kushner learn this so she could fold it into her book?”
Still, as this year’s opening round Tournament of Books judge Evan Handler notes, “Though the world Kushner creates feels more investigated, and less lived, it’s still The Mars Room that demonstrates greater insights into people and their peculiarities.” And that fact remains, this was a book that read fast but moved slow, brought us through the minds of many characters while dwelling very little on their subconsciousnesses, and ultimately tied together just complete enough of a narrative to satisfy.
Whereas other works on incarceration use brutality to emphasize dehumanization, The Mars Room does so by emphasizing rules and repetition, and in the end we feel that the main character Romy Hall’s fate is a product of bureaucratic indifference. It’s an on ramp for anyone who has had to deal with call centers or cable companies, scaled up to the very most precious elements of life. It’s a good book, not Great but thought provoking and certainly not the worst book of this year’s Tournament.
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I found it difficult to get into this book. The writing is choppy, it switches timeframes often, later it switches perspectives without notice, all of which serve to make it hard to follow. It’s for lack of a better word, chaotic. I felt for the characters because their stories are all stories of misfortune and loss. Although all of the women are prisoners who did heinous things, you can’t help but feel for them, because of the circumstances that led them to the bad deeds they committed. The ending made me sad — I hoped for a better outcome for the protagonist than the one she got.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Outing, Drug use, Death, Confinement, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Animal death, Biphobia, Police brutality, Murder, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Deadnaming, Colonisation, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Sexism, Racism, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
cnxnoname's review against another edition
2.0
I had to fight to finish this book. I had heard a lot of good things about it from some reviewers. Honestly tho, I couldn't see it. I couldn't find it. There was nothing to write home about here.
The story was bleak and sad but not challenging.. I didn’t find it emotionally engaging or engrossing.
As a person who’s worked in prisons (men’s) the only thing I could say about this novel is that Rachel, the author, really did a good job of highlighting the most intrinsic difference between men's and women’s institutions in regards to guard-facilitated sexual abuse which has always been a prevalent conversation in women's institutions, that is not lacking but not as prevalent in men’s institutions..
She really shed some light on the moral complexities of certain situations. But I couldn’t feel anything for any of the characters really. I could understand the anger, how they found themselves in fucked up situations, usually including the involvement of abusive partners or childhood/teenage/adolescent trauma. However, much like the whole book, and much like seasons 4 & 5 of the TV show, Orange Is The New Black, I felt like it was a spotlight on violence and not much else..
Also, there was a bleak uncaring attitude in the way this book was written, in my opinion. There's this resignation or resigned acceptance. Is itmeant to convey the current status of the environment? Maybe. To me, it really just added to what made this book hard to engage with. Any sliver of redemption that may exist here in the characters or development of the story was buried deep in this book, so deep it couldn't be found.
The story was bleak and sad but not challenging.. I didn’t find it emotionally engaging or engrossing.
As a person who’s worked in prisons (men’s) the only thing I could say about this novel is that Rachel, the author, really did a good job of highlighting the most intrinsic difference between men's and women’s institutions in regards to guard-facilitated sexual abuse which has always been a prevalent conversation in women's institutions, that is not lacking but not as prevalent in men’s institutions..
She really shed some light on the moral complexities of certain situations. But I couldn’t feel anything for any of the characters really. I could understand the anger, how they found themselves in fucked up situations, usually including the involvement of abusive partners or childhood/teenage/adolescent trauma. However, much like the whole book, and much like seasons 4 & 5 of the TV show, Orange Is The New Black, I felt like it was a spotlight on violence and not much else..
Also, there was a bleak uncaring attitude in the way this book was written, in my opinion. There's this resignation or resigned acceptance. Is itmeant to convey the current status of the environment? Maybe. To me, it really just added to what made this book hard to engage with. Any sliver of redemption that may exist here in the characters or development of the story was buried deep in this book, so deep it couldn't be found.
roribbons's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
charlotte_k's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
ryryreadsbooks96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Romy Hall is serving two life sentences after killing her stalker. Once inside, Romy reminisces about her traumatic childhood in San Francisco and the years she spent working as a stripper at The Mars Room. The only saving grace are the memories she has of her son, Jackson. Romy suffers through the banalities of prison life with a bountiful and complex cast of characters: a woman who killed her baby, an indigenous woman who killed her abusive husband, a teenager who killed a college student. The standouts are Fernandez: a mentor to Romy; and Conan: a trans man who bonds with Romy over their love for cars.
Another yearly read since 2019, Kushner uses many of the post-modern touches she employed in The Flamethrowers. Here she inhabits the minds of a GED teacher Romy tries to ensnare and a dirty cop who is imprisoned elsewhere. Many don’t like this effect, which I understand. Kushner pulls the focus from this female narrative only to focus on vile or pathetic men? Kushner doesn’t aim for the reader to empathize with these men, she’s not even asking us to empathize with Romy.
Romy is one of the best 1st person portraits. Kushner’s ability to capture a mind is astounding, authentic, and profound. Like Reno before her, Romy is an observer, but unlike Reno, we’re allowed into Romy’s past. As a kid, Romy has terrible memories of SF and the poverty she faced with her distant mother. As she gets older she becomes addicted to whatever’s available and works at The Mars Room to pay rent. The father of her child overdoses and she’s forced to move to LA because a customer keeps following her home. In sections, Romy speaks directly to us, acknowledging that we wouldn’t make the same decisions. Acknowledging the fact that how and where you’re raised is more fateful than we think. There is no guilt in her prose, no regrets— only stray thoughts like, “what if I worked in a different club?”
Kushner pushes for unsentimental narratives that express the nuances of class and gender. She explores counterculture without exploitation and grounds you in reality without sticking to the limits of time. It’s bold, discomforting, and real.
Another yearly read since 2019, Kushner uses many of the post-modern touches she employed in The Flamethrowers. Here she inhabits the minds of a GED teacher Romy tries to ensnare and a dirty cop who is imprisoned elsewhere. Many don’t like this effect, which I understand. Kushner pulls the focus from this female narrative only to focus on vile or pathetic men? Kushner doesn’t aim for the reader to empathize with these men, she’s not even asking us to empathize with Romy.
Romy is one of the best 1st person portraits. Kushner’s ability to capture a mind is astounding, authentic, and profound. Like Reno before her, Romy is an observer, but unlike Reno, we’re allowed into Romy’s past. As a kid, Romy has terrible memories of SF and the poverty she faced with her distant mother. As she gets older she becomes addicted to whatever’s available and works at The Mars Room to pay rent. The father of her child overdoses and she’s forced to move to LA because a customer keeps following her home. In sections, Romy speaks directly to us, acknowledging that we wouldn’t make the same decisions. Acknowledging the fact that how and where you’re raised is more fateful than we think. There is no guilt in her prose, no regrets— only stray thoughts like, “what if I worked in a different club?”
Kushner pushes for unsentimental narratives that express the nuances of class and gender. She explores counterculture without exploitation and grounds you in reality without sticking to the limits of time. It’s bold, discomforting, and real.
ari_in_the_bookshop's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pollyandthebooks's review against another edition
Didn't get interested, just so bleak
janisreading's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The book was interesting but parts were very slow and I found myself having to go back and reread more than a few times. This happened mostly during the scenes that dip back into the past, which are a major part of the book. The story takes place in California, with lots of local Bay Area and Southern California references. This added to the book for me because I'm familiar with many of the places mentioned. Reading literature that includes characters in the penal system was also an interesting change. If you go into the book expecting an alternating fast and slow pace, with emphasis on the characters and their thoughts, you likely won't be disappointed. Those who prefer more plot driven stories with a quick thriller-like pace might get seriously bored.