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savvylit's review
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Crudo is an immersive, sharp-witted, and observational novel. Laing plunges readers directly into Kathy's life as if we are also directly experiencing the minutiae of her day-to-day. Some of the most effective moments in Crudo are when Kathy experiences upsetting news about American and British politics. Laing manages to capture the very specific sense of dread and helplessness that can only come with an onslaught of troubling news. Setting this book in 2017 was also the perfect choice to express this awareness burnout because there was a lot of awful news on the horizon that Fall.
I will say, I did find it difficult to mentally match the rhythm of Crudo at first. Some of Laing's paragraphs last pages, there are no quotation marks, and not only is it stream-of-consciousness BUT it is 3rd person stream-of-consciousness. Once I got over that, though, I was pleased with the brilliance of Laing's technique. Reading Crudo, I often felt like I had actually become Kathy because I knew so much about her and her thoughts.
If you like plotless books that drop you directly into a character's life for a few hundred pages, then Crudo is for you!
I will say, I did find it difficult to mentally match the rhythm of Crudo at first. Some of Laing's paragraphs last pages, there are no quotation marks, and not only is it stream-of-consciousness BUT it is 3rd person stream-of-consciousness. Once I got over that, though, I was pleased with the brilliance of Laing's technique. Reading Crudo, I often felt like I had actually become Kathy because I knew so much about her and her thoughts.
If you like plotless books that drop you directly into a character's life for a few hundred pages, then Crudo is for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Alcohol