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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Audiobook. Took me 3 tries to finish. Interconnected stories that didn’t feel resolved. When I heard ‘the end’ I was confused because it felt incomplete.
The book starts out introducing Johnny Frìas, a California Highway Patrolman and native Californian who many assume is Mexican, born of illegal immigrants and who faces a lifetime of derogatory racism because of it. For me however, the book soon veers of course introducing characters that I had trouble connecting to one another until about three quarters of the way into it. I put this book down many times but eventually did finish. I had higher hopes for this but it just didn’t live up to expectations.
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I will admit after getting about halfway through I was not super committed to this book and decided to speed read/skim the rest of the novel. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and their stories because of the disconnected bits of story from various points of view. This made the book feel disjointed and sometimes I had a hard time determining who the narrator was due to this, and probably because of my lack of paying attention. It is not that I did not enjoy this book, I would definitely recommend it in the future and appreciated the attention to detail and knowledge of the California landscape necessary for this novel. However, I just do not think it was the right time for me to read this and after dedicating a certain amount of time I was eager to move on to others.
An interconnected set of stories - this felt a little too disjointed to be considered “one novel”. Some of the stories were good and some of the writing was beautiful; I saw parts of California I never had seen before through the stories.
But, because the book was so disjointed I spent most of the book confused about what was happening. There were too many characters to keep track of, too many plots (or almost plots), and it was hard for me to get through it.
But, because the book was so disjointed I spent most of the book confused about what was happening. There were too many characters to keep track of, too many plots (or almost plots), and it was hard for me to get through it.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2022 will forever be the year I first met two writers who have been writing for some time, but who are new to me, and who rocked my world and changed the way I look at writing and at America. The first was Percival Everett, the second is Susan Straight. I believe we are headed for a two-way tie for book of the year.
Mecca rocked my world. I usually hate publisher's blurbs, I often think "what book did they read?" Not so here, so instead of any plot summary I will steal a couple sentences from the blurb:
In Mecca, the celebrated novelist Susan Straight crafts an unforgettable American epic, examining race, history, family, and destiny through the interlocking stories of a group of native Californians all gasping for air.
In chapters focused on different members of a loose group of friends and family Straight creates rich and complex characters, heroes and antiheroes. whose lives are relentlessly impacted and yet not fully defined by US and state government/law enforcement and their approach to non-white people. (This slate of narrators includes one character who is a a cop, and that is a very interesting perspective.) There is one storyline with white characters, it is a hoot and I am pretty sure it was inspired by The Big Lebowski, and it serves as a great foil for the rest of the stories - the things white people with money can get away with - while also revealing a lot about being a woman and surviving. Really almost all the stories do that, even the stories of the minor characters. The women in this book are so freaking strong. Not in any cinematic "you go girl" "it is all about me" "I'm gonna buy those Jimmy Choo's" way. No these women have shit to get done and they do it. They raise children without the support of fathers, they endure rapes and miscarriages and beatings and they show up for backbreaking work the next day, they stand up to men with guns because their babies are waiting for them, they resent but accept with grace and equanimity that men can take off to pursue their dreams but they do not have that option. And Straight explores the limitations and joys of family. There are questions here, giant and policy focused, and also matters that are intimate and part of every day real life. I don't know how she did it, but she did.
Straight was mentored by James Baldwin, and I can see that in this book, but more than that I saw a lot of Steinbeck. But in the end the book is completely Straight's own. There is not a thing derivative about it. It is a nuanced fresh empathic take on a spectacularly complicated group of dynamics, and it is a plain old great story about very real people. If you are looking for answers though, Straight provides none -- she offers only perspective so you can better consider the world.
I listened to this, and the audiobook narration by Frankie Corzo, Patricia R. Floyd, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett was excellent.
Mecca rocked my world. I usually hate publisher's blurbs, I often think "what book did they read?" Not so here, so instead of any plot summary I will steal a couple sentences from the blurb:
In Mecca, the celebrated novelist Susan Straight crafts an unforgettable American epic, examining race, history, family, and destiny through the interlocking stories of a group of native Californians all gasping for air.
In chapters focused on different members of a loose group of friends and family Straight creates rich and complex characters, heroes and antiheroes. whose lives are relentlessly impacted and yet not fully defined by US and state government/law enforcement and their approach to non-white people. (This slate of narrators includes one character who is a a cop, and that is a very interesting perspective.) There is one storyline with white characters, it is a hoot and I am pretty sure it was inspired by The Big Lebowski, and it serves as a great foil for the rest of the stories - the things white people with money can get away with - while also revealing a lot about being a woman and surviving. Really almost all the stories do that, even the stories of the minor characters. The women in this book are so freaking strong. Not in any cinematic "you go girl" "it is all about me" "I'm gonna buy those Jimmy Choo's" way. No these women have shit to get done and they do it. They raise children without the support of fathers, they endure rapes and miscarriages and beatings and they show up for backbreaking work the next day, they stand up to men with guns because their babies are waiting for them, they resent but accept with grace and equanimity that men can take off to pursue their dreams but they do not have that option. And Straight explores the limitations and joys of family. There are questions here, giant and policy focused, and also matters that are intimate and part of every day real life. I don't know how she did it, but she did.
Straight was mentored by James Baldwin, and I can see that in this book, but more than that I saw a lot of Steinbeck. But in the end the book is completely Straight's own. There is not a thing derivative about it. It is a nuanced fresh empathic take on a spectacularly complicated group of dynamics, and it is a plain old great story about very real people. If you are looking for answers though, Straight provides none -- she offers only perspective so you can better consider the world.
I listened to this, and the audiobook narration by Frankie Corzo, Patricia R. Floyd, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett was excellent.
A little over the top.
The set up in the inland empire is great, has good sense of place. The story is like an over the top Indian movie.
The set up in the inland empire is great, has good sense of place. The story is like an over the top Indian movie.
(3.5) I think as far as the writing, characterization, and important themes go this is a 5-star novel, but it jumped around a lot, covered characters who were minor in the scheme of things, and the main plotline was lost along the way.
Still, excellent writing, and covers super important topics!
Still, excellent writing, and covers super important topics!