A review by lindsrobking
Harrow by Joy Williams

4.0

This is probably the most allusive book I've ever read. Joy Williams manages to weave climate catastrophe, eco-terrorism, biblical fable, German idealism, existentialism, Christian morality, Buddhism, theology and theosophy together in mirrors and entendres that are so clever they're easy to miss and mistake for absurdism. The prose, as a reader might expect from Williams, ambles from poetic to dark to kooky to relentlessly witty and back again. I often pictured her writing this book slouched over the keyboard, flooded with coffee, sporting a wide smug grin after every good line. While it does feel like a certain kind of genius, at times Harrow is chaotic and hard to parse, with many similar overlapping voices, and movement that follows the pliable logic of dreams. I loved this book because I found the work of understanding it deeply satisfying, but I would not say that this book was simply enjoyable.