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A review by reflectiverambling_nalana
Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
There is absolutely a person out there who this work was made for, who it will resonate. I feel that deep in my bones. Sadly, I am not that person. I appreciate this story for its parts, for what it's trying to do. If consumed in its individual segments there is a lot to love. There is a high reliability to Yamaye's passion for dub as a tool for avoiding, of getting lost. I appreciate her lyricism. However, the gap between our experiences and time frames was a bit too distant for me to cling onto her emotionally as I really needed to and was not compensated by the overall writing.
I am fortunate to say I have not had to deal with the traumas experienced in the early life of Yamaye or that which happens in the course of this novel. As a white rural American woman I will never feel her experience of the world or her fears. Unfortunately, the mental blockades people who have had to live in worlds and around people that our lead character has creates this wall between me as a reader that I couldn't quite climb.
Personally I think the biggest issue hampering me from digging into this novel was the pacing. I feel the most successful parts of the novel were in her discovery of self with Moose, of her time in Jamaica. However her entire involvement with the underworld seemed to both fly by and drag on. I never quite felt what I needed to as she was drawn in. It was more of a crash than a spiral to her disillusionment. I was craving more suspense. A slow drowning. it also didn't help that I felt disconnected with how she got there in the first place circumstantially. I was never sure if it was random paranoia of the general conditions of the time, or if she really had a direct threat , and exactly how she was targeted for the events that occurred as up to that time she had herself been rather 'clean'.
I don't require tidy endings. I don't need full conclusions. But the story lines that actually made me feel invested gave way to what was the weaker side plot and invested the remainder of the book in a crash of a finale for that particular chapter of her life.
For all my disconnect, I do absolutely recognize the importance. I appreciate the pieces of history and the snapshot of a culture. I wanted more of Yamaye discovering herself creatively. i wanted her to crack open her feelings and find her absolution in her music, forge her path that way. There are hints of that. And much of her progression does happen through these moments she steals. But I can't help but feel she also lost just as much of herself to them as well.
I am fortunate to say I have not had to deal with the traumas experienced in the early life of Yamaye or that which happens in the course of this novel. As a white rural American woman I will never feel her experience of the world or her fears. Unfortunately, the mental blockades people who have had to live in worlds and around people that our lead character has creates this wall between me as a reader that I couldn't quite climb.
Personally I think the biggest issue hampering me from digging into this novel was the pacing. I feel the most successful parts of the novel were in her discovery of self with Moose, of her time in Jamaica. However her entire involvement with the underworld seemed to both fly by and drag on. I never quite felt what I needed to as she was drawn in. It was more of a crash than a spiral to her disillusionment. I was craving more suspense. A slow drowning. it also didn't help that I felt disconnected with how she got there in the first place circumstantially. I was never sure if it was random paranoia of the general conditions of the time, or if she really had a direct threat , and exactly how she was targeted for the events that occurred as up to that time she had herself been rather 'clean'.
I don't require tidy endings. I don't need full conclusions. But the story lines that actually made me feel invested gave way to what was the weaker side plot and invested the remainder of the book in a crash of a finale for that particular chapter of her life.
For all my disconnect, I do absolutely recognize the importance. I appreciate the pieces of history and the snapshot of a culture. I wanted more of Yamaye discovering herself creatively. i wanted her to crack open her feelings and find her absolution in her music, forge her path that way. There are hints of that. And much of her progression does happen through these moments she steals. But I can't help but feel she also lost just as much of herself to them as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Sexual harassment