A review by oddly
Mislaid, by Nell Zink
5.0
Top notch literary fiction that isn't stale or dry or highfalutin. This book is incredible.
What do you do when you're a young white lesbian stuck in a strange and ill-fated marriage to a gay (male) poet who wants to lock you up in the crazy house and throw away the key? Obviously the answer is to kidnap your daughter, steal a dead black girl's identity for her, and go live in secrecy and abject poverty. Obviously.
The plot may seem far-fetched, but you can't say you aren't intrigued, am I right? And besides that, the writing is really amazing. The characters are funny, irreverent, and full of life. They aren't afraid to follow their heart, even when their brain (and everyone else) tells them they've made a huge mistake. I was honestly stuck on every page, laughing, cringing at all the bad decisions, and then wanting to be the characters.
What this book is really about is finding your place in the moment, in the world, in your own life. Everybody wants to fit in, but fitting in can be a lot of work and sometimes involves elaborate deceptions where you try to make people believe that you're something you're not just so that they'll accept you. Because being accepted is more important than being yourself...?
What is identity anyway? Maybe there are two basic dimensions to identity. The tangible things that we take for granted like your name, race, gender, heritage, or even your social standing. And then there are the fluid parts like your personality, interests, lifestyle, your job, or even the clothes you wear and food you eat. These things change, sometimes slowly over time and sometimes daily. But what if there aren't two dimensions? What if there is really just one and everything is fluid and changeable?
Racial identity, sexual identity, class, beliefs, interests, and anything else that we use to define ourselves and stake a claim in the world is what makes us who we are. But how much of that can you change? And how much of who you really are will actually change if you start upending those boundaries and blurring the lines?
With Zink behind the wheel, it's a hell of a journey, and one well worth taking. I've got her debut novel, [b:The Wallcreeper|22237292|The Wallcreeper|Nell Zink|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400625481s/22237292.jpg|41610859], at the top of my to-read pile and I can;t wait to see what else she's got coming.
What do you do when you're a young white lesbian stuck in a strange and ill-fated marriage to a gay (male) poet who wants to lock you up in the crazy house and throw away the key? Obviously the answer is to kidnap your daughter, steal a dead black girl's identity for her, and go live in secrecy and abject poverty. Obviously.
The plot may seem far-fetched, but you can't say you aren't intrigued, am I right? And besides that, the writing is really amazing. The characters are funny, irreverent, and full of life. They aren't afraid to follow their heart, even when their brain (and everyone else) tells them they've made a huge mistake. I was honestly stuck on every page, laughing, cringing at all the bad decisions, and then wanting to be the characters.
What this book is really about is finding your place in the moment, in the world, in your own life. Everybody wants to fit in, but fitting in can be a lot of work and sometimes involves elaborate deceptions where you try to make people believe that you're something you're not just so that they'll accept you. Because being accepted is more important than being yourself...?
What is identity anyway? Maybe there are two basic dimensions to identity. The tangible things that we take for granted like your name, race, gender, heritage, or even your social standing. And then there are the fluid parts like your personality, interests, lifestyle, your job, or even the clothes you wear and food you eat. These things change, sometimes slowly over time and sometimes daily. But what if there aren't two dimensions? What if there is really just one and everything is fluid and changeable?
Racial identity, sexual identity, class, beliefs, interests, and anything else that we use to define ourselves and stake a claim in the world is what makes us who we are. But how much of that can you change? And how much of who you really are will actually change if you start upending those boundaries and blurring the lines?
With Zink behind the wheel, it's a hell of a journey, and one well worth taking. I've got her debut novel, [b:The Wallcreeper|22237292|The Wallcreeper|Nell Zink|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400625481s/22237292.jpg|41610859], at the top of my to-read pile and I can;t wait to see what else she's got coming.