A review by caseykc
Some Things That Meant the World to Me by Joshua Mohr
4.0
This book is powerful because it causes the reader to consider those people on the fringes of our society - people we think too weird or dirty to really want to remember. The events and the characters in this book are things we don't want to think about and keep swept away in the dark corners of our cities. Even with sparse writing, Mohr brings these characters to life, makes them human, and forces us to recognize those dark places and people in our world.
"Safety" and "home" are not assumed in this world, but the longing for both shows up in sometimes surprising and twisted ways. However, they are only surprising and twisted for those of us who have grown up with a family or life situation that has allowed us to assume both safety and home. For that reason alone Some Things That Meant the World to Me needs to be read by many, many people. You wouldn't find any of these characters on TV, even on an exploitative reality show. Nothing superficial can fix the messes these people have, but the beauty is that they know it... and they tramp on, living their lives, doing the work they need to do to make it right. (Unlike the too-many wannabe celebrities filling our reality-tvs thinking that money and plastic will make it all better.)
I would have liked to give 3.5 stars on this novel simply because it's hard to say I "really like" a book like this or think it's super amazing or something. I don't think books like this are meant to be enjoyed or loved at all, which makes our world based on grades and ratings an unfriendly place for all forms of art.
What makes writing like this special isn't how we rate it but how we respond to it.
"Safety" and "home" are not assumed in this world, but the longing for both shows up in sometimes surprising and twisted ways. However, they are only surprising and twisted for those of us who have grown up with a family or life situation that has allowed us to assume both safety and home. For that reason alone Some Things That Meant the World to Me needs to be read by many, many people. You wouldn't find any of these characters on TV, even on an exploitative reality show. Nothing superficial can fix the messes these people have, but the beauty is that they know it... and they tramp on, living their lives, doing the work they need to do to make it right. (Unlike the too-many wannabe celebrities filling our reality-tvs thinking that money and plastic will make it all better.)
I would have liked to give 3.5 stars on this novel simply because it's hard to say I "really like" a book like this or think it's super amazing or something. I don't think books like this are meant to be enjoyed or loved at all, which makes our world based on grades and ratings an unfriendly place for all forms of art.
What makes writing like this special isn't how we rate it but how we respond to it.