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A review by lupetuple
Organ Meats by K-Ming Chang
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Absolutely incredible... Ms. Chang does it again!! She grows so much with every release and I'm dying to read her next work, every time I finish her latest.
From the rhythmical alliteration to uncanny figurative language--her choice of similes especially--her writing absorbed me entirely into the strange world she created that cannot decide on a strict "reality", as the literal becomes figurative and vice versa. Themes of intergenerational trauma, colonialism, and linguistic violence pervade the narrative in a way that I feel Bestiary flirted with but didn't come to fruition as it does here in Organ Meats. Then, of course, the questions around what "love" means and entails, regarding loyalty and (literal) bondage, are constantly asked of Rainie especially.
Speaking of Rainie... the characters are so bizarre, contradictory, and ultimately, desperate; my favorite point of view had to be that of Vivian in the penultimate chapter,when she reveals that she somehow had the wrong estimation of Rainie, claiming that she "listens to everything". Meanwhile, earlier, Rainie deigns to finally see the world through Anita's perspective, and "listen" to the dogs, who she felt she could never really talk to without Anita.
It's a love story rife with fear, fear of losing oneself by submitting to being loved, and the indignation at being refused and abandoned, leading to violence and possession. There's ghosts, a blur of gods, women, and dogs, clever wordplay and imagery involving all three. Anita's family is a lineage of myth and dreams, while Rainie stubbornly clings to the physical and literal world. Of course, the relationships and events are also cyclical and interwoven throughout.
It's hard to express all my feelings toward this book. Some parts didn't stick the landing, but I always appreciate what Ms. Chang tries to evoke, and as a result, she's the least derivative contemporary author out there. Yes, she employs quite a bit of obscenity, sometimes too crude to be meaningful, but in all that shit, there's ingenuity and fascination. I have to say Organ Meats is now in my list of favorite books of all time and I'm itching to reread it already.
From the rhythmical alliteration to uncanny figurative language--her choice of similes especially--her writing absorbed me entirely into the strange world she created that cannot decide on a strict "reality", as the literal becomes figurative and vice versa. Themes of intergenerational trauma, colonialism, and linguistic violence pervade the narrative in a way that I feel Bestiary flirted with but didn't come to fruition as it does here in Organ Meats. Then, of course, the questions around what "love" means and entails, regarding loyalty and (literal) bondage, are constantly asked of Rainie especially.
Speaking of Rainie... the characters are so bizarre, contradictory, and ultimately, desperate; my favorite point of view had to be that of Vivian in the penultimate chapter,
It's a love story rife with fear, fear of losing oneself by submitting to being loved, and the indignation at being refused and abandoned, leading to violence and possession. There's ghosts, a blur of gods, women, and dogs, clever wordplay and imagery involving all three. Anita's family is a lineage of myth and dreams, while Rainie stubbornly clings to the physical and literal world. Of course, the relationships and events are also cyclical and interwoven throughout.
It's hard to express all my feelings toward this book. Some parts didn't stick the landing, but I always appreciate what Ms. Chang tries to evoke, and as a result, she's the least derivative contemporary author out there. Yes, she employs quite a bit of obscenity, sometimes too crude to be meaningful, but in all that shit, there's ingenuity and fascination. I have to say Organ Meats is now in my list of favorite books of all time and I'm itching to reread it already.