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A review by kingabee
Mislaid by Nell Zink
4.0
Much was made of the fact that Franzen recommended Zink and her books to the world, but I’m glad I read 'Mislaid' regardless. You must know they are nothing alike and Franzen could sit and think for 20 years and he wouldn’t come up with anything nowhere near this zany and inventive. I heard that they just bonded over birds.
I suppose you can say ‘Mislaid’ is an attempt at ‘The Great American novel’. All that will damn you in America is there: race, gender, and poverty. It explains everything so perfectly. The country is hell if you are poor and black but it is also a land of opportunity and all you need to do to get your happy ending is work hard and not give up. Lol. I’m kidding. All you need to do is stop being poor and black and become white and rich instead – yes, so the plot of this book is a little ludicrous and you just have to be on board with that because Zink is trying to say something here.
It’s a story of Peggy, a lesbian liberal arts students who gets pregnant by her gay college professor whom she subsequently marries. Mislaid. MIS-LAID. Get it? It gets weirder from there.
Since Zink keeps a straight poker face throughout the whole thing, including the outlandish ending, some of the reviewers might be forgiven for believing she is for real. But come on. This is not your typical MFA number. There is something brave, maybe even careless or reckless about this novel. The way it tried to talk about race, attacking the supposed new-era ‘colour-blindness’ of the US (especially the South). Zink’s satirical blade is very sharp and she risks being misunderstood. Most readers probably won’t like this book. Don’t be most readers.
I suppose you can say ‘Mislaid’ is an attempt at ‘The Great American novel’. All that will damn you in America is there: race, gender, and poverty. It explains everything so perfectly. The country is hell if you are poor and black but it is also a land of opportunity and all you need to do to get your happy ending is work hard and not give up. Lol. I’m kidding. All you need to do is stop being poor and black and become white and rich instead – yes, so the plot of this book is a little ludicrous and you just have to be on board with that because Zink is trying to say something here.
It’s a story of Peggy, a lesbian liberal arts students who gets pregnant by her gay college professor whom she subsequently marries. Mislaid. MIS-LAID. Get it? It gets weirder from there.
Since Zink keeps a straight poker face throughout the whole thing, including the outlandish ending, some of the reviewers might be forgiven for believing she is for real. But come on. This is not your typical MFA number. There is something brave, maybe even careless or reckless about this novel. The way it tried to talk about race, attacking the supposed new-era ‘colour-blindness’ of the US (especially the South). Zink’s satirical blade is very sharp and she risks being misunderstood. Most readers probably won’t like this book. Don’t be most readers.