A review by astridrv
Pew by Catherine Lacey

mysterious reflective sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A mysterious tale which raises more questions than it provides answers. The voice of a child that acutely observes the world; they see adults up close, far closer and truer than this gallery of characters would like, and they see themselves from afar, at a distance from the body that happens to carry their thoughts and hinder their expression. I am left haunted and provoked, thinking about identity and memory (What indeed is left if we admitted we shouldn't even have a name?) but also community and society (How to connect this book with Le Guin's Omelas, cited as epitaph?). I had expected a different ending but this short book might stay with me for a while. Oh, and it is incredibly well written, precise, chiseled, elegant and fresh.
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