A review by wafer
Prudence by David Treuer
2.0
This is a hard one to score, because there’s some truly promising aspects of this novel that are engaging. The beginning chapters and constant shifting of limited third person POVs is done stupendously. The author is wonderful at using subtlety in the narrative to get a character across.
That being said, the book as a whole feels unfinished. The romance between Frankie and Billy needed more time dedicated to it, and Frankie himself for all of his supposed importance is not given enough time with the audience to be truly appreciated.
And as for the titular Prudence, I’m honestly not sure what her purpose or presence brings to the story. Am I to sympathize with her as a person for losing her sister and being a victim of sexual abuse as a child? Or am I to hate her for committing rape in what is the most disturbing section of the novel? Does it matter? Why should I care?
The ending seems rushed as well, on top of it all. The book ends with a stream of consciousness much like Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye or William Faulkner’s Sound and the Fury. But unlike those novels, here it feels unearned and spur of the moment for a character I ultimately feel little sympathy for.
That being said, the book as a whole feels unfinished. The romance between Frankie and Billy needed more time dedicated to it, and Frankie himself for all of his supposed importance is not given enough time with the audience to be truly appreciated.
And as for the titular Prudence, I’m honestly not sure what her purpose or presence brings to the story. Am I to sympathize with her as a person for losing her sister and being a victim of sexual abuse as a child? Or am I to hate her for committing rape in what is the most disturbing section of the novel? Does it matter? Why should I care?
The ending seems rushed as well, on top of it all. The book ends with a stream of consciousness much like Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye or William Faulkner’s Sound and the Fury. But unlike those novels, here it feels unearned and spur of the moment for a character I ultimately feel little sympathy for.