Saturday, February 23, 2008
Have You Seen Me?
*** Have You Seen Me? by Laura Denham. General fiction.
Juliet has lived in a downward spiral, from sexual abuse through becoming a stripper, then a prostitute. Then when she tries to pull herself up by joining the sort-of commune that made such a change in her friend Mary, it turns out... well, that's a spoiler, so I won't tell you.
This is a rather surreal book. It's written in first person, but in an extremely matter-of-fact way, so rather than being immersed in the character's emotions, as you'd expect, you get no emotion whatsoever. Juliet describes sex and the weather with equal passion (none), and gives me the impression of a damaged, surly teenager daring the reader to be shocked, or to care.
And that was probably the point--that Juliet was psychologically damaged, and in real life, she would have a flat affect. It just doesn't make for a very engaging book.
I did find it interesting, in a rather detached way, and the ending was ironic, but ultimately, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Categories: Books, 3stars, GeneralFiction
Labels: 3 stars, books, GeneralFiction
