A selection from the "Local Authors" rack at Powell's Books. Publisher's Weekly called it "a brilliant synthesis of Raymond Carver and Jim Thompson," which means that it combines the character work of dirty realism with the action of noir fiction. This review captures the mood of the novel better than the back-cover summary which suggests it's about the gentrification of Portland. Housing costs are the MacGuffin that set the plot in motion, but the book is really about overcome past mistakes.
Lynette is working three jobs while caring for her developmentally disabled brother. She has saved enough money for the down payment on the rundown house they've been renting, but at the last minute her mother backs out on getting a loan for the rest. Lynette spends a long, increasingly dangerous night trying to collect all the money she can.
For the most part, the story hews to the conventions of paperback thrillers, as does Vlautin's unadorned writing style. What I appreciated, though, was that the characters' motivations were believable and somewhat sophisticated, unlike the windup toys featured in most thrillers. And despite the dark milieu, there's an underlying hopefulness. Lynette's mother gives a compelling speech about how you have to "just look out for yourself and screw everyone else"... but she does it while tenderly tending to her daughter's injured back.
No comments:
Post a Comment