It seems Arnett's style had matured by the time With Teeth came out, which I loved. I came to this one hoping for more of the same slow-paced humour and sarcasm. The concept is interesting but I wasn't as charmed. The pacing felt off, all of the ideas are jumbled and disorganised. It's overall a much less sophisticated presentation than With Teeth. Since most people didn't like that one and seem to like this one better, I guess maybe if you disliked With Teeth, you might enjoy this one? Suffice it to say they've similar tones but very different execution.
I'm not sure how to put my feelings about this novel into words. It left me cold, though I recognize part of that was the artistic project set out by Arnett. Still, several key moments for the main character felt forced. I didn't understand, for example, why her mother's art bothered her so much, especially after hearing what she had to say about it. Yet this seemed to be a big moment of anguish for the main character and I have to think the reader was intended to be tracking this emotional stand off. Well I didn't feel it. I also didn't feel invested in the main character's relationship with Lucinda, which was all surface, and which was supposed to provide a lot of pay off for the Jessa's growth as a character but honestly felt pasted on. I was much more interested in her relationship with Brynn and I …
I'm not sure how to put my feelings about this novel into words. It left me cold, though I recognize part of that was the artistic project set out by Arnett. Still, several key moments for the main character felt forced. I didn't understand, for example, why her mother's art bothered her so much, especially after hearing what she had to say about it. Yet this seemed to be a big moment of anguish for the main character and I have to think the reader was intended to be tracking this emotional stand off. Well I didn't feel it. I also didn't feel invested in the main character's relationship with Lucinda, which was all surface, and which was supposed to provide a lot of pay off for the Jessa's growth as a character but honestly felt pasted on. I was much more interested in her relationship with Brynn and I don't feel like her closure there was very earned.
So the surface of this novel is fine. It launches from a Six Feet Under set up and explores some pain and loss (but never addiction, which was a throughline that seemed to by flying under Arnett's radar). The prose wasn't spectacular but it was serviceable and Arnett does an excellent job of creating an environment saturated with bleak animalism. Where I feel it goes wrong is in its inability to drop its guard and allow its characters to be vulnerable with more profound connections gained through more interesting actions.
