magical realism

‘The Porpoise’ by Mark Haddon

/ Jaclyn Bauer / Leave a comment

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The Porpoise by Mark Haddon is a masterfully rendered retelling of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Haddon takes all of the elements of Shakespeare’s work, and layers on it a multitude of intricacies that elevate the story to an entirely different emotional plane.

Haddon sets his reader up in contemporary France where a plane has just crashed: a wife is dead, a daughter survives. Angelica, the daughter, is raised by her father Phillipe who develops a muddled and monstrous relationship with his her as she grows. Just as Shakespeare’s Pericles’ own adventure starts with the unveiling of a scandal between father and daughter, so does Haddon’s Pericles. This Pericles though is at first a con artist named Darius who comes to visit Phillipe and uncovers the untold lies surrounding Phillipe and Angelica. After being chased away by one of Phillipe’s henchmen, Darius, now Pericles, finds himself upon a ship, The Porpoise, with a new name, a new history, and a new destiny to fulfill.

Haddon follows not only Pericles, but also a host of other characters whom have only minor or momentary parts in Shakespeare’s original. Haddon, instead of simply following Pericles’ narrative as it stands, weaves together characters and elements in unique and magical ways. In doing so, the reader is intimately tied to all of the characters whether she despises them or holds her breath for them. Through elements perhaps of magical realism, of mental instability, or musings on the veil between life and death, characters, times, and places start to blend together as themes and narrative threads are woven into a brilliant and moving tapestry that is Mark Haddon’s The Porpoise.

While there are points in the novel where Haddon’s musings seem to run away and leave the reader wondering at the thread of his thoughts, overall the piece is a beautifully set puzzle with some odd curves, but a marvelous finish.

A masterful and poetic work, The Porpoiseby Mark Haddon is slated for release by Doubleday on June 18, 2019. You can preorder a copy of the book at your local independent bookstore today.

Read more fiction book reviews at Centered on Books.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me in return for a fair and honest review of the text.

‘If Cats Disappeared from the World’ by Genki Kawamura

/ Jaclyn Bauer / Leave a comment

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If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura is a fun and unusual novel. Originally published in Japan, the international bestseller, translated by Eric Selland, is being released in the United States in 2019.

The narrator of Kawamura’s story is a postman who opens the novel by telling the reader that he has just been diagnosed with brain cancer. Suddenly, in the throes of contemplation about what to do with the little time he has left on Earth, the postman is visited by the devil. The devil offers him a deal: one day in exchange for one thing gone from the world. The narrator weighs his options: give up the material things of the world or give up his life? Day One, he decides, he can give up phones: the devil’s first price.

In a day without phones, the postman discovers that maybe he would’ve been better off without phones all along. He meets up with the woman he once loved and reminisces about the time they spent together as college students: mostly on the phone. After the day, which isn’t all bad, he decides to try Round Two with the devil. This goes on as the narrator grapples with what it means to lose the objects of his life and his life itself. He travels back in his memory to times that were happy, times he wished had never happened, and he begins to pull apart what it means to regret, to have joy, and to be alive.

Meant to be a feel-good exploration of life and our purpose in living, Kawamura’s If Cats Disappeared from the World accomplishes just that. While at times the novel can feel overly moralizing, it is nonetheless a silly and deeply introspective book that leaves the reader asking questions about the value of a life.

Slated for release from Flatiron Books in March 2019, If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura is available for preorder at your local bookstore.

Read more fiction book reviews at Centered on Books.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me in return for a fair and honest review of the text.

 

‘Clara at the Edge’ by Maryl Jo Fox

/ Jaclyn Bauer / Leave a comment

clara-at-the-edgeClara at the Edge by Maryl Jo Fox is the story of an older woman’s journey through the hardships she’s never been able to get over.

Clara has moved to Jackpot, Nevada to be closer to her estranged son whom she’s pushed away for years in an effort to harden herself against both a troubled past and the potential of future hardship. Despite her effort to tuck away the past in a remote part of her memory, Clara cannot so easily give up the relics she holds on to. So, when she moves to Jackpot, she takes her whole house with her all the way from Oregon.

Clara at the Edge weaves through various characters’ heads unravelling Clara’s past in, sometimes, the strangest ways. We gain access not only to Clara and Frank’s minds, but to a pair of criminals, Frank’s love interest, and a host of others whom Clara meets in Jackpot. Weaving in and out of these characters’ minds, elements of each of their pasts is slowly revealed.

Rooted in magical realism, Fox’s book includes elements of fantasy that make it hard to know what’s real or who’s crazy. From talking purple wasps to fairy-like companions, Fox ravels together a story that goes beyond the everyday.

Slated for publication by She Writes Press on November 1, 2017, you can preorder a copy of Clara at the Edge at your local bookstore.

Read more fiction book reviews at Centered on Books.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me in return for a fair and honest review of the text.