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A review by bildungswalton
Pulp by Robin Talley
4.0
"If I can give this feeling to someone else, maybe I won't have to feel it anymore."
Truly a treasure of a book! I have a lot of thoughts.
Things I liked:
-Perhaps most significantly, the relationships between generations of queer women (Claire and Janet, and finally Janet and Abby) are carefully drawn and multidimensional. What unites their stories are the common themes of heartbreak, change, and personal growth; specifically, the notion of wanting to "rewrite (one's) book," because no book is ever "perfect." We are always growing and changing, just like the world around us.
-Talley's writing style is not the most lyrical or graceful I've read, but so much of the book called up Judy Blume for me in terms of both its frankness of subject matter (sex, divorce, and love, and what it means to "care") and its down-to-earth, succinct prose.
-The book's layered sociocultural and historical messages -- as well as in the clever and poignant ways it delivers those messages -- invite complex readings.
-As a whole, the book is incredibly poignant, every so often coming out with a line that punches you in the gut (see the top of this review).
-Talley does a pretty decent job of including more marginalized queer narratives, such as those of Black lesbians and non-binary teens.
-The scene with Janet coming out to her Grandmother was breathtaking(ly sad and painful). Here, Talley shows that even in our attempts to protect our children we have the potential to cause them immense trauma. We see this mirrored in Abby's relationship with her parents as they prepare for a long-awaited divorce.
Things I didn't like:
-The dialogue...kind of sucked. At times clunky, monologue-y, and generally unrealistic. I'm sorry, but no young adult in 2017 would say they're "ghastly" at yoga...and I've never heard anyone post-1900 actually use the phrase "delicate sensibilities."
-Talley over-explains emotional experiences with unnecessary phrases such as "Stupid worthless emotions" and "Ugh, emotions were the worst." Teenagers reading 'Pulp' aren't stupid -- they know when things are supposed to be upsetting.
-The pacing of the plot gets slow at times and you kinda have to cling to the idea that the end will be satisfying in some way to get through it. Which, thankfully, it is.
-There were moments when Abby annoyed me a lot. There were times when she fell flat on the page for me, if that makes sense. I tended to like her more by the end of the book.
-Most of the characters I found very likable, but Abby's parents were basically cardboard cutouts. They had no dimension at all and by the end of the book I still felt like I didn't know anything about them.
-The post-2016 election stuff (e.g., protesting and activism) was a bit on the nose for me, probably because it's still relatively fresh in my mind and as millennials in the U.S. we're basically confronted with it every day.
-The Gen. Z slang and jokes were pretty unrealistic and not always age-appropriate, almost like Talley hasn't spoken to many contemporary teenagers. Abby and her friends sometimes reminded me more of nerdy middle schoolers than 17-year-olds.
Overall: 3.75 stars
Truly a treasure of a book! I have a lot of thoughts.
Things I liked:
-Perhaps most significantly, the relationships between generations of queer women (Claire and Janet, and finally Janet and Abby) are carefully drawn and multidimensional. What unites their stories are the common themes of heartbreak, change, and personal growth; specifically, the notion of wanting to "rewrite (one's) book," because no book is ever "perfect." We are always growing and changing, just like the world around us.
-Talley's writing style is not the most lyrical or graceful I've read, but so much of the book called up Judy Blume for me in terms of both its frankness of subject matter (sex, divorce, and love, and what it means to "care") and its down-to-earth, succinct prose.
-The book's layered sociocultural and historical messages -- as well as in the clever and poignant ways it delivers those messages -- invite complex readings.
-As a whole, the book is incredibly poignant, every so often coming out with a line that punches you in the gut (see the top of this review).
-Talley does a pretty decent job of including more marginalized queer narratives, such as those of Black lesbians and non-binary teens.
-The scene with Janet coming out to her Grandmother was breathtaking(ly sad and painful). Here, Talley shows that even in our attempts to protect our children we have the potential to cause them immense trauma. We see this mirrored in Abby's relationship with her parents as they prepare for a long-awaited divorce.
Things I didn't like:
-The dialogue...kind of sucked. At times clunky, monologue-y, and generally unrealistic. I'm sorry, but no young adult in 2017 would say they're "ghastly" at yoga...and I've never heard anyone post-1900 actually use the phrase "delicate sensibilities."
-Talley over-explains emotional experiences with unnecessary phrases such as "Stupid worthless emotions" and "Ugh, emotions were the worst." Teenagers reading 'Pulp' aren't stupid -- they know when things are supposed to be upsetting.
-The pacing of the plot gets slow at times and you kinda have to cling to the idea that the end will be satisfying in some way to get through it. Which, thankfully, it is.
-There were moments when Abby annoyed me a lot. There were times when she fell flat on the page for me, if that makes sense. I tended to like her more by the end of the book.
-Most of the characters I found very likable, but Abby's parents were basically cardboard cutouts. They had no dimension at all and by the end of the book I still felt like I didn't know anything about them.
-The post-2016 election stuff (e.g., protesting and activism) was a bit on the nose for me, probably because it's still relatively fresh in my mind and as millennials in the U.S. we're basically confronted with it every day.
-The Gen. Z slang and jokes were pretty unrealistic and not always age-appropriate, almost like Talley hasn't spoken to many contemporary teenagers. Abby and her friends sometimes reminded me more of nerdy middle schoolers than 17-year-olds.
Overall: 3.75 stars