Book Review 76
Name Of The Book : Pretend I'm Dead
Authors : Jen Beagin
Publisher : Oneworld Publications
Year : 2018
Category : Fiction
Review :
Jen Beagin’s funny, moving, fearless debut novel introduces an unforgettable character, Mona—almost 24, cleaning houses to get by, emotionally adrift. Handing out clean needles to drug addicts, she falls for a recipient who proceeds to break her heart in unimaginable ways. She decamps to Taos, New Mexico, for a fresh start, where she finds a community of seekers and cast-offs. But they all have one or two things to teach her—the pajama-wearing, blissed-out New Agers, the slightly creepy client with peculiar tastes in controlled substances, the psychic who might really be psychic. Always just under the surface are her memories of growing up in a chaotic, destructive family from which she’s trying to disentangle herself. The story of her journey toward a comfortable place in the world and a measure of self-acceptance is psychologically acute, often surprising, and entirely human.
This book is divided into four sections. Mona is the daughter of drug addict parents and cleans houses for a living. She is also a drug addict and meets a man whom she calls Mr Disgusting. He was a drug addict but he partially recovers from his addiction and they share a weird-sort-of relationship for a while after which he relapses and leaves her forever. Mona, who is shocked, decides to leave the place and start afresh. In her new location, she finds herself in the company of an old married couple who live next door. They turn themselves into her self-appointed mentors and urge her to let go of her past. Her life changes forever when she meets Betty, a psychic. The beginning of the book is dragging and slightly repetitive. All the characters are eccentric in nature but the author has been able to do justice to the characters. She is quite creative in the narration, characters and the plot. I really liked the end of the book. It was much better than what I had expected. However, this book was not my cup of tea. I don’t enjoy odd characters and uneventful storylines. If you enjoy books with erratic characters, you will really love this book.
Rating : 3.5/5
Name Of The Book : Pretend I'm Dead
Authors : Jen Beagin
Publisher : Oneworld Publications
Year : 2018
Category : Fiction
Review :
Jen Beagin’s funny, moving, fearless debut novel introduces an unforgettable character, Mona—almost 24, cleaning houses to get by, emotionally adrift. Handing out clean needles to drug addicts, she falls for a recipient who proceeds to break her heart in unimaginable ways. She decamps to Taos, New Mexico, for a fresh start, where she finds a community of seekers and cast-offs. But they all have one or two things to teach her—the pajama-wearing, blissed-out New Agers, the slightly creepy client with peculiar tastes in controlled substances, the psychic who might really be psychic. Always just under the surface are her memories of growing up in a chaotic, destructive family from which she’s trying to disentangle herself. The story of her journey toward a comfortable place in the world and a measure of self-acceptance is psychologically acute, often surprising, and entirely human.
This book is divided into four sections. Mona is the daughter of drug addict parents and cleans houses for a living. She is also a drug addict and meets a man whom she calls Mr Disgusting. He was a drug addict but he partially recovers from his addiction and they share a weird-sort-of relationship for a while after which he relapses and leaves her forever. Mona, who is shocked, decides to leave the place and start afresh. In her new location, she finds herself in the company of an old married couple who live next door. They turn themselves into her self-appointed mentors and urge her to let go of her past. Her life changes forever when she meets Betty, a psychic. The beginning of the book is dragging and slightly repetitive. All the characters are eccentric in nature but the author has been able to do justice to the characters. She is quite creative in the narration, characters and the plot. I really liked the end of the book. It was much better than what I had expected. However, this book was not my cup of tea. I don’t enjoy odd characters and uneventful storylines. If you enjoy books with erratic characters, you will really love this book.
Rating : 3.5/5