Every Burden Book Review

I've been anticipating the release of New Yorked for some time now. The author, Rob Hart, is the class director over at LitReactor, a site I frequent almost daily. I was also a fan of Unprintable, LitReactors now defunct podcast (over a year since the last episode) which Rob Hart co-hosted. Rob Hart and that podcast turned me on to some of my favorite books. One title for which I am eternally grateful is "Kiss me, Judas." Part neo-noir, part scary love story. I couldn't get enough of Will Christopher Baer's nightmarish prose. So as Someone who hold's the author in such high esteem, when I cracked open New Yorked I had some very high expectations. Expectations which were quickly  exceeded as I burned through the book late into the night. 

Ash McKenna is a blunt instrument. Roaming through New York's criminal underbelly with the grace of a wrecking ball, trying to solve of the mystery of what happened to the woman he loved, while being haunted by the hard truths of his past. Ash loves New York. He was raised in New York, but he's also feeling disillusioned and rejected by the city. He lashes out as the cards continue to stack against him, cracking a few skulls and unfortunately bruising a few friendships along the way. The climax of the book hinges on Ash finding some semblance of redemption. The best noir always is.

Rob Hart writes with dark and powerful prose. My head was flooded with notable comparisons as I read, but having finished I've got to say Rob Hart is all his own. I'll finish with probably my favorite line from the book.

"Time is supposed to heal all wounds. Which is a thing people say when they've never been cut to the bone. The big wounds, even when they do heal, they don't heal right. Every time you move you feel the tug of the scar tissue."

In The Flame Alphabet the sound of children's speech has become toxic. Herds of children run through the fields creating lethal walls of sound. Quarantines are constructed around neighborhoods. Parents, Sam and Claire, are forced to flee from their home and their daughter Esther. The language toxicity eventually spreads from children's speech to all speech, including writing and gestures. Only children are immune.

When I first read Kurt Vonnegut I knew immediately I needed to consume everything he's ever written. When I first read Don Dellilo's novel White Noise I felt the same way. I wasn't sure I'd ever feel that way again until about half way through this book. The rest of Ben Marcus' books are already on their way to my door step. I first heard about this novel about 2 years ago and 1 year ago I finally picked it up. So it's been sitting on my shelf, unread for quite some time. Which means I had plenty of time to develop my own preconceived expectations. This made the first 20 pages of this book a little difficult. I was also visiting my parents at the time which kept me very distracted while trying to read. Once I finally got back home and set aside any perceptions I had about what the novel would be I finally realized the beauty of it. 

You could strip the plot away entirely, shuffle each line around until it no longer told formed a story. Afterwards, you would still have the most beautiful fucking sentences I've ever read (this would actually be pretty appropriate considering language and comprehension are heavy theme's in this book).

I'm resisting the urge to quote all my favorite lines so I'll provide only the one that impacted me the most considering my relationship with my Dad and the fact that I am now a father myself. 

"Fatherhood is perhaps another name for something done badly."

"Binary stars are gravitationally bound. Gravity is the way we fall together." Sarah Gerard's novel is full of beautiful and painful analogies involving the life cycle of a star, a codependent relationship, and anorexia. When I pick up a novel and see the word "anorexia" printed in the plot description I immediately become concerned. Not because I am bored by the subject but because with out a careful hand the story can quickly turn into a lifetime original movie.

Sarah Gerard has more than just a careful hand. She has an powerful and intense sense of timing and prose. She writes with a sense of urgency that gives you a sense that the characters, much like dying stars, are screaming towards oblivion. 

The young woman in the story is on a road trip with her alcoholic boyfriend. Neither one of them able to cope with their own inner demons, let alone each others. Sarah Gerard paints a clear and unapologetic picture of what anorexia looks like in todays society and the isolation that comes with it. Its a powerful commentary on todays culture that is hyper-focused on perfection. Two Dollar Radio continues to find unique and gifted authors worthy of publishing. Binary Star is great addition to their family. One that I will likely come back to again and again in the future.

SEPTUP: Cheryl Glickman is the product of loneliness. Well, that and other things. She’s a forty-something who lives alone and works at a self defense non-profit. It’s unclear if she’s ever had a serious relationship. My guess would be that she hasn’t. I’m making this guess based off of just how desperate she is for affection, specifically the affection of Phillip Bettelheim. Phillip is a sixty-something board member at the non-profit where Cheryl works.

A FEW DETAILS:

-Cheryl bonded with the soul of a small baby when she was just child herself. Now she functions under the belief that that soul migrates from child to child waiting for Cheryl to be its girlfriend or wife or mother. 

-Cheryl has created a “Car Pooling” system that allows the house to practically clean itself. This system actually seems like it creates more work but I think Cheryl knows she’s very susceptible to depression. Should she fall in to a bout of depression where she struggles to take care of herself, at least her house will be in order.

WHAT HAPPENS: Cheryl’s bosses ask if their daughter, Clee, can stay with her for a while. Clee is young, blonde, and very attractive. Over time (a little more than two years) their relationship evolves from a dislike for one another to violence to much more. There are about 20 pages in the middle of the book where things get really disturbing. The ending is unexpected. Even while half way through the book I never would’ve guessed things would end up that way. Cheryl clearly has some strange issues. It eventually becomes clear that no one else in this book has their shit figured out either and while Cheryl may be strange, at least she is like-able. 

VERDICT: I’’ve always been a big fan of Miranda July. I love her books, movies, and performance art. She’s often been called “whimsical” which I imagine at some point becomes a little insulting. This book is definitely not whimsical but its true to her style. It’s a great character piece that often times challenges the reader to root for the hero. At some points you may not want to be inside this persons head or know her desires. However, at the end you will root for her and you will love her. If you’re like me, you’ll love this book too.