Eliza Robertson (1)

Demi-Gods by Eliza Robertson is a magnificent, little gem of a book that will read like a tale you would have picked up in English class.

Seriously, Eliza's writing feels like it should be in a hall of fame somewhere. The way she crafted the story was marvelous and I'm thoroughly impressed by her skill. And this was only a debut?! Imagine how much better she's going to get.

But, despite it being this masterpiece of a book, it was honestly not for me. I didn't enjoy this book one bit. I wanted to DNF it, but I also wanted to finish it because Eliza's writing deserved the respect of a finished read. It wasn't the writing style or the tone, it was just the plot that had me feeling kinda 'meh'. I felt like I didn't know where this book was going and by the end I still didn't feel like it had a concrete beginning, middle and end. Despite it being a contemporary beauty, it just felt like a story not a novel.

There's lots of strange familial/non-familial incest in this book. Lots of hookups with the new boyfriend's kids and strange ties throughout the story. It's an unsettling story, but Eliza makes it intriguing. I would say this book is not for the faint of heart, easily.

We watch Willa's life and family dynamics change as she experiments with sex and emotions, all in the 50s. It's dark, unsettling, bizarre, and abusive at times. The entire family turns out to have issues and you watch how people influence each other and take on each other's traits.

My biggest con was the lack of quotation marks in my copy. I couldn't tell what was supposed to be dialogue every once and a while, so I'd have to go back and re-read sections over and over, which just distracted me more than anything.

If I could have my wish, I would want this examined or explained to me. Why was this book made this way? What are the themes? I want an English Professor to break it down because I think this is the perfect book to be analyzed. There's something there that I'm not seeing. Oh, how I miss those high school days with English essays... just me?

I would say this book is in a niche market. You'll either love it or you won't. I can see why so many people love it, but it's just not for me. I can totally appreciate it and I think Eliza deserves all the cred, but it's just not a book I'll pick up again. All the love!

One out of five stars.… (plus d'informations)

Eliza Robertson’s story collection, Wallflowers, strives for startling effect through eccentric story structures and narrative experimentation. The book includes 17 pieces, many of which chronicle lives of missed opportunity and emotional isolation. A lot of the people we meet in these pages are broken, emotionally and/or physically. “Ship’s Log” is exactly what the title says: a story in the form of logbook entries. However, these entries are composed by a boy imagining that the hole he is digging will aid in his escape from an untenable situation. In “Slimebank Taxonomy” Gin, suffering from postpartum depression, wants nothing to do with her new baby and finds solace collecting animal corpses from a tailings pond. “We Walked on Water,” narrated by the sister of the dead girl, recounts a tragic occurrence at a competitive sporting event. And in the title story, “Who Will Water the Wallflowers?” a teenage girl house-sitting for a neighbour finds herself facing a flash flood situation with nothing to rely on but her own wits. Robertson’s sentences have polish and sheen to spare. Her prose is so precisely composed that it can sometimes seem sculpted rather than written. The stories shimmer with vibrant imagery and surprising but apt metaphors. For all their technical virtuosity however, what often seems to be missing (“We Walked on Water” is a notable exception) is a way for the reader to burrow into the characters’ lives and forge a meaningful connection with them. Many of Robertson’s people observe the world from within the bubble of an exceedingly bizarre perspective (see “Ship’s Log”). Many of them behave oddly as well, but because we are held at a distance from their inner lives, their odd behaviour does not arouse much curiosity or sympathy—it’s just odd. Some stories come across as a challenge the author set herself, as in “Missing Tiger, Camels Found Alive,” based on an incident that occurred a few years ago in Quebec involving the theft of zoo animals, which never really comes alive. “Where Have You Fallen, Have You Fallen?” which effectively describes a budding attraction between a young man and woman, is written in eight numbered sections, but these are arranged in reverse chronological order, from eight to one, so that as the story ends the two are yet to meet. The story is clever and succeeds in nudging the reader out of his comfort zone, but upon reflection you can’t help but wonder what the author has gained by so brazenly upending conventional structures, other than to appear clever. In the end, the impression left by Wallflowers is one of technique overwhelming story: that the manner of the telling takes precedence over what is being told. We finish the book dazzled by the author’s technical brilliance, but the stories themselves fade quickly from the memory. It’s clear however, that Eliza Robertson is a fearless and exceptionally talented writer. Wallflowers shows huge promise. Perhaps her next book will deliver on that promise.… (plus d'informations)