What's the opposite of Wonderland? Because, baby if anything is it, it would be Dig City.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High starring Eddie -- only not. (I don't honestly know a thing about Ridgemont High, so it's probably not an apt comparison, but rather a poorly made joke.) The novel follows Eddie's life, from his early days in the Beast as a boy who knew nothing of where he came from, to his time underground in The Hive as a man who regretted that knowledge immensely. Eddie is the puppet of that fickle, cruel, hand of fate, that seems to have a black-hearted sense of humor, karma, and irony.

The background of Eddie's story however, can be difficult to decipher if you aren't reading closely (or if you start the book and have to take a break and come back weeks later to finish it.) This book isn't one you can just skim through-- God is in the details and so is the finer points of the plot. Small things come back to haunt you and Eddie both as the book nears the tail end. One of my few grievances with the book come from the use of the fine details-- Eddie's story is so uncertain to even himself, that every time something changes its hard to keep up because it was the tiniest detail that suddenly became huge, and in a way that seemingly had no foreshadowing. As often as this happens it can be frustrating-- we follow Eddie in his feelings of whiplash with less-than-concrete information. Details come out of the blue seemingly, or from sources that are very unreliable (sometimes we're not even sure they aren't entirely inside Eddie's head) -- that latter a trademark of Arellano's it seems.

The background of the world was also a source of frustration to me at times, although whether this is through lack of clarity or my own misguided reading I'm not sure. I found it hard to be sure of the timing of the novel; it's after our own era for sure, but how much after? How topsy turvey is the world in this story? Its different for sure, but apart from the whole underground nation thing, the later scenes set in the above ground city seem like its a very similar world to the one we know, whereas in the beginning of the book it felt much more removed, with common information known to us now long having been as ancient as the Greeks are to us. Dear old Eddie didn't even know good old Honest Abe is the figurehead of something known as a penny. Also, its unclear which citys are which at times (again it could be my own confusion or a lack a clarity, not sure.) There are mentions of the state of Massachusetts, and possibly those cities of Boston, New York, or Washington D.C. (I'd have to go back and look to be sure,) but I never can quite tell "Where in the World Is Eddie?" I'd use his last name here to complete the Carmen Sandiego reference, but SHHHH spoilers.

As for the writing style itself, Fast Eddie is just that-- fast. The prose is quick and clever. If it were to be read aloud, the words would roll off the tongue smoothly, with an acerbic taste to them. Arellano is fond of alliteration in this novel; Eddie frequently employs it in his descriptions of his surroundings, thoughts, and feelings.

The only ever complaint that I had, and it may just be a personal gripe, is that Eddie's circumstances were highly fortunate. He was very often just lucky (or unlucky) to be in a certain place at a certain time, having been connected to the right people at the right time.

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For example, at the end of the book, when a former thorn in Eddie's side, Mano, returns out of the blue, instead of taking his revenge on our hero for the theft of his shoes, he works alongside him, helping him to set things right, because after all, he is Jocy's real son, and Hermanito to boot. Highly convenient. Another example, Eddie's knowledge of Pauly Corrente's password into the Custom House-- how the hell did he know that? I don't recall any instance where Pauly took Eddie by the shoulders and went "Son, here's the password to the Custom House, just in case you become the leader of a rebellion, and your people end up in trouble and need it to save their skins." Again, convenient.
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In the end however, despite all my nitpicking, Fast Eddie is a fun challenge, a joy to read, and a good summer brain exercise. ( )