State of Paradise: A Novel

This book is the same as bad poetry: melodramatic indulgence of the author's incredibly niche personal experience, in an intentionally vague but simultaneously obvious manner. In my opinion, the quirky framing device doesn't excuse the form; there is a difference between "experimental" and "half-baked". Overall, it just barely qualifies as an interesting first draft, but I desperately wish some other author would have taken this outline and then developed it themselves.

Bonus Commentary: I'm a born and raised Floridian, and I weathered both the pandemic and the New Normal there. I did not find her Florida commentary to be particularly insightful, compelling, or effective. This novel could have been set in any muggy climate without any show more adjustment in the plot or attempted themes. show less

This novel never really gets going. Although promising at the start, it begins to wander among themes and ideas that never seem to build into anything substantive. One could tolerate the chaos and general craziness if these seemed to be leading somewhere, but the lack of a sense of direction made the story too perplexing for my tastes. The characters, including the protagonist, were quirky and interesting, yet never came alive for me. Their backstories and motivations were presented but never developed. As a Florida resident, I was initially intrigued by the setting, and was eager to discover new insights on this strange place. Unfortunately, her approach seemed superficial, surreal and just silly.

In a Nutshell: A literary fiction that goes much beyond what the blurb indicates. Almost stream-of-consciousness in its plotting and too wild in its twists. Individual elements great, but didn't come together cohesively. Concentrating on the audio version was a chore.

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No personal ‘Plot Preview’ this time. I truly don’t know where to begin and what to include or exclude! Please read the GR blurb to know what the book is about.

On paper, this novel has many enticing elements: a dystopian feel with some strange technology, climate crises in Florida, extreme weather, missing persons mystery, dysfunctional family, ghostwriting and its perks and perils, covid pandemic, bizarre cults, asylum troubles, alternate show more dimensions, and absurd obsessions (thanks to the weird fascination that the protagonist has with her belly button and how deeply cavernous it has become.) Each of these topics has enough merit to deliver a whammy, but do they really fit well with each other? Can one 224-page novel do justice to so many distinct themes? In my humble opinion, no.

The Gestalt theory declares that the whole of anything is greater than the sum of its parts. In this book however, the individual parts are great, but the book feels too disjointed at the macro level. One main reason for this is the protagonist’s tendency to jump from topic to topic with no warning whatsoever. The resultant narrative feels like stream-of-consciousness verbiage, with no rhyme or reason to the flow. Stream-of-consciousness NEVER works for me, so there was no way to save this experience, especially in the audio format.

On the positive side, the descriptive writing is great. The author’s words are quite immersive and make us feel her character’s emotions well. The final quarter contains some unexpected revelations, which nudged up my rating. There are some intriguing characters as well, though I couldn’t relate to any of them.

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A woman and her husband arrive at her mother’s house in Florida to attend to her father during his last days. After his death a pandemic arises, and they decide to stay. She is a ghostwriter for a famous author of thrillers, and her husband is writing non-fiction about medieval pilgrimages. Her sister lives next door. Strange events begin to occur. People disappear, weird weather arrives, and ghosts are sighted. Her mother seems to be involved in a cult.

It is difficult to describe this surrealist novel. Virtual reality headsets are handed out and appear to be addictive. The woman’s sister says that she has experienced another dimension. The woman’s navel starts changing shapes such that she can store objects in it. As I read show more through this book, I had no idea what bizarre occurrence would take place next. It is reasonably entertaining, and I don’t regret reading it, but it’s a bit too far “out there” for me. show less

Pandemic era weird autofiction has its first entrant.

Not really what I am looking for in a novel, but it was fine.

Literary science fiction is a tough combo. Entertaining but weird.

This novella about a sinister Florida didn't pass the Nancy Pearl Test.