Review of the Day: Clown Girl

Clown Girl by Monica Drake (published by Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts).

Monica Drake writes about a city very much like any city – except that in her city, clowns really matter. Although her clowns share a level of urban society with dope dealers, prostitutes, and sundry petty criminals, they play an extraordinarily large role in society. Not only do they provide entertainment at children’s parties, corporate shindigs, and street fairs, the police deal with a rash of clown bashing – blame the coulrophobes – and other clown-related crimes, and the clowns themselves are constantly on the alert for overly-zealous coulrophiles who could quickly turn from innocent fetishists to stalkers. For apparent reasons, clown prostitution is a temptation as well as a civic problem.

Nita – or Sniffles, to use her clown name – is Clown Girl, the heroine of the piece. She works soul-killing corporate gigs to fund her boyfriend’s clown college try-outs, and tries to focus on her [clown] art, find her missing dog, not get evicted, and shake an overly-friendly policeman.

There are a couple of negative aspects to the book. The first is a matter of preference and has nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the story. Nita is dirty – not in a metaphysical sense, but physically dirty. She is always in greasy clown make-up, it is hot and she is sweaty, and she spends a lot of time pawing through or lying in piles of unlaundered costume parts. The need for her to have a good scrubbing is distracting.

The second is a matter of editing. There is one too many of every scene. There is one too many scenes involving the cop rescuing Nita, the cop trying to convince Nita that they are both outsiders, Nita’s neighbors ostracizing her because she is spending time with a cop, and Nita denying that she is dating a cop. There is one too many scenes of Nita arguing with her clown agent about selling out as a sexy clown and denying that she is a clown prostitute. There is one too many scenes where Nita removes her clown i.d., picture of her dead parents, and/or picture of her clown boyfriend, Rex Galore, from her sweaty, polka-dot bra. The whole thing needed a stricter hand with the red pen.

Despite these flaws, Clown Girl is quirkily entertaining. Drake is clever and she has created a self-contained world where her story makes sense. She is also very funny. She is funny with words and with the way she juxtaposes her clown-world with the real world. There is a dark edge to her humor, though, and it is touch and go whether the book will end in smiles or tears.

OTHER REVIEWS

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Teaser Tuesday: The Count of Monte Cristo

Morrel took the purse, and started as he did so, for a vague remembrance reminded him that it once belonged to himself. At one end was the receipted bill for the 287,000 francs, and at the other was a diamond as large as a hazelnut, with these words on a small slip of parchment: Julie's Dowry.

-- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

A diamond the size of a hazelnut! That is fantastic.

I cannot believe that I am only now reading this book. I got the audiobook from the library -- all 35 discs of it -- and never want to stop listening to it. So far, the hero has only repayed his friends. He is about to start seeking revenge against his enemies.

This is like the story from which all adventure stories came from. It has everything in it. 


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

I had a busy book week, so my Mailbox Monday list is long (so long, I'm putting it up early).

First, Unbridled Books sent me A Geography of Secrets by Fredrick Reuss and, even though it is going on my Guilt List, it looks terrific. I can't wait to get to it.



Then, I went to the Great Northwest Benefit Book Sale and ended up with a crazy mix of books:

The Scottish Novels by Robert Lewis Stevenson (because I recently read Treasure Island and want to read more RLS)



Poems of John Donne (because I liked them in college -- at least that one about the flea -- and the cover was so adorable)



The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro (because he is a genius)



A Time of Hope by C. P. Snow (because I am gathering this edition of the Strangers and Brothers series)



Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson (because she is a new favorite)



Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig (because I've always meant to read at least one of his books)



Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (because it won the National Book Award)



Making It Up by Penelope Lively (because she is an old favorite)



The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (because I want to re-read this one and I loved the cover)



World Without End by Ken Follett (because I loved Pillars of the Earth and it is time for me to get to the sequel)



That Old Cape Magic and Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo (because I liked Empire Falls and want to read more of his books)

Opening Sentence of the Day: A Week in December

"Five o'clock and freezing."

-- A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks.

Grrrrrr . . . A book pet peeve of mine is opening sentences that are incomplete sentences. It may be irrational of me, but there you have it.

Good thing the story takes off right away. I am sucked in.

This book is on my LibraryThing Early Reviewer list. I am determined to get caught up on that list.

Review of the Day: Missing Mom

Missing Mom is the story of how an adult daughter copes with the unexpected death of her widowed mother. Nikki Eaton is 32, single, involved with a married man, and seems barely ready for adulthood. Her mother’s death knocks her off her pins.

Coping is the best way to describe what Nikki goes through in her first year of mourning. She and her older sister, the bossy, no-nonsense Clare, realize that their mother was the only real bond between them as they work together to organize the formal ceremonies, sort through their parents’ belongings, and try to keep their personal lives intact.

Through this process, as Nikki comes to understand more about her mother, she understands more about herself. Nikki is not the most admirable of heroines – she has a whiney, self-indulgent streak and spends more time than an insecure teen-ager worrying about what outfit to wear – but she starts to mature as, groping for a way through her grief, she takes on some of her mother’s habits and social obligations.

Oates is unflinching in her portrayal of both the heartbreak and banality of losing a mother. Scenes such as Nikki reading her mother’s old love letters are all the more poignant for being balanced by scenes of cleaning out the freezer or filling bags for the Goodwill. Oates manages to make the story emotionally authentic without being gooey or maudlin.

NOTES

Somehow, although she is prolific, this is the first Joyce Carol Oates book I have read. It really hit me and I keep thinking about it, weeks after I finished it.

OTHER REVIEWS
(If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.)