This is a very interesting book-- it is told through linked vignettes with a mixture of named and unnamed characters. The narrator herself is unnamed throughout the book, though it doesn't affect the reader's connection with her and her vivid point of view. Her world is a mess. Between her suffering mother, drunken grandmother, dear sisters, suicidal brother, deadbeat father, and a mess of other characters who inhabit her New York City surroundings, the reader is able to get a devastating picture of a young life that seems to be in tatters.
It certainly is enigmatic, though thoroughly engrossing despite the very matter-of-fact narration of the thirteen year-old girl. She doesn't pull any punches, and though it's sometimes disturbing or disheartening, Murphy has skillfully written a book that is guaranteed to hold your attention.
It certainly is enigmatic, though thoroughly engrossing despite the very matter-of-fact narration of the thirteen year-old girl. She doesn't pull any punches, and though it's sometimes disturbing or disheartening, Murphy has skillfully written a book that is guaranteed to hold your attention.
This is a very interesting book-- it is told through linked vignettes with a mixture of named and unnamed characters. The narrator herself is unnamed throughout the book, though it doesn't affect the reader's connection with her and her vivid point of view. Her world is a mess. Between her suffering mother, drunken grandmother, dear sisters, suicidal brother, deadbeat father, and a mess of other characters who inhabit her New York City surroundings, the reader is able to get a devastating picture of a young life that seems to be in tatters.
It certainly is enigmatic, though thoroughly engrossing despite the very matter-of-fact narration of the thirteen year-old girl. She doesn't pull any punches, and though it's sometimes disturbing or disheartening, Murphy has skillfully written a book that is guaranteed to hold your attention.
It certainly is enigmatic, though thoroughly engrossing despite the very matter-of-fact narration of the thirteen year-old girl. She doesn't pull any punches, and though it's sometimes disturbing or disheartening, Murphy has skillfully written a book that is guaranteed to hold your attention.
