I've officially read my first book of 2015.
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| thank you for the encouragement, Goodreads |
I read Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer during a bed-ridden sick weekend (it was the worst. I'm a terrible sick person). This book graced many Best of 2014 lists, including this one by Publisher's Weekly and this one by School Library Journal. Amazon had repeatedly recommend it to me so I finally took the bait and went for it when I loaded up my Kindle right after Christmas.
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| via Amazon |
I have to be honest: when I was telling Jon about this book (which is rare, actually, but he asked and seemed genuinely interested) he asked what the name of it was. I told him, "Belzhar but it's more like BLEHzar," and cracked myself up - so, you know, that pretty much sets that tone, doesn't it?
I had read Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings based on a one-line recommendation* from Todd VanDerWerff, one of my favorite reviewers over at the AV Club . It wasn't The Greatest Thing Ever that most critics hailed it as, but it was interesting (hehe) enough.
I should have known. I should have known that critics and I simply do not get along. I had a similar experience with We Were Liars: everyone loves it and I'm over here like, "wait, that's it?"
To sum up my feelings in one word about Belzhar: disappointed. There is a great story begging to be told, with great fantastical elements and real underlying issues. Instead, everything is just touched on or glazed over: death? Sure. Tragedy? Mhm. Teenagers grappling with issues? Yup, that too. Nothing is ever discussed or explored in depth: a girl's crippling is summed up in less than one page.
The characters are one-note as well, which is pretty much an Unforgivable Sin for me. If I'm not interested in the characters, what the hell is the point of reading the story? Their interactions with one another are very basic and the dialogue is beyond simplistic.
All of the negatives having been said, I do think the story itself is interesting - the telling of it is just extremely basic. It's almost as if Meg Wolitzer had the idea for a story and decided to add in elements of a darker novel in hopes of attracting a larger audience. It's young adult with a heavy emphasis on the young. I give Belzhar a C-.
If this review seems especially harsh, Gabrielle Zelvin reviewed it for NPR and I think it's worth reading if you're still on the fence.
I'm sad that my first book of 2015 was such a let down, but I'm hopeful - maybe it's a "we can only go up from here" situation.
What's the last book you read that disappointed you?
*that link isn't incorrect - the one line recommendation is in the middle of an American Horror Story review.
Oh, this does not bode well--pretty sure Belzhar is on the reading list for Book Club later this year.
ReplyDeleteLast book that disappointed me was Color of Magic, the first book of the Discworld series. Everyone raves over the series and it wasn't that I didn't enjoy the writing (I did, very much), I just couldn't stand the main character and was very scared that it was going to taint the whole series for me. So much so that I ignored the next 5 books in the series already purchased on on my Kindle for several months before finally going back and giving them a shot. Thankfully things improved in the second book and I've flown through books 2-4, but it was very much an 'are you kidding me?!' sort of reaction to the series at first.
I know - and I think it's based on my recommendation! Yikes.
DeleteI haven't heard of the Discworld series but I totally understand the frustration that can occur from a lackluster first book in a series. I feel similarly about many first seasons of my cherished TV show. ;)