Book Review: ELSEWHERE
*Note: this blog was created for a class at TWU
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Zevin, Gabrielle. 2005. ELSEWHERE. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
Fifteen-year-old Liz Hall just wants to be invited to the prom and get her driver's permit, but when she is hit by a taxi and killed, sending her "elsewhere," to a place both like and unlike Earth where the dead grow younger every year until they return as babies to begin a new life, she must learn how to "live" all over again.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
This is, by far, the most difficult analysis of all the books I've read this semester. Why? Because, unlike the reviewers, I only kind of liked the book, and yet I can't put my finger on why. So, let me start by talking about two books which I liked better, and which came to mind while I was reading ELSEWHERE.
One is a slim novel by Gary Soto entitled THE AFTERLIFE. There are two immediate reasons why I prefer this novel to ELSEWHERE. First, the voice of the protagonist, Chuy, is distinct, clear, and intriguing. He peppers his conversation with Spanish, he reveals more curiosity, and offers more humor. Second, Chuy explores the afterlife more actively and expresses a lot more love and forgiveness. Although he may have taken a lot for granted while he was living, he's a lot less selfish than Liz. And although some critics have called Zevin's prose poetic, Gary Soto is the master of the beautiful phrase ("the sun rose pink as a scar" and "laundry hung like faded flags of defeated nations") Soto's story has been criticized for not really have a strong plot structure, but I think that was inevitable if you've got a character who can't really dictate where he is going. ELSEWHERE bogs down in a similar way, but I still enjoyed THE AFTERLIFE more, maybe because it is shorter?
The second is THE LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel. While it's true that Pi doesn't die in the novel, the world which he knew before being stranded in the ocean certainly did. Like Liz, he loses everything and everyone he knew, but unlike Liz, he has a much more unique voice, an incredible imagination, and a ton of faith. Martel really delved into the philosophical implications of life, death, faith, and fate, and didn't just use the afterlife as a neato setting for a romance novel.
ELSEWHERE on the other hand, has a petulant, flat, boring protagonist, who, while bemoaning the mundane nature of her life on Earth, her funeral, her last words (that was pretty funny, that her last word was "Um," - and maybe that's the point and a sum of her character), she still couldn't break out of her pettiness to embrace things like her grandmother's unusual wardrobe. Just as Liz found Elsewhere boring, I found that I was bored and couldn't really get myself to care what she learned in the afterlife.
Nor do I think ELSEWHERE was as "fresh" and "inventive" as it was touted. There are lots of books, not to mention soap operas that use the afterlife, the spirit world, purgatory, heaven, or hell as a setting. (I remember one whole season of General Hospital in which purgatory played an important role.) And although the whole Canine language thing was my favorite part because the dogs had the strongest voices of all the characters in the book, that's not a new idea either (FIRESTORM, HARRY POTTER, just to name a couple).
Sorry to be so personal, but I was truly disappointed in ELSEWHERE because I liked the premise so much!
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Booklist (starred review): "Far more than just a vehicle for a cosmology, this inventive novel slices right to the bone of human yearning, offering up an indelible vision of life and death as equally rich sides of the same coin."
Horn Book (starred review): "With an intriguing and well-developed premise, thoughtful characterization, and refreshing style, Zevin's poignant novel rewards readers with a view of death that celebrates the rich complexities of being alive."
5. CONNECTIONS
* Compare the narrator's view of life and death with that of Chuy in THE AFTERLIFE and Susie in THE LOVELY BONES.
*Note: this blog was created for a class at TWU
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Zevin, Gabrielle. 2005. ELSEWHERE. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
Fifteen-year-old Liz Hall just wants to be invited to the prom and get her driver's permit, but when she is hit by a taxi and killed, sending her "elsewhere," to a place both like and unlike Earth where the dead grow younger every year until they return as babies to begin a new life, she must learn how to "live" all over again.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
This is, by far, the most difficult analysis of all the books I've read this semester. Why? Because, unlike the reviewers, I only kind of liked the book, and yet I can't put my finger on why. So, let me start by talking about two books which I liked better, and which came to mind while I was reading ELSEWHERE.
One is a slim novel by Gary Soto entitled THE AFTERLIFE. There are two immediate reasons why I prefer this novel to ELSEWHERE. First, the voice of the protagonist, Chuy, is distinct, clear, and intriguing. He peppers his conversation with Spanish, he reveals more curiosity, and offers more humor. Second, Chuy explores the afterlife more actively and expresses a lot more love and forgiveness. Although he may have taken a lot for granted while he was living, he's a lot less selfish than Liz. And although some critics have called Zevin's prose poetic, Gary Soto is the master of the beautiful phrase ("the sun rose pink as a scar" and "laundry hung like faded flags of defeated nations") Soto's story has been criticized for not really have a strong plot structure, but I think that was inevitable if you've got a character who can't really dictate where he is going. ELSEWHERE bogs down in a similar way, but I still enjoyed THE AFTERLIFE more, maybe because it is shorter?
The second is THE LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel. While it's true that Pi doesn't die in the novel, the world which he knew before being stranded in the ocean certainly did. Like Liz, he loses everything and everyone he knew, but unlike Liz, he has a much more unique voice, an incredible imagination, and a ton of faith. Martel really delved into the philosophical implications of life, death, faith, and fate, and didn't just use the afterlife as a neato setting for a romance novel.
ELSEWHERE on the other hand, has a petulant, flat, boring protagonist, who, while bemoaning the mundane nature of her life on Earth, her funeral, her last words (that was pretty funny, that her last word was "Um," - and maybe that's the point and a sum of her character), she still couldn't break out of her pettiness to embrace things like her grandmother's unusual wardrobe. Just as Liz found Elsewhere boring, I found that I was bored and couldn't really get myself to care what she learned in the afterlife.
Nor do I think ELSEWHERE was as "fresh" and "inventive" as it was touted. There are lots of books, not to mention soap operas that use the afterlife, the spirit world, purgatory, heaven, or hell as a setting. (I remember one whole season of General Hospital in which purgatory played an important role.) And although the whole Canine language thing was my favorite part because the dogs had the strongest voices of all the characters in the book, that's not a new idea either (FIRESTORM, HARRY POTTER, just to name a couple).
Sorry to be so personal, but I was truly disappointed in ELSEWHERE because I liked the premise so much!
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Booklist (starred review): "Far more than just a vehicle for a cosmology, this inventive novel slices right to the bone of human yearning, offering up an indelible vision of life and death as equally rich sides of the same coin."
Horn Book (starred review): "With an intriguing and well-developed premise, thoughtful characterization, and refreshing style, Zevin's poignant novel rewards readers with a view of death that celebrates the rich complexities of being alive."
5. CONNECTIONS
* Compare the narrator's view of life and death with that of Chuy in THE AFTERLIFE and Susie in THE LOVELY BONES.
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