Review by Vanessa Leong -- Ironing by Navajo
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Vanessa Leong
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Review by Vanessa Leong -- Ironing by Navajo
[Following is a volunteer review of "Ironing" by Navajo.]
Ironing by Navajo is a fictional novella that offers a glimpse of the everyday life of ordinary people. The story mainly follows three college girls — Emma, Royanda, and Ginie — who are traveling on a London bus, on their way to a greyhound race. They chat and gossip about everything under the sun, from breaking up with boys to the benefits of eating raw food. Different passengers board the bus along the way, and through interactions with the girls, or otherwise, the author offers a brief glimpse into their lives, among other stories. The girls reach the racing center, and with Emma’s enthusiastic and burning desire to pet the greyhounds, hilarity ensues, followed by a shocking turn of events.
This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. It frustrated yet amused me.
The most annoying element is the abruptly alternating subplots and how randomly they are placed within the book. The author inserts unrelated subplots in between existing storylines, constantly throwing the reader off. The subplots switch from paragraph to paragraph with no prior indication or warning. One paragraph could be about the three girls, the very next about a teacher meeting his ex-student, and the following about a father receiving a call from his daughter. As the characters are not characterized well, I often found myself confused when they abruptly popped up again later in the book.
Furthermore, I had a hard time following the dialogue in this book. The author uses a lot of direct dialogue, which is fine, but he crams whole conversations into one paragraph, making it tiring and difficult to distinguish which dialogue belongs to whom.
On top of that, most of the subplots are inconclusive. The book leaves many of the storylines unfinished. Perhaps it is a style of writing that aims to reflect the reality that we may not always find out everything about every acquaintance we meet, but it is a style bound to irk some readers.
Nevertheless, this book has a few redeeming qualities. Amongst the silly banter, this book somehow manages to address a few serious topics that demonstrate the harsh realities of life. These short stories well embedded in the book really took me by surprise as they are incredibly well written and capture the raw emotions of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.
While most of the characters in this book aren’t particularly memorable or likable, a few characters, like Emma and Caitlin, grew on me as the book progressed. I especially liked Emma’s amusing outlook on life and her hilarious obsession with the racing greyhounds. One of the scenes in which Emma threatens to get a “cheating” dog banned from racing for bumping into “her” dog during the race made me burst out laughing.
Considering all the factors above, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. While there are a few stories, scenes, and characters that I undoubtedly enjoyed, it wasn’t enough to make up for the choppy flow, poorly formatted structure, and multiple errors I found in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate a quick and casual fictional novel about life. However, one should be comfortable with profanities, sexual references, and the stated issues to enjoy this book.
******
Ironing
View: on Bookshelves
Ironing by Navajo is a fictional novella that offers a glimpse of the everyday life of ordinary people. The story mainly follows three college girls — Emma, Royanda, and Ginie — who are traveling on a London bus, on their way to a greyhound race. They chat and gossip about everything under the sun, from breaking up with boys to the benefits of eating raw food. Different passengers board the bus along the way, and through interactions with the girls, or otherwise, the author offers a brief glimpse into their lives, among other stories. The girls reach the racing center, and with Emma’s enthusiastic and burning desire to pet the greyhounds, hilarity ensues, followed by a shocking turn of events.
This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. It frustrated yet amused me.
The most annoying element is the abruptly alternating subplots and how randomly they are placed within the book. The author inserts unrelated subplots in between existing storylines, constantly throwing the reader off. The subplots switch from paragraph to paragraph with no prior indication or warning. One paragraph could be about the three girls, the very next about a teacher meeting his ex-student, and the following about a father receiving a call from his daughter. As the characters are not characterized well, I often found myself confused when they abruptly popped up again later in the book.
Furthermore, I had a hard time following the dialogue in this book. The author uses a lot of direct dialogue, which is fine, but he crams whole conversations into one paragraph, making it tiring and difficult to distinguish which dialogue belongs to whom.
On top of that, most of the subplots are inconclusive. The book leaves many of the storylines unfinished. Perhaps it is a style of writing that aims to reflect the reality that we may not always find out everything about every acquaintance we meet, but it is a style bound to irk some readers.
Nevertheless, this book has a few redeeming qualities. Amongst the silly banter, this book somehow manages to address a few serious topics that demonstrate the harsh realities of life. These short stories well embedded in the book really took me by surprise as they are incredibly well written and capture the raw emotions of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.
While most of the characters in this book aren’t particularly memorable or likable, a few characters, like Emma and Caitlin, grew on me as the book progressed. I especially liked Emma’s amusing outlook on life and her hilarious obsession with the racing greyhounds. One of the scenes in which Emma threatens to get a “cheating” dog banned from racing for bumping into “her” dog during the race made me burst out laughing.
Considering all the factors above, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. While there are a few stories, scenes, and characters that I undoubtedly enjoyed, it wasn’t enough to make up for the choppy flow, poorly formatted structure, and multiple errors I found in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate a quick and casual fictional novel about life. However, one should be comfortable with profanities, sexual references, and the stated issues to enjoy this book.
******
Ironing
View: on Bookshelves
Latest Review: Puzzle of Fate by A. Reza Kamarei
