Official Review: Jane. by Riya Anne Polcastro
Posted: 28 Jul 2017, 10:53
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Jane." by Riya Anne Polcastro.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Jane. is a novel written by Riya Anne Polcastro. It starts with two characters – a young, twenty-something woman by the name of Jane and her mentally ill aunt Rose. As a child, Jane was much closer to her aunt than her mother, but eventually, they drifted apart. Now she has come to Salem, Oregon to be a full-time caretaker for her. Now she has to be the one to deal with her aunt’s antics and constant trouble with the law.
Eventually, though she founds a life outside of the small cottage where they both live together. She gets a job and becomes a part of a group of seven friends know as The Circle. From then on life becomes a downward spiral for both niece and aunt. Jane slips into a world of drugs and casual sex. She ignores, and practically abandons, her aunt who’s sanity suffers for it.
The book consists of first-person narratives. Most are from Jane and Rose, but often we see things from the perspective of Jane’s friends. Then there are some weirder perspectives such as Rose’s dead mother Vilma, the perspective of The Circle as it talks about the group dynamic, and even that of a cigarette lighter.
Jane. is a very female centered story. Practically all the characters in the book are women. Most of them are lesbians, so even their relationships are with other women. It’s a story where men are absent and more often than not are the villains. At the start of the book, Jane tells Rose about her last boyfriend who cheated on her. Much of Jane’s actions later on come down to a sort of revenge against him and the entire male race. Rape also plays an important part in the story, but it would be going into spoiler territory to explain how.
The book deals heavily with mental illness. It tries to give you a peek inside the mind of insanity and explain the crazy thought processes inside. One of the book’s biggest flaws was going for the cliché traumatic childhood angle. We see Rose growing up in a home where her sister Darla was loved more by their mother. Later we see some other traumatic events that shape Rose into being who she is. It tries to neatly explain mental illness as something that’s caused, something that has a reason for being there. In reality there often is no logic to it and people become sick no matter how well you treat them. Also, the portrayal of electroshock therapy used as punishment made me question the author’s knowledge on the topic.
I liked reading Jane., but what stopped me from enjoying it was that I couldn’t connect with either Jane or Rose as characters. Their lack of responsibility for their actions really rubbed me the wrong way. Rose’s crazy antics are treated as just jokes or games and the cops are villainized for bringing consequences. Essentially, being crazy is an excuse for bad behavior in their eyes.
Needless to say, there’s a lot of sexual language and swearing in this book. At times it even gets pornographic with its descriptions. The book deals with some very heavy subjects and that fact should be taken into account before picking it up. I know I chose it because I like reading about messed up characters. In that sense Jane. did not disappoint and I give it 3 out of 4 stars. It really tries to show the pain experienced by the people who are often the lowest on society’s totem pole. If you’re looking for a story about people like that then I would definitely recommend Jane. to you.
******
Jane.
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3 out of 4 stars
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Jane. is a novel written by Riya Anne Polcastro. It starts with two characters – a young, twenty-something woman by the name of Jane and her mentally ill aunt Rose. As a child, Jane was much closer to her aunt than her mother, but eventually, they drifted apart. Now she has come to Salem, Oregon to be a full-time caretaker for her. Now she has to be the one to deal with her aunt’s antics and constant trouble with the law.
Eventually, though she founds a life outside of the small cottage where they both live together. She gets a job and becomes a part of a group of seven friends know as The Circle. From then on life becomes a downward spiral for both niece and aunt. Jane slips into a world of drugs and casual sex. She ignores, and practically abandons, her aunt who’s sanity suffers for it.
The book consists of first-person narratives. Most are from Jane and Rose, but often we see things from the perspective of Jane’s friends. Then there are some weirder perspectives such as Rose’s dead mother Vilma, the perspective of The Circle as it talks about the group dynamic, and even that of a cigarette lighter.
Jane. is a very female centered story. Practically all the characters in the book are women. Most of them are lesbians, so even their relationships are with other women. It’s a story where men are absent and more often than not are the villains. At the start of the book, Jane tells Rose about her last boyfriend who cheated on her. Much of Jane’s actions later on come down to a sort of revenge against him and the entire male race. Rape also plays an important part in the story, but it would be going into spoiler territory to explain how.
The book deals heavily with mental illness. It tries to give you a peek inside the mind of insanity and explain the crazy thought processes inside. One of the book’s biggest flaws was going for the cliché traumatic childhood angle. We see Rose growing up in a home where her sister Darla was loved more by their mother. Later we see some other traumatic events that shape Rose into being who she is. It tries to neatly explain mental illness as something that’s caused, something that has a reason for being there. In reality there often is no logic to it and people become sick no matter how well you treat them. Also, the portrayal of electroshock therapy used as punishment made me question the author’s knowledge on the topic.
I liked reading Jane., but what stopped me from enjoying it was that I couldn’t connect with either Jane or Rose as characters. Their lack of responsibility for their actions really rubbed me the wrong way. Rose’s crazy antics are treated as just jokes or games and the cops are villainized for bringing consequences. Essentially, being crazy is an excuse for bad behavior in their eyes.
Needless to say, there’s a lot of sexual language and swearing in this book. At times it even gets pornographic with its descriptions. The book deals with some very heavy subjects and that fact should be taken into account before picking it up. I know I chose it because I like reading about messed up characters. In that sense Jane. did not disappoint and I give it 3 out of 4 stars. It really tries to show the pain experienced by the people who are often the lowest on society’s totem pole. If you’re looking for a story about people like that then I would definitely recommend Jane. to you.
******
Jane.
View: on Bookshelves
Like AliceofX's review? Post a comment saying so!