ARCADIA by Lauren Groff tells the story of a man told in four parts, beginning with his early childhood in a hippie commune in upstate New York. Even as a small child, Bit Stone can see the cracks splitting his parents' Utopia, though their stable relationship shields him from the drugs and sex to which many of the other children are exposed. I liked this part the least, because it seemed like Groff was trying too hard to develop Bit into a Holy Fool -- he's very small for his age and doesn't talk, yet he has a gift for midwifery!
In the second part, Bit is a teenager and no longer presented as the fool. Now he's known around the commune as SOMEONE WHO NOTICES THINGS. He's found his voice and expresses himself through photography. Meanwhile, the commune is collapsing under the weight of its own decadence. Its population has swelled from a few dozen to nearly a thousand. Really? A thousand? I can't imagine so many people willingly living with the commune's strict rules, unsanitary conditions and near starvation diet when there are other options available.
The final two parts of the story follow Bit as an adult. I liked these parts better, because the New York City that he inhabits makes for a more authentic setting. Groff delivers some insight into the value of community in the final section, which takes him in a bit of a circle back to where he began. The flu epidemic within this final section has already been commented on; I will say that I didn't mind it as much as some other readers. It wasn't the only element within the story that seemed slightly over the top.
What did annoy me are the lack of quotation marks around dialog. This wasn't the first book I've read that eschewed the marks (that would be Cormac McCarthy's The Road), and I hope that this stylistic trend will die soon. With The Road, the missing quotes came as jolt, but McCarthy's spare prose always made clear who was speaking. I figured, hey, the apocalypse has come and gone, who has time to worry about punctuation? Now, though, it feels gimmicky. For comparison, Bullet Time looked really cool and served a purpose in The Matrix, but you can't put it in every movie.
I did like Arcadia overall, despite my complaints. The elements of the novel that I enjoyed most -- the power of his parents' relationship, his love of photography, and Groff's insights on community -- are universal ones.
THE YELLOW BIRDS by Kevin Powers follows two soldiers who serve together in Al Tafar, Iraq. Early on, Powers establishes that the war for them is not some great adventure, but the great white whale -- a force of nature that indiscriminately devours everything within its path. Bartle and Murphy are only trying to survive. Their goal is to not be one of the first 1000 US casualties to the war.
Besides his two main characters, Powers has populated his story with some well-known war tropes like the colonel who comes to fire them up before battle with a big speech, and the hard-ass sergeant who delights in killing. Powers uses these tropes well, making them vital rather than tired. Bartle dismisses the colonel's "half-assed Patton imitation", and the killjoy sergeant also fusses over his privates, preparing them for battle by taping their gear to their bodies so it doesn't jingle.
Powers describes his characters through their motions (which are ponderous and deliberate -- perhaps because of the desert heat and the weight of their gear). He shapes Al Tafar through vivid depictions of the colors, which change with the movement of the sun. Powers himself served in Al Tafar, and the authenticity of his descriptions indicate that he spent a significant amount of time observing the shifting light while he was there.
He also clearly and concisely shows how both Murph and Bartle, like most young people, operate under the belief that death is something that happens to other people. I can say that one of them will not make it without spoiling anything: this detail is revealed early on. What I won't reveal are the circumstances of that death, and the effects that it has on the survivors. Powers' story is as much about processing death as it is about war.
I believe that Powers succeeds in not just telling a compelling story, but in recording his impressions of this specific place and time. He accomplishes both with precise, economical prose that never wastes itself.
Because Kevin Powers is someone who notices things, THE YELLOW BIRDS wins this round.
In the second part, Bit is a teenager and no longer presented as the fool. Now he's known around the commune as SOMEONE WHO NOTICES THINGS. He's found his voice and expresses himself through photography. Meanwhile, the commune is collapsing under the weight of its own decadence. Its population has swelled from a few dozen to nearly a thousand. Really? A thousand? I can't imagine so many people willingly living with the commune's strict rules, unsanitary conditions and near starvation diet when there are other options available.
The final two parts of the story follow Bit as an adult. I liked these parts better, because the New York City that he inhabits makes for a more authentic setting. Groff delivers some insight into the value of community in the final section, which takes him in a bit of a circle back to where he began. The flu epidemic within this final section has already been commented on; I will say that I didn't mind it as much as some other readers. It wasn't the only element within the story that seemed slightly over the top.
What did annoy me are the lack of quotation marks around dialog. This wasn't the first book I've read that eschewed the marks (that would be Cormac McCarthy's The Road), and I hope that this stylistic trend will die soon. With The Road, the missing quotes came as jolt, but McCarthy's spare prose always made clear who was speaking. I figured, hey, the apocalypse has come and gone, who has time to worry about punctuation? Now, though, it feels gimmicky. For comparison, Bullet Time looked really cool and served a purpose in The Matrix, but you can't put it in every movie.
I did like Arcadia overall, despite my complaints. The elements of the novel that I enjoyed most -- the power of his parents' relationship, his love of photography, and Groff's insights on community -- are universal ones.
THE YELLOW BIRDS by Kevin Powers follows two soldiers who serve together in Al Tafar, Iraq. Early on, Powers establishes that the war for them is not some great adventure, but the great white whale -- a force of nature that indiscriminately devours everything within its path. Bartle and Murphy are only trying to survive. Their goal is to not be one of the first 1000 US casualties to the war.
Besides his two main characters, Powers has populated his story with some well-known war tropes like the colonel who comes to fire them up before battle with a big speech, and the hard-ass sergeant who delights in killing. Powers uses these tropes well, making them vital rather than tired. Bartle dismisses the colonel's "half-assed Patton imitation", and the killjoy sergeant also fusses over his privates, preparing them for battle by taping their gear to their bodies so it doesn't jingle.
Powers describes his characters through their motions (which are ponderous and deliberate -- perhaps because of the desert heat and the weight of their gear). He shapes Al Tafar through vivid depictions of the colors, which change with the movement of the sun. Powers himself served in Al Tafar, and the authenticity of his descriptions indicate that he spent a significant amount of time observing the shifting light while he was there.
He also clearly and concisely shows how both Murph and Bartle, like most young people, operate under the belief that death is something that happens to other people. I can say that one of them will not make it without spoiling anything: this detail is revealed early on. What I won't reveal are the circumstances of that death, and the effects that it has on the survivors. Powers' story is as much about processing death as it is about war.
I believe that Powers succeeds in not just telling a compelling story, but in recording his impressions of this specific place and time. He accomplishes both with precise, economical prose that never wastes itself.
Because Kevin Powers is someone who notices things, THE YELLOW BIRDS wins this round.
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