Flies in the Vaseline: Keep Getting Stuck Here All the Time
Written: Jan 18 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good storyline, great writing style, very emotional
Cons: characters unsympathetic, ending fizzeled
The Bottom Line: Bitter, yet oddly hopeful, realistic, yet depressive, Christensen is master of her new genre, creating an elegantly interwoven tapestry of cast, plot, and language.
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| countess_eva's Full Review: Kate Christensen - In the Drink |
(review title taken from a song by Stone Temple Pilots)
Claudia Steiner, aloof alcoholic and drifter has become depressed with life, burdened by the unfair nature of the world and the endless rounds of hopelessness and depression. Floating around on a booze drenched tide of depression, single and unwanted, stuck in a dead end job with the egotistical employer from Hades’ depths, Claudia relates her quirky tale with a certain depressive charm, evoking the bleak times of life, tying together the collective downs of humanity, and producing a tale of charm and desperation, ending with a small smidgeon of hope.
Kate Christensen, author of such great works as The Epicure’s Lament has a strange talent, telling what appears to be dead end tales that always seem to work. Her plots are simple and unadorned by fictional meanderings and fantasy sagas, instead relying on the real life of what the world so callously labels “losers.” Claudia is the greatest anti-hero of all times, so filled with faults that sometimes it is hard for the reader to muster sympathy, although understanding always secretly lurks in the back of our minds. Adrift and macabre, Claudia has given into that secret longing that follows us all, implanted in the back of our minds, that demon of despair that begs us to simply give up on life, accept the inevitable depression that is existence, and fall into the endless slough of despair with an almost perverted, reckless joy. And this is where the simplicity and beauty of In The Drink lies. It is the ultimate train wreck of literature, page after page of human carnage, spiritual representations of the death of the soul, and the combat between the desire to give up and to fight. Claudia is what we all secretly fear becoming and yet, what we all sometimes flirt with. Should we give up or go on? The plot works around this simple theme, capturing the reader’s attention by presenting disaster, a sure fire way to get people to crane their necks in fascination, watching the wreckage of a fellow human being with an almost perverse delight. Definitely not a feel good read, but nevertheless, it is a plot device that works to keep the reader interested in Claudia’s foibles and the seemingly disjointed plotline.
And so Claudia’s life degenerates and we, the audience, join in the train ride straight to hell and possibly back again. Along the way more dysfunctional individuals rear their ugly heads including Jackie, Claudia’s ditzy and dastardly boss, who uses and abuses with seeming obliviousness, William, Claudia’s secret crush, Claudia’s Freudian obsessed mother, and a few fellow friends and foes. Each character carves a place in the novel just like real people carve a way into one another’s life. All the protagonists and antagonists, including Claudia, are believable, distinctly human, and yet, for the most part, unsympathetic creations. Their faults, debaucheries, and other evils, conspire to make an interesting and believable cast, but in the end each character is so self-centered and flawed that it is hard for the reader to really muster sympathy. Curiosity impels the audience forward, commanding them to discover the ultimate outcome, yet there is no one to truly root for. This, while not necessarily a con, could be taken as such by some readers. Yet, one must keep in mind that this is technically “loser lit” a gritty, down to earth genre, that explores the negative side of humanity (recall the delightfully dour, pessimistic Hugo from The Epicure’s Lament) and demands that the reader acknowledge that life and humanity are not all rose tinted.
Christensen’s conclusions are always a little blasé. Like The Epicure’s Lament, the tale ends without truly wrapping up, intimating things that are to come yet not spelling the ending out for the addle brained or the intensely curious. Is there a ray of hope for Claudia or will the devil extract his dues? What is the overall message, if there is one? This adoration of cliff hanger endings seems to be a common plot device exclusive to this author and her only literary fault. In The Drink truly captivated and enthralled, the atmosphere of melancholy reaching deep into the reader’s soul and reminding him or her of prior bouts with this certain devil, and so, after becoming so intensely involved, a nicely wrapped and packed ending with long winded epilogue in tow would have been most apropos.
After having devoured thousands of books over the years, and reviewed a small fraction of them, I find that Kate Christensen displays the best authorship of any author combining an elite, descriptive, flowery writing style that, on its own, is simply enchanting to hear read aloud. Wordy, flamboyant, a little old world and well crafted, the writing style is so breathtaking that it deserves special and explicit praise especially considering that In The Drink was Christensesn’s first novel and she only got better from here. Outstanding all the way.
Morbid, melancholy, and morose In The Drink delves into a negative world, carrying the reader along for the ride. Bitter, yet oddly hopeful, realistic, yet depressive, Christensen is master of her new genre, creating an elegantly interwoven tapestry of cast, plot, and language. The conclusion could have been better fleshed out, perhaps complimented by an epilogue, and one does sometimes wish that it were possible to whole heartedly root for a character, but overall this novel is a stellar example of great authorship at its finest. Kate Christensen has earned a place on my shelf of favorites. Highly recommended.
Countess_Eva
Recommended:
Yes
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countess_eva
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Member: Frances Carden
Location: Washington DC
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