Satin Island

November 17, 2014
McCarthy’s newest novel is as delightfully unclassifiable as his last effort, C. The narrator is U., a fanciful and probing anthropologist who works for a corporation he refers to simply as “the Company.” Recruited as an ethnographer on the reputation he earned through his published study of nightclub culture, U. has been commissioned by his boss, Peyman, to write what he calls “the Great Report”; but U. can’t seem to get started or be sure if he’s necessarily even working on the Great Report at any given moment. Though he associates with people who have consequential experiences (his friend Petr dies of cancer) his thoughts are more often occupied by abstract concepts, images, patterns, and theories. U. is intent on making connections and creating meaning from the information he takes in, to the point where he begins to compile dossiers on various topics including parachute accidents and oil spills. His ultimate goal is to combine all of these together into a “Present-Tense Anthropology.” The book itself subtly takes the form of his Great Report, with U. often addressing the reader, and is marked by fascinating philosophical tangents that justify the apparent lack of a story. This novel of ideas is begging to be read and reread for meaning with pens, diagrams, and maybe even a dossier or two thrown in for good measure.

June 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Matt lost his mother to cancer, and his father has started drinking to hide from the pain, leaving him alone. He's sure that none of the kids at school can understand how he feels, and realizing how many other students avoid him just strengthens that feeling. He has one real friend, Chris, who sticks by him. When Matt realizes he needs a job, not only to stay sane but to help with bills, he tries Cluck Bucket and is attracted to the girl behind the counter but instead ends up doing the unthinkable, agreeing to work for Mr. Ray at the neighborhood funeral home. Matt begins to sit in on funerals, not knowing why at first, but soon realizes after studying mourners that there's always someone whose grief can't be understood, which validates his feelings of loss and reassures him that he's not alone. When he hears Lovey at her grandmother's funeral, something magic happens. How this plays out and helps pull him out of his grief makes for an amazing story. Corey Allen is a perfect narrator for this wonderful story of grieving and hope. VERDICT Definitely worth adding to any library.-John R. Clark, Hartland Public Library, ME

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.