The Red Car
A Novel
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- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
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نقد و بررسی
August 1, 2016
In the sleek and polished third novel by the author of Bad Marie, aspiring novelist Leah receives the bequest of the titular vehicle from her former boss Judy, killed when a driver runs a red light. Leah, 33 and unhappily married to the perhaps too-conveniently villainous Hans, whom she married when they were both graduate students and he needed a green card, takes off from Queens for San Francisco to retrieve the car. There follows a series of surreal adventures with old coworkers, a college friend “worth insane amounts of money,” a hippie mechanic, and a motel receptionist, as Leah begins to imagine the possibility of a happier future for herself. Dermansky’s short, punchy chapters keep the tightly written novel moving smoothly along, and flashbacks to her past add depth without slowing momentum. When fantasy elements—such as the fact that Leah constantly hears the deceased Judy talking to her, as well as the alleged “haunting” of a car that wants its drivers to exceed the speed limit—threaten to steer the novel off course, the author brings it sharply back in line with snappy dialogue and a great ending.
Leah's former boss and mentor, Judy, dies unexpectedly and leaves Leah her red sports car, spurring Leah on a journey of self-discovery. Narrator Soneela Nankani portrays Leah as disconnected from the real world, floating from moment to moment with passive confusion. Her performance highlights Leah's denial of her failing marriage and faltering career. In contrast, Judy, in flashbacks and in Leah's memory, speaks in a confident, throaty contralto. Leah travels cross-country to attend Judy's funeral and spends the following weeks in San Francisco, making a series of irresponsible, spur-of-the-moment choices in an effort to avoid conflict. Minimal distinctions in the voices of secondary characters reflect Leah's self-centered experience of the world and highlight her slowly developing ability to take control of her life. E.C. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
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