Review to follow... ( )

This is the story of a man wheeling in grief, a man whose mistakes have dominated his life, who hits bottom and finds his way back. For most of the novel, you won’t like this man, and you will be unsure of the line between psychological and physical illness and reality.

He has lost his son, the fruit of a one night stand with a friend, a son with whom he could never connect. He is not going to earn tenure if he can’t find a publisher for his second book, but times have changed and no one cares about “racial narratives”. As a biracial man with a black father and white mother, he has struggled with identity all of his life.

He discovers he has inherited a plantation from his mother’s father. It was to go to his son. He makes the trip to the shore, intending to sell the land. After seventeen years of sobriety, he accepts a drink, which does not go well with his Lexapro. He has a blackout, walks into the ocean, and is stung by a jellyfish. His leg becomes infected. He learns that there are bodies of masters and slaves on the plantation grounds.

As he plummets in a downward spiral, haunted by visions and ghosts, he gains a few friends. He faces up to his past, and inspired by his recollected son’s sharp insights and understanding, finds the courage to change.

I delighted in reading such a unique novel, so dark and darkly humorous, so deep and psychologically and culturally rich.

Thanks to Celadon Books for a free book through NetGalley. ( )

From the author: "Whether you love or hate my work..."

Love:
"If I got to chose between your God and the devil,
the devil is fine." !

Love: Freddy and Clarence!
Malcolm, at times
the Road Flagger

Love: the imagined words of the people from beyond the grave

Enjoy: Great evolving, revolving plot that early got lost when he wanted
to run over a fox, then recovering alcoholic walks into a bar, gets drunk & wears "slacks."

Hate: despite doctor telling him not to mix alcohol with medications, he does this and ends up with (too many) repeated panic attacks, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, puking, delusions, visions...

So, he disses two Whiteys, complete with kicking the woman and this makes him (finally) feel happy until his "state" returns.
So, if a White man kicked a Black woman, that would be okay?

How he keeps drinking despite stopping after drunken drop of his baby son and his son's accidental death is an unresolved mystery.

Also hate: images of tentacles in leg and refusal to see a doctor for pain.

Dislike: not even considering that any decent Black or White or Brown or Red or Yellow therapist could have helped him get beyond himself and his internal divisions so he could figure out why (genetic? personality?...) he does not feel warmth instead of coldness toward people, whether he loves or despises them ( )

*reviewed from free ARC via bookishfirst*

Publisher: Celadon Books (MacMillan)
Publication Date: Jun 18 2024
supposedly shipped 4/16, still waiting

I received an advance copy of this book, Thank you.

I have never read a book quite like this. I was curious, and the book compelled me to finish it, but I didn't like it. What I didn't like about it, probably would cause the author to say, "Don't you understand, your reaction is exactly what I was trying to evoke in people." and he would be right. The book jumps right into grabbing your attention and making you connect emotionally to the narrator. He is in the procession heading to bury his teenage son. He's carrying on a conversation with his son; conversations he should have had while his son was alive. Suddenly he is gripped by a panic attack, all this I could completely understand and sympathize with. We don't know how his son died, just that it was way too soon.
Throughout the rest of the book, the story unwinds as he continues to talk with his son, reflect back to his own childhood, reflect back even further. This is where I began to get impatient with the character. He's got a lot of baggage, and that weighs him down. It weighs him down in a way that he is 100% self absorbed and self wallowing. As he talks to his son, and looks back on their conversations, he admits he should have said something other than what he had. After half the book like this, I wanted to smack him and say, "yes, you were the grown up, you should have tried harder to reach your son". See, I told you, the author succeeded in evoking my emotions. The book continues on, all his baggage is clearly what his self revolves around, and he can't move forward. The way the author writes even emphasizes this. There were at least a couple places where one sentence went on for over 1/2 the page. Yes, I was reading silently, but mentally I couldn't take a breath. It wasn't until almost the last few pages, that the Narrator admits he's wasted his time/life trying to be something he isn't, but couldn't stop trying for it.

As I mentioned before, I didn't care for this book yet, without a doubt, it drew a strong reaction from me. I imagine there will be a lot of people who love it. ( )