Customer Reviews

Bloodroot: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was really moved by Aaron Roy Even's debut. Bloodroot is an impressive and moving portrait of the racial and power dynamics of a struggling southern town in the early 20th century. Especially, if you are interested in race and gender relations in this country, this is not a book to miss.

I'm usually running around all over the place, so it is rare that I read a book in one sitting. However, I couldn't put the book down. It is a true work of literature, the kind that one rarely sees in our paperback marketing times. I loved it! I recommend it to anyone who wants to be entertained by a contemporary literary classic.

I had the pleasure of uncovering this book at the AWP conference a few years ago, and, with all the praise it received there and all the reviews which gave it Faulknerian comparisons, I grew excited about having time to read it. I began it immediately and my disappointment was almost as immediate. Though the language did in fact remind me of Faulkner and, more recently, of Cormac McCarthy and Jeffrey Lent, in "Bloodroot" it was forced and the hand of the author is too present. Also, the dialogue shifts are abrupt and the obvious use of dialogue to propel the narrative weakens its read, for the speech doesn't appear natural. Ultimately, I'm surprised it won its award and that it received such praise. Though the plot is thoughful, it is awkwardly presented and the rough language overshadows the narrative.