Customer Reviews

Suspicious River

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You hate her, you love her, but in the end, you don't want her dead. Leila is such a punching bag you ask yourself why you care so very very much. Because you do care. I guess it takes a poet like Kasischke to make Leila's world real, and it takes more than mere wordcraft to grab you by the hair on the back of your neck and twist.

Because that's the feeling you get as Leila starts to wake up and run from her demons.

"Suspicious River," a first novel from poet Laura Kasischke, is a dark, introspective tale illuminated by the bright, precise language of a poet-turned-novelist.
Leila Murray is a receptionist at the Swan Motel, in the small town of Suspicious River, Michigan. Her narrative begins when she decides to offer the motel's patrons more than just a friendly smile at check-in. Soon she's so busy with her newfound profession that she hardly has time, between the exquisitely-recounted "sex" scenes, to reflect on her tumultuous past. "Suspicious River" is told with the sure rhythm of a steadily-flowing river, alternating between Leila's present interludes as a prostitute and her frightening childhood story of the build-up to her mother's murder. Leila's conclusion is as dramatic as her mother's, but with a shimmer of hope that her story will turn out differently.

I gave this five stars because, quite simply, it belongs in the category of Great Literature. She's right up there with Joyce Carol Oates, one of my favorites. And Mary McGary Morris, another great. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is her ability to control what I might call the "erotic" factor. In early chapters in which Leila is turning tricks at the hotel, the encounters with men are not in any way erotic; they are mechanical, dull-sounding, unappealing, in fact, they are icky. However, when she describes her sex-addict mother and philandering uncle's affair, the sex comes alive; it's stimulating, arousing. I believe it's because the writer understands that for children, sexuality is always arousing - children are sexually naive and at the same time more primal beings, which is why violent or inappropriate sex can be so traumatizing for them, as it was for the young Leila. And with time, as the book progresses, the sex becomes different yet again: more brutal and frantic, but less automatic; Leila is definitely coming undone, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, because the novel indicates that things are rising to a spiritual boiling point. I did agree with one reviewer here who said the similes and metaphors began to get repetitive and a bit too grim (or, if you will, "depressing." I found myself cringing at yet another bird carcass, bloody feathers, drowned furry creature, eyes staring out of skeletal bones, just that whole ugly death thing that went on and on and on. Warning to future readers: do not read this book with your dinner. Still, it kept me (if reluctantly) right up to the end. But I gotta say, once again - this writer is masterful when it comes to metaphor. I found myself thinking WOW! Can she write! In fact, the writer who came to mind most often was Egyptian Nobel winner Nagib Mafouz, another writer who can sling metaphors that make you shake your head in disbelief - how the heck did he do that? Kudos to Ms. Kassischke.

i read this book about four years aGo -- picked it up in the NYU library on my lunch break, and it's stayed in my head ever since. tough, uncompromisinG, perfect. really want to read more from laura kasischke.

Although I finished this book several months ago the story of Leila's life has stayed with me. This book is full of haunting dialogue, rich descriptions, interesting characters. Truly writing at its best! I adore books by Laura Kasischke and wish there were more novels by this amazing author.

A nearly perfect novel; a rare mixture of beautiful writing and logical, original story.It's clear Kasischke honed her skill as a poet; the language is just that concise. The opening paragraph is one of the best I've ever read. I was hooked from that moment on. Highly recommended.

It is obvious that the author is a poet, because her prose in Suspicious River is lovely and lyrical. I heard this book on tape, and the audiotape does a fine job of vocalizing the narrative. Sometimes the story is so dismal or oppressive that the reader/listener needs a pause from the main character, Leila. But it is this protagonist who makes the novel so riveting -- she is almost totally dissocated from her actions and body, and it seems that the reader cares what happens to her more than Leila does herself. Leila details the setting in beautiful images, yet she cannot connect with other people or herself. Her experience of a gust of wind or the whisper of a feather is more significant or real to her than any of the many sexual encounters. She is emotionally dead, but the reader wants her to connect, save herself, be saved from her motto: "It was just my body." This book is a wrenching experience full of gorgeous language.

A hypnotic and and lyrical book which clearly establishes the oppression of women and the power of male domination in a highly unequal society. The author questions our own views and feelings towards women and makes us look at ourselves in a different way.

I read a review, one of the short reviews in the in the New Yorker that are more descriptive than judgemental, many years ago. I only remembered it was intriguing but I bought it recently and read it on this vacation (I am in Mexico as I write). I agree with some reviews that have compared it with Joyce Carol Oates but I would also throw in some other gritty books; Laplante's Cold Shoulder (she wrote the original scripts for the hit TV show Prime Suspect) and Amis' Night Train. The book alternates between the rugged life the central character lives today and her tortured past that continues to haunt her. And yes, have we discussed that she is a poet? I don't have an background in literature and I don't really know anything about poetry (though some of my best friends are poets) but it would appear as though poets do have an excellent command of our language and can use it to great advantage. So if you like grit and you like a talented writer please check this out.

I wanted to point out that Ms. Kasischke spoke at the 1999 Michigan Writers Series. Her discussion of this book and some of her poetry can be found via a search for the Michigan State University Libraries.

This dark, strange novel has turned me into a huge fan of the author's work. If the book were just gritty and savage, it wouldn't be nearly as powerful, but it's also poignant. That's what kills you. Imagine one of the great noir novels -- something by Hammett or Thompson -- written from a woman's point of view, with a whole world of emotional reality potently evoked.

Devastating.

Plus there are these stray moments of (mostly heartrending) tenderness, even (at long last) the barest glimmer of hope. Kasischke is absolutely brilliant.