Customer Reviews

Wasteland

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the third book I've read by this author. One of the things I admire about her work is the way she writes about sensitive issues while completely avoiding any kind of reactionary attitude. This particular story involves a subject which, while entirely consensual, carries a heavy societal taboo. The matter of fact way in which it is handled is refreshing.

Siblings Marina and Lex have always been very close, so close that they have always had trouble finding interest in any others. One night things go too far and shortly afterward Lex takes his own life. Marina is left to deal with the loss of the only person who ever really mattered to her.

I've enjoyed Block's novels in the past, although they tend to evaporate from memory soon after I close them. 'Wasteland' was even more ethereal, seeming insubstantial even as I was reading it. Much of the story is told by Marina, as if she were speaking to her brother, reminiscing about the times they had together, and far too much of it is rambling, directionless, and inconsequential, and tedious to read through. There are a couple subplots generated but never followed through. Only a revelation at the end gives the book any impact. A mild disappointment.

The traditional tragic story of unrequiented love. The twist? The object of Marina's LL (love/lust) is no other than her older brother, lex. Shocking? Maybe. Original? Defidently. Conservatives be forwarned, there is nothing shy about this book. Although the language might be percieved as "confusing" in the begining, I think of it as mysterious. What is he talking about? Where will this lead? A book you want to read agien, and believe me, the second time will be all the more satisfying. So take a break from those dishes and absorbe yourself in Blocks lush, poetic writing. You will be glad you did. -S

It felt like Block was getting back to her Weetzie-esque style. Unlike in 'Echo', the characters were more real and relateable, particularly West. Although I've always loved Block's creativity naming characters, I did enjoy that she used more "normal" names; it made the unusual story somehow more realistic.
Still, I felt like the story and characters were rushed. Did Francesca Lia Block's editor force her to meet a deadline before the story was really finished? This is particularly evident with regards to the ending of the novel. It undermines the main conflict and felt like a cop-out. Maybe Block wasn't sure how to end the novel and ran out of time. Also, she could have spent a little more time on the main characters, particularly Marina. I loved her characterizations of minor characters--Lex and Marina's schoolmates, kids at the club--but I felt like something was lacking in Marina.
I'm always thrilled when a new Francesca Lia Block book comes out, but I felt like this one could have used a little more work. I would have waited a month to see what Block could have come up with.

Incest is one of those subjects we just don't like to talk, or even think, about. In her latest novel, WASTELAND, Francesca Lia Block forces readers outside their comfort zones and into a story in which the love between a brother and sister provides both great joy and incredible anguish.

Lex and Marina have always been close. One of Lex's earliest memories was of his sister as a baby: "Then you reached out and curled your fingers around me, so tight, I knew you recognized me. That was the first time I knew I had a heart inside my body." The siblings' connections only grow deeper as they get older; Lex is obsessively protective of his baby sister, and Marina finds herself dressing and acting like Lex to ensure his acceptance of her. As they enter adolescence, both siblings become intensely aware of each other's bodies, until their attraction to each other comes to a crossroads one night.

As a result of their encounter, Lex betrays Marina and then commits suicide. Marina is torn apart by her own grief and her unanswered questions about her brother's death. She turns to Lex's friend West, who is willing to stand back while Marina searches for answers and wait for her to be able to love again.

It probably won't surprise anyone that this book is for mature teen audiences. Readers should be emotionally ready to deal with WASTELAND's complex subject matter. In addition, the rapidly switching narrators and points of view (including some chapters written from the perspective of the dead brother) require a sophisticated reader, as does the extended passage from T. S. Eliot's poem that inspired the novel's title.

One of the book's major weaknesses is the surprise ending, which is probably meant to provide dramatic irony but instead feels tacked on and unnecessary. Readers who are ready to grapple with Block's lyrical prose and challenging topic will be rewarded by an emotionally rich novel about a compelling and thought-provoking relationship.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

For anybody who has read other books by Francesca Lia Block, you will know what to expect - a haunting story with beautiful characters in a world of sex, drugs, and love. She paints vivid pictures, and though this story doesn't deal with fantasy, the whole book is imbued with an ethereal feeling. Readers can only hold on tight while they wind through the world of Marina and Lex, the brother and sister that loved each other as more than family. Their story is doomed before it begins, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. However, there are always a couple problems. The first of which has nothing to do with the quality of writing at all, but rather that the book is quite short, and is a quick read. Despite the fact that this was a hardcover book (and therefore more expensive), I purchased it. When I got it, I was able to read it in one evening, even factoring in homework and dinner time. Now I'm upset that I just didn't check it out from the library, because unless I read this book two more times, it really wasn't worth the money. The only other thing I'm going to mention is my initial confusion at her frequent narration shifts. Sometimes Marina is narrating, and sometimes it is Lex. Some chapters are in the third person. Both Marina and Lex refer to themselves as "I" and they seem to be writing to each other, saying "you". For the first few chapters, I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but before long the lightbulb in my head went on and it all straightened itself out. Overall, a good book to read, but I'd advise a visit to your local library instead of buying it.

I can honestly say I've never read a better book. It took the very cliched theme of love and turned it upside down. Block took it in a direction that many people dare not to go. She pulled it off gorgeously.
This book impacts you, it stays with you and it makes you think. The way she writes it makes it so effective. After I read this book I realized what, as a writer myself, I wanted to achieve. I wanted to write something that blew my mind as much as this book did.

I love books like this. It's disturbing, beautiful, and different. Most people would think that a book about incest is disgusting, but this one is touching and believable. You fall in love with the characters from the very beginning and wish that things could have been different with them. I don't like love stories all that much, but this one has a twist that is definately worth making an exception for.

This book is purely amazing, Lia Block does it again. With the subject of this book I wasn't sure what to expect, but I am soo glad that I trusted Lia Block and read it. I recommend it to everyone!

I'll admit, I thought Block's last fictional piece (Echo) was not quite up to her usual standards. Maybe it's because I only read it once (as opposed to the several times I've devoured her other books), but Echo struck me as a bit rambling and disjointed. As she did in Echo, Block employs a very poetic style in Wasteland, switching various narrators & time periods without explanation or warning. This time, however, it works! It works really, really well!!! The characters are believable and real, the story is honest and touching, and Block's language is beautiful and vividly descriptive (as always). Wasteland is, to me, every bit as classic as her other amazing novels.

"Your whole life you can be told something is wrong and so you believe it. Why should you question it? But then slowly seeds are planted inside of you, one by one, by a touch or a look or a day skateboarding in a park, and they start to unfurl uncurl little green shoots and they start to burst out of old hulls shells and they start to sprout. And pretty soon there are so many of them. They are named Love and Trust and Kindness and Joy and Desire and Wonder and Spirit and Soulmate. They grow into a garden so dense and thick that it starts to invade your brain where the old things you were once told are dying. By the time this garden reaches your brain the old things are dead. They make no sense. The logic of the seeds sprouted inside of you is the only real thing."

Francesca Lia Block pushes the moral limitations of the love between a brother and sister in her latest novel, Wasteland. This love provides both intense pleasure and extreme pain to Lex and Marina. When their mother realizes that her children's love for one another is stronger than that of a sibling, she becomes distant. This pushes Marina closer to her brother and father figure. As they come into adolescents Lex becomes almost obsessively protective of Marina who does all she can to ensure his acceptance The two try to deny their sexual attraction by becoming interested in other boys and girls. But one night they cross the boundaries.

When Lex realizes the immorality of their attraction he betrays his sister and then takes his own life. Marina is devastated with her brother's death. She turns to a friend of her brothers to help her search for answers to the questions that she has about his unexpected death.

Block's readers are forced out of their comfort zones when they begin her book, Wasteland. Reading the quotes inside the cover, I would have never thought this book was going to be about incest. Had I known this, I would have never bought this overpriced book. I found the abrupt switching from Lex's journal entries to Marina to a third person narrative significantly confusing along with the use of exerts from T. S. Eliot's poem. Until page 19, I was baffled by the use of the word "you" as a term of endearment. Furthermore, the surprise ending is a weakness. I think Block might have meant for it to provide a justification for those who were closed-minded to incest. But she left me feeling like it was an unnecessary addition to the book. Maybe this book will shed some constructive light on this situation but it was disturbing to me.