Navigating the Darwin Straits

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly crafted.
Review: I read NAVIGATING THE DARWIN STRAITS by accident. Assuming it was going to be a true adventure story, I jumped in only to discover it's a novel --- about an adolescent kid with a lesbian mother and no father. Disappointed, I thought, "Family angst can be so tiresome. I'll give it a chapter, or two..." Two chapters later, I was hooked. Forbes has created a beautiful journey of growing into adulthood, and the title fits the story perfectly.

Edith Forbes's fourth novel is the story of Jordy McNeil as told by himself. He's 4 when his single mother decides there are too many trees in Oregon and they move back to her tiny, "one computer hometown" of Kilgore. Donna's parents have never acknowledged Jordy --- his father was a one-night hookup at a frat party. Jordy is shorter than everyone else and he's nerdy; basically he's out of sync with anyone else his age in Kilgore. But, therein lies his charm. He tells his story quietly, with just the facts. There's not a hint of whining or complaining. His mother falls in love with Pat, the town's public lesbian, and he falls in love with classmate Reba, who's also a lesbian. He and Reba decide that life is so much easier if they let everyone believe they're a couple. It's heartbreaking for him, but better than being considered a total loser.

It sounds like a soap opera, but it's not. In fact, it feels extraordinarily real.

Donna is the almost typical mother, always questioning Jordy on his plans for the future. Mothers are so practical. Not taking his mother's advice of having an organized plan, Jordy heads for Seattle, where he finds a niche in a dot-com venture. When he begins to question his life and place in the world, he moves on again. Jordy stays connected to home by examining his life issues through eMail exchanges with Pat. People like Jordy, Pat, and Donna are what's right with the world. Their story leaves you with an ache to spend more time with them.

Brilliantly crafted, Edith Forbes's NAVIGATING THE DARWIN STRAITS will be on many high school reading lists. Scratch that, make it everyone's reading list.

Edith Forbes has also written ALMA ROSE, NOWLE'S PASSING, and EXIT TO REALITY.

--- Reviewed by Mary Louise Rohner


Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It started off really great, with some incredibly funny parts about Jordy growing being the runt of the class and dealing with his Mom being a Lesbian and Grandma being a holy roller. There's an awesome line about the Grandma looking at you as if she's calculating the number of BTU's you'd generate burning in hell. I was howling with laughter in these sections.

But then it goes into Silicon Valley computer stuff, and Forbes just doesn't nail the computer culture very well. Having lived it and also reading folks like Douglas Coupland who nailed it, I thought this portion of the book was irritating and boring.

But it was worth it to read on about Jordy's other adventures and reunion with family. Forbe's strength is her subtlety in dealing with the intricacies of relationships and the associated emotions, and this book overcame other difficulties to be worth it in the end. Sometimes when Forbes tries to capture technical details or summarize real-world events it reads a bit like "young adult" fiction, but I think this book was worth the effort.

It's probably been 10 years, but I remember Alma Rose being a stronger overall book.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It started off really great, with some incredibly funny parts about Jordy growing being the runt of the class and dealing with his Mom being a Lesbian and Grandma being a holy roller. There's an awesome line about the Grandma looking at you as if she's calculating the number of BTU's you'd generate burning in hell. I was howling with laughter in these sections.

But then it goes into Silicon Valley computer stuff, and Forbes just doesn't nail the computer culture very well. Having lived it and also reading folks like Douglas Coupland who nailed it, I thought this portion of the book was irritating and boring.

But it was worth it to read on about Jordy's other adventures and reunion with family. Forbe's strength is her subtlety in dealing with the intricacies of relationships and the associated emotions, and this book overcame other difficulties to be worth it in the end. Sometimes when Forbes tries to capture technical details or summarize real-world events it reads a bit like "young adult" fiction, but I think this book was worth the effort.

It's probably been 10 years, but I remember Alma Rose being a stronger overall book.

Rating:
Summary: The joys of being human
Review: Jordy McNeil moves with his mom back to the small town where she grew up. He's always been picked upon, due to his small size and his habits, but when the kids find out his mom's a lesbian, then his troubles get worse for a while. Jordy learns to adapt to each situation throughout his life, which is part of his charm. After high school, he works for a while in Silicon Valley, where he makes a ton of money, and when those empty feelings overwhelm him, Jordy travels to Latin America on a quest for renewal. From there he goes to Seattle, where he falls victim to a drive-by shooting. He flees across the country to Maine, trying to wake up to life again, and it's only through the interactions with his mother's partner Pat that he succeeds in grabbing a hold of life again. Forbes's novel is connected to her earlier novel, "Alma Rose", but this can be read without reading the previous. Her writing is lively and skilful. This is a beautiful story about finding one's place in the world and in one's family, and about living every experience fully. "Navigating the Darwin Straits" is a perfect example of a book that's an utter joy to read.

Rating:
Summary: A rare gem.
Review: This book is one of those novels that are meant to be shared among your dearest friends. It is about circumstance and the intricate connection of coincidents that shape our existance, from the moment we crawled from the sea to who you love in this lifetime.

Jordy McNeil is the intelligent, slight-statured and geeky son of an open lesbian in a small farm community. This makes him vulerable indeed to the insults and beatings beloved by so many ignorant bullies everywhere, but he is able to distance himself enough to understand not only his tormentors' mindsets, but to even gain the grudging respect. His life is far from perfect, but he slips through, strengthened by his mother's pragmaticism balanced by her life partner's calm serenity and acceptance. Through all his adventures is a sense of profound responsibility; the need to make a difference somehow, to break free from the norm and yet feel like a part of something bigger than himself.

It's impossible to relate the events of Jordy's life without falling prey to sappy feel-good phrases. This books is so much more than that. Just when you know what's going to happen, a new twist comes about. Ms. Forbes manages to flesh out very real characters; Jordy is infinitely likeable without being boring and becomes more complex with age and experience. His life is a quest for meaning and relevance, and his story journeys through the bone-white recesses of Silicone Valley at an enterprising Internet startup company, to the quiet ghost-infested ruins of South American pyramids, to the drenched inner-city streets of Seattle, and beyond.

Jordy is cursed, like a few of us, with the need to constantly confirm his meaning and purpose in the universe. Fortunately, while he is introspective, he never comes off as whiney. That's why he is so tragic, this mild boy who turns into a man who feels empty even though he does so much. The title on a whole is satisfying, and the last few chapters so interesting you won't want to put the book down. I won't even try to sum up what happens - just enjoy the twists!

I adored this book and will be sure to check out _Alma Rose_, the book preceding this one, which begins the tale of Jordy's future step-mother. This is one talented author, indeed.

Rating:
Summary: A rare gem.
Review: This book is one of those novels that are meant to be shared among your dearest friends. It is about circumstance and the intricate connection of coincidents that shape our existance, from the moment we crawled from the sea to who you love in this lifetime.

Jordy McNeil is the intelligent, slight-statured and geeky son of an open lesbian in a small farm community. This makes him vulerable indeed to the insults and beatings beloved by so many ignorant bullies everywhere, but he is able to distance himself enough to understand not only his tormentors' mindsets, but to even gain the grudging respect. His life is far from perfect, but he slips through, strengthened by his mother's pragmaticism balanced by her life partner's calm serenity and acceptance. Through all his adventures is a sense of profound responsibility; the need to make a difference somehow, to break free from the norm and yet feel like a part of something bigger than himself.

It's impossible to relate the events of Jordy's life without falling prey to sappy feel-good phrases. This books is so much more than that. Just when you know what's going to happen, a new twist comes about. Ms. Forbes manages to flesh out very real characters; Jordy is infinitely likeable without being boring and becomes more complex with age and experience. His life is a quest for meaning and relevance, and his story journeys through the bone-white recesses of Silicone Valley at an enterprising Internet startup company, to the quiet ghost-infested ruins of South American pyramids, to the drenched inner-city streets of Seattle, and beyond.

Jordy is cursed, like a few of us, with the need to constantly confirm his meaning and purpose in the universe. Fortunately, while he is introspective, he never comes off as whiney. That's why he is so tragic, this mild boy who turns into a man who feels empty even though he does so much. The title on a whole is satisfying, and the last few chapters so interesting you won't want to put the book down. I won't even try to sum up what happens - just enjoy the twists!

I adored this book and will be sure to check out _Alma Rose_, the book preceding this one, which begins the tale of Jordy's future step-mother. This is one talented author, indeed.