Bogeywoman (Sun and Moon Classics, No 132 (Paper))

Rating:
Summary: Boosting Boasting
Review: Jaimy Gordon's fiction has always raced ahead on the power of her coruscating style--the nonstop humor (even in the midst of tragedy or horror) runs on her brilliant wordplay and her ability to create distinctive voices with whom the reader instantly feels familiar and, if not comfortable, at least engaged. In _Bogeywoman_, the teenaged Ursie immediately establishes the nervous rhythms of her narrative, filled with slang and neologisms, and leads us into the world of a young woman who knows herself so well that she knows first how little she understands of herself--but even more, she convinces us that none of the adults who presume to teach/treat/discipline her can know anything important about her--with the possible exception of Dr. Zuk, the best (or most mysterious) of the "dreambox mechanics" she encounters. While there are some other writers with whom Gordon's work could be compared, comparisons would be beside the point--read this book because you will be moved and amused and glad to have the chance to get to know Ursie.