I may have sat on this book for too long to give a really good review for it, but I will try. Another writer I found out about when I purchased the 20 Under 40 book The New Yorker put out last year, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum’s story did not really blow me away, but it wasn’t the worst in that collection. She offered something new and unique to modern readers, and she did not just try and fill a void with a certain tone or style. She was simply trying to carve out her own place in the literary world, and did not want to think of herself as a simply a writer derivative of a writer from an early time period. I respect that a lot, and it shows she has the potential to do great things. This book, for example, offers something really cool and in contrast to anything else you may read. That does not always translate into quality, and this a flawed work that is still worth your time. It is a novel divided into maybe 200 chapters, none longer than a page and a half, which tells the story of a girl named Madeline, who is in a deep sleep that cannot be broken. In her dreams she joins the circus, falls in love, and goes on many other adventures and meets many different people, all while her real life family struggles with her condition. It is a very non-linear book, and if you try to follow it as such, you will not enjoy the story as much. It is best to enjoy each chapter by itself, focusing on the mystical musings Bynum is so good at. It is a part fairy tale, part stream of consciousness exercise in confusion that may be worth your time if you don’t mind letting go of control.
Rating: 4/5
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