Complicated thoughts on a contemporary campus satire
Plus the Great American Novel and choosing my next read
I am neck-deep in Paperback Summer Reading Guide books, devoting both my audio and print reading to hunting for titles to fit my summer vibe. That means that I only have one book to share with you today, and—unfortunately—it was a bit of a bummer.
But since outsourcing my new release reading decisions to you all worked so well last time (thanks for choosing Piglet for me—I loved it!), let’s it that again! If you’re only going to be getting one or two reviews from me for the next several Sundays, I want to make sure they’re books you care about!
This week in books.
This week I read…
Victim by Andrew Boryga. This is a book with a great premise (and a great audiobook narrator!) that fell flat for me. The story follows Javier Perez, a young man who dreams of being an author living with his single mom in Queens. When a college admissions advisor encourages Javi to use a traumatic event from his life in his application essay, Javi quickly learns that playing into certain narratives can get him where he wants to go in life. As the novel follows Javi to a prestigious university, a stint at the college paper, and an unmissable opportunity post-graduation, the stakes get higher, as Javi keeps hustling. I write a lot here about assessing a book for what it’s trying to do, and—in some ways—I do think Victim achieved its aims. It’s critiquing the way people and institutions expect particular kinds of stories and experiences from people of color, the way the publishing world at large seeks out trauma narratives at the expense of everything else, and the way saying the right things about progressive policies can provide more social capital than living out those values. My issue was that these themes lacked the level of complexity necessary to pull off an effective social commentary. There were a few fantastic scenes like Javi’s meetings with his admissions advisor and the Invisible Backpack-style activity he’s forced to endure on campus, but these aren’t treated with much curiosity, depth, or nuance by either the narrator or the author. Javi’s interest in storytelling isn’t developed either—he wants to be a writer because he thinks it’s an easy way to get rich, which makes no sense really. The plot becomes very repetitive and the whole thing ends neatly in a paragraph of (satirical) moralizing. Satire as a genre relies on tools like irony, parody, and caricatures to create its effects, which means it can easily collapse into surface level storytelling. But the best satire (I’m thinking here of Percival Everett’s Erasure which is exploring similar things) still manages to offer a level of complexity that encourage readers to think deeply about the issues being explored, rather than leaving with one or two key takeaways. Yet as I offer these critiques, I have one major caveat. Throughout the entire book, Javi receives criticism that his writing lacks depth, complexity, details, and nuance—and Victim is written as Javi’s memoir. So is Boryga intentionally writing in Javi’s style, keeping the whole book skimming along at surface level?!! If so, I have to admit that’s pretty brilliant. But it still didn’t make for a satisfying reading experience. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
Now I’m reading…
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius for the FictionMatters Book Club.
If you are an international reader or just prefer UK covers, you can also order books through my Blackwell’s affiliate page!
Links I love.
This list of Great American Novels is really interesting. Are there things missing? Of course! But what a phenomenal and eclectic reading list for anyone wanting to explore American fiction. (Atlantic)
Loved this article about classical education—so much to unpack! (New Yorker)
Book bans and challenges reached an all-time high in 2024. (NPR)
The 22 funniest novels since Catch-22. (NYT)
on the potential pitfalls of Authors Equity. (Lit Hub)This is a great profile of Percival Everett—a must-read for fans of his books! (New Yorker)
If you too have cozy memories of pretending to live in a boxcar, this essay in honor of the 100th anniversary of The Boxcar Children is for you. (NYT)
End notes.
This week in views, listens, eats, and moments of joy.
I went down the Where Is Kate? rabbit hole and I have no regrets. It kept me highly entertained this week as well as offering some truly thought-provoking questions about our faith in institutions and the modern media landscape.
I made quiche! I am decidedly not a cook, but this year my goal was to learn how to make some simple things that I enjoy eating. This was wildly easy (I used a store-bought crust this time and added bacon, goat cheese, and caramelized onions) and I’m excited to experiment.
I’m loving this discussion of Dune—especially after so many of my book buddies have been picking up the book lately.
I started using this fine-line reducer and am very impressed with the results so far.
FictionMatters Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. If you’d prefer to support my work with a one-time “tip,” consider visiting my Buy Me a Coffee page.
For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!
This email contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please forward it to a book-loving friend. That’s a great way to spread bookish cheer and support the newsletter!
Happy reading!
Sara