Papaya Myths | |||||
Kimberly Scott | |||||
iUniverse | |||||
A review by Lisa DuMond
Jocelyn Barkin Carney is looking at 85 in the middle of the 21st century. Granddaughter Sarlin is looking at
college and looking for the history of her family. As Jocelyn recounts the story of her life in the 90s, we get
a vivid picture of both eras. We also get the impact of the years between these settings. The stories run the
gamut from amusing to heartbreaking, but they never once lose their hold over the reader.
Jocelyn's voice brings to life the 10 years spent with the love of her life and the friends they loved and
shared good and bad times with. It also evokes a frightening image of a world we may yet see. But the heart of
Jocelyn's reminiscences is Jordan, always Jordan, the husband she lost 50 years before.
The contrast between our world and the world of 2057 is sharp, but not in the cheesy, B-movie style of vintage
science fiction films. The technology has changed, yes, but much less so than the perspective of those people in
our future. There is an ocean of distance between teenaged Sarlin's view of the commonplace and Jocelyn's knowledge
of the way circumstances were when she was young. It's an evolution that Sarlin will never completely comprehend.
While Jocelyn is reliving the past for her granddaughter, there is a distinct feeling that she is holding something
back. At the same time, there is a very active danger that threatens Jocelyn and her family.
The combination of the secrets from the past and the unknown menace of the present is an engrossing mixture. Unlike
some novels which start out strong and falter midway, Papaya Myths will have you reading faster and faster,
unable to break away until you know all the answers. As you near the end of the book, you will want to be able to
read, uninterrupted, to the finish.
Scott thinks Papaya Myths may well be taken as a "chick book." Well, that is one of the genders
that will appreciate it, but a book with so much to offer won't be pigeonholed so easily.
Whatever they label it, wherever they choose to shelve it, rest assured that this novel will break through to
be heard. Find it and do your part to splinter the artificial barriers that lock books into one rigid category.
Stunning fiction doesn't need a classification.
In between reviews and interviews, Lisa DuMond writes science fiction and humour. DARKERS, her latest novel, will be published in early 2000 by Hard Shell Word Factory. She has also written for BOOKPAGE and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Her articles and short stories are all over the map. You can check out Lisa and her work at her website hikeeba!. |
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