Stuck in the life and style section of
the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Nola Cespedes dreams of becoming a
real report covering crime stories. Her break comes when the editor
assigns her an investigative story about how sex offenders cope with
reintegration into society and having to register. Taking the story
plunges Nola into an underworld that becomes increasingly dark and
threatening.
On the positive side, the scenes of New
Orleans are vivid, full of the life of that city in the post Katrina
world. The book is worth reading for a glimpse of the recovering
city. Nola is an interesting character. She takes us into her life
and makes it come alive. I wish the other characters were a bit more
well drawn. They were more like a background for Nola's ruminations.
One of the major negatives was Nola's
reporting skills. Her interviews read like an information dump with
little interaction between her and the subject. They just didn't feel
real. In fact, much of the book felt as if Castro had started out to
write an article about sex offenders and turned it into a novel.
I found the ending not quite in line
with the opening. When we spend as much time in a character's head as
we do with Nola it seems a bit like cheating to have a whole set of
motives come out at the end. However, it did wrap the story up in a
satisfactory finale.
The book was an interesting read,
particularly the glimpses New Orleans life and the way the Latinos
see the city. It's worth reading for that aspect. Shifting tenses
back and forth to try to give an illusion of immediacy is a bit
disconcerting. However, there are many good parts to the book,
particularly if you're interested in New Orleans.
I reviewed this book for the Amazon
Vine Program.
No comments:
Post a Comment