Straight Up was first published in 2006, which makes it a lot older than the novels we usually review here at Australasian Christian Writers. I’ve chosen to review this because I think this is a great book for writers to read, because of the quality of the writing. There’s a lot to learn here.
But I didn’t buy it as a writing lesson. I bought it at a charity book sale because it was cheap, and because the cover and book description intrigued me:
They are living lives they were never meant to live.
That’s a profound statement that didn’t seem relevant in the first part of the story but was key at the end (and while I loathe giving spoilers in a review, I don’t think commenting on the back cover constitutes a spoiler).
The way the author chose to share this lesson was unusual, but it worked.
Did the author provide a solution to this problem? No, but that’s because the solution is going to look different for all of us. But it’s certainly an idea that got me thinking: Is this the life I was meant to live?
The novel is written in first person and present tense, from several points of view. The main character is Georgia Bishop, a talented jazz pianist, but it’s not just her story. It’s also the story of her cousin, interior designer Fairly Godfrey, their Uncle George, and a band of Christian misfits Fairly refers to as “the cult”.
Their intertwined stories form the basis of the novel, which is more about their individual character journeys than based on any kind of plot.
The other point of view character is Clarissa, who grows from a baby to a teenager over the period of the novel. It was never clear how she (or her mother, who got one or two scenes) fit into the novel and this subplot actually distracted me because I thought it was going to go in a completely different direction.
While the characters and story were interesting, they didn’t turn the cover from interesting into compelling until probably the last quarter of the novel. But the writing was compelling from the opening page, and that’s what kept me going even when I wasn’t exactly sure what was happening or how the characters were related.
I didn’t highlight any phrases because it was a paper book … and because if I started highlighting, there would be no way to stop. (Also, because a lot of the brilliant writing was brilliant in context. It doesn’t necessary translate to a simple quote meme).
The writing was literary and clever without being pretentious, and that’s a rare skill.
Thanks for this review Iola.
This book is now on my TBR list.