"Something Drastic" by Colleen Curran

Published by Goose Lane.

I have a lot of good things and one bad thing to say about this novel. The writing is fun and energetic, and the characters are interesting and well-developed; but while the premise is original and could potentially provide fodder for much more hilarity, it’s difficult to maintain for the entire book.

From the back of the novel: “Lenore Rutland’s boyfriend of nearly eight years dumps her on Boxing Day and sneaks off to Florida.” The novel is a collection of letters written from Lenore to her departed boyfriend, who not once responds. In the beginning, this format adds a lot. I’m thinking particularly of Lenore’s list (in the first letter) of “List of Why I Think You Left Montreal.” This list is a hilarious expression of Lenore’s grief at the parting of her boyfriend. Though he never responds, Lenore learns further of her former boyfriend’s mischief through fraudulent credit card charges, investigation, and scumbags showing up at her door. The letters in which Lenore is directly addressing Fergie (John Ferguson, the runaway boyfriend) are undoubtedly the best parts of the novel.

There are many other letters, however, in which Lenore merely reports what she’s done recently, who she’s met, things that have happened, etc., and these letters defy explanation as to why she isn’t just keeping a journal. She does compare her letters to a journal at one point (excusing herself for continuing writing after he’s failed to respond for months), so the question stands: why doesn’t she just do that? This is where I think a little inconsistency in style (who says the novel has to be entirely in letter form?) would benefit the work as a whole.

The problem with making Lenore do something not as believable as it could be detracts from her character just a tad, and she’s quite the character. Throughout the novel she clips articles from the Montreal Gazette to send along with her letters to Fergie, explaining how they apply to him. For example, “Bear Tries to Eat Man’s Head” is a lesson to Fergie that men shouldn’t be mean without expecting retaliation. You can feel both her anger at his parting and her repression of that anger (usually through humour) throughout the novel.

So, my advice to literature seekers would be to get this novel, to read it, and to not get too hung up on the letter format. It only causes over-analysis.

"The Darren Effect" by Libby Creelman

Published by Goose Lane.

Heather is grieving her recently deceased lover, Benny, when she goes on a mission with her sister Mandy to spy on Mandy’s old roommate, Darren (her sister is planning to write something about lost chances). Meanwhile, Benny’s widow (Isabella) has just moved in across the street from Darren. Heather and Darren eventually get together, and Darren and Isabella become friends. Their lives are not really intertwined, per se, but they do all come together near the end (at a barbecue).

The plot, however, does not seem to be the focal point of this novel (and I say that with surprise and delight). Most of what happens does more to reveal character than it does to drag the reader along some meaningless string of events towards an inevitable conclusion⎯sorry, I’ve been reading a lot of pop chick lit lately. Creelman’s characters are already in the midst of living their lives when the reader comes in. Her style is immediately engaging and gives the characters depth.

They’re also quite funny at times, but I find it hard to agree with the “devastatingly funny novel” claim on the back of the book. There is definitely humour in it, but it’s the kind of humour that only unhappy people seem to get. Overall, Darren lives with a demanding, paranoid sister, has an odd neighbour and somebody following him around; Heather loses her lover and almost her feet as she stalks Darren (and, oh yeah, she’s pregnant with her dead lover’s baby); and Isabella has a shopping addiction, a weird son, a dead unfaithful husband, and a smelly house due to an incontinent dog. If the reader isn’t used to finding humour in those kinds of situations (i.e., if they live in a bubble full of happy gas—you know the type), he or she probably won’t get the jokes. I laughed when Heather asked Darren if the Bruce Effect had ever been observed in humans. The Bruce effect is the tendency towards reabsorbing a fetus if the mother is exposed to a new male. That is, Heather is exposed to Darren and wonders (hopefully, it seems) whether it’s possible for the baby to be reabsorbed (in the third trimester, no less).

Overall, The Darren Effect is engaging; the reader is driven forward with interesting characters that one is eager to learn more about. Reading the book is like being gradually let into their lives, each interaction or reminiscence providing insight into their psyches. The great thing about it is that they do seem to actually have psyches; they’re realistic to the point where the reader assumes a life leading up to the point where the novel begins, and one that continues after it ends.