{"id":493,"date":"2024-09-25T12:58:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=493"},"modified":"2024-09-25T12:58:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T12:58:00","slug":"book-review-whole-by-derek-updegraff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=493","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Whole by Derek Updegraff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Whole<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Derek Updegraff<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Literary Fiction<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781639821686<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 146 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Slant Books<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>Buy from Amazon<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Addison Ciuchta<\/em><\/p>\n

A quiet exploration of solitude, love, and connection in a world where it\u2019s difficult not to damage each other<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Infatuated with his new girlfriend Ashley, Joe can\u2019t help but check a text from her while he\u2019s driving, causing him to collide with a homeless man named Ronnie on his bike. In apology, Joe visits Ronnie\u2019s home, an orange tent in a dried-up riverbed and offers to purchase him a new bicycle, forming an odd relationship between them. <\/p>\n

At the same time, Joe worries over the text that caused the crash, a text from Ashley saying they needed to talk. Throughout the novel, Joe struggles with finding his footing in the relationship and in his life, working at a cafe by day and impulsively wandering by night, when inspiration strikes writing short narratives stuck somewhere between poetry and fiction.<\/p>\n

Each chapter is bookended by one-to-two-page short fictions, presumably written by Joe, that showcase the author\u2019s uniquely lyrical writing style in quick narrative bursts about angels, boyhood, and death.\u00a0They\u2019re impactful and conceptually unique, sure to stick in my mind for a while to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe felt a tug in his brain, a voice saying, Hey, you were only supposed to live here for playtime. But the mountain lion roared that playtime was over and this was home now and then devoured what was left of the delicate voice.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The author\u2019s run-on writing style lends a slow, meandering pace to the narrative that matches the main character\u2019s issue, a lack of a sense of urgency or purpose in his life. His sole goal is wooing his new girlfriend, and, only sometimes, he agrees to help Ronnie when he calls, comfortable with working at a cafe by day and not working toward much of anything else by night. The author often starts sentences with \u201cso\u201d or \u201cand,\u201d and Joe references \u201cputting this story down\u201d as if he\u2019s recounting the series of events in a journal, making the rambling an apt and tonally strong choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ll tell you now in case you\u2019re wondering. It\u2019s all important. All this stuff matters. What I\u2019m telling you is: that lipstick was cherry red. I remember its brightness.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe is often introspective, pondering his past relationships, choices in life, and childhood as he goes for walks or swims in the ocean. His reflective nature is contagious, making me wonder about some of his grand questions along with him.<\/p>\n

His relationship with Ashley is realistically portrayed, capturing how a relationship might develop in real life as Joe worries over a fourth date, a we-need-to-talk-text, and her hesitation to sleep with him. He worries, too, over what and how to tell her about who he is and the mistakes he\u2019s made, his impulsivity colliding with his want to keep Ashley sometimes leading him to do odd, creepy, or even violent actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cLying there, I was thinking, How much of my life will I tell Ashley? How much about my dwindling friends and family members? How many of my stories will she want to hear?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps because of the narrative style, the story sometimes lacks a strong sense of emotionality even during moments that could use more depth and grounding, like when Joe hits Ronnie with his car. Joe does not react with much emotion on the page despite such a shocking, traumatizing event, going to work after and even having a date with Ashley that night.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s the first morning of spring, and I hit a homeless man. Rammed right into the back of his bike. It\u2019s a miracle he\u2019s alive, Ronnie, the homeless guy I hit, since my car mangled his bike after he\u2019d been thrown to the pavement.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The events are often described after the fact or are just stated rather than actively happening on the page, veering toward telling rather than showing. Other sometimes brutal or happy events where you\u2019d expect an emotional response are told with a matter-of-fact tone, leaving the reader to feel what Joe ought to.<\/p>\n

Whole<\/em> is a glimpse into one man\u2019s struggle with finding love and satisfaction in a life that often happens to him. The main character\u2019s comfortability to stay exactly where he is is, at times, a direct pushback against modern society\u2019s insistence that everyone has a goal they must always be working toward. The style is rambling but lyrical, and the short fictions woven between chapters gleam. Whole<\/em> is great for readers seeking an introspective reading experience with bonus short, short stories thrown in.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Buy from Amazon<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

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Thank you for reading Addison Ciuchta\u2019s book review of Whole <\/em>by Derek Updegraff! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Whole by Derek Updegraff<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whole by Derek Updegraff Genre: Literary Fiction ISBN: 9781639821686 Print Length: 146 pages Publisher: Slant Books Buy from Amazon Buy from Bookshop Reviewed by Addison Ciuchta A quiet exploration of solitude, love, and connection in a world where it\u2019s difficult not to damage each other Infatuated with his new girlfriend Ashley, Joe can\u2019t help but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}