Details:
- author: J. Robert Lennon
- full title: Subdivision
- narrator: Nicole Poole
- genre: literary fiction
- topics: #surrealism
- publisher: HighBridge Audio
- publish date: 07.12.2021
- timing: 7:16:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙💙.5
- narration: 💙💙💙💙💙
 |
| Goodreads |
Excerpt from the Book:
The walls above their stair were adorned with what looked like family photos, some featuring younger versions of Clara and the Judge, often with children, now probably grown and moved away, and of husbands now presumably dead. There were also two law school diplomas, each from a different institution, both awarded to woman named Clara. And two photos, one on each side of the hall, each depicting one of the two women, Clara and the Judge, posing in court dress.
It took me a moment to process what the photos were telling me: that Clara and the Judge were both named Clara, and that both had been judges.
My Thoughts:
This novel took me on a very unusual journey. It is a surreal literary fiction, so maybe you can imagine that. Subdivision is an interesting story about an unnamed woman who can’t remember her past. She arrives in a place called Subdivision, where she stays at the guest house owned by two elderly ladies: Clara and the Judge. The first thing that they expect of her is that she solves a jigsaw puzzle.
Subdivision is a novel that consists of illogical events and characters. Quite a few events are confusing for our main character. And maybe even more for the reader. In the end, the author leaves a lot to the reader’s perception and interpretation. I want to write a spoiler-free review, so I will not go into more details.
Here we have an excellent story for those looking for something different to read. And, of course, like surreal stories where nothing is as it seems.
This was my first novel by J. Robert Lennon, and I will definitely look for his other works.
The narration is perfect for this novel. The narrator’s voice and tone suit the main character.
About the Author:
J. Robert Lennon is the author of two story collections, Pieces For The Left Hand and See You in Paradise, and eight novels, including Mailman, Castle, Familiar, and Broken River. He holds an MFA from the University of Montana, and has published short fiction in The New Yorker, Harper's, Playboy, Granta, The Paris Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. He has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards. His book reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Guardian, and The London Review of Books, and he lives in Ithaca, New York, where he teaches writing at Cornell University.
