I finally finished Janet Fitch’s latest book, Paint it Black. Her first was the wildly popular White Oleander, which I loved. I put this book down so many times, thinking “no way am I going to bother reading the rest of it,” but somewhere about midway through, it started sucking me back in.
Once you come to terms with the fact that there is nothing more coming. . that it is only ever going to be about a girl dealing with the suicide of the man she loved. . .that’s when you can start to enjoy it. At first, I was convinced that his death was only the first event you are allowed to see of a journey through the life of this girl. But nothing more came. .then I flipped a little ahead and read a paragraph. . .the same thing was going on .. .then forward a few chapters.. .same old same old. How can this possibly be worth reading?
But I was surprised to find a little sweetness in the unlikely connection she makes with the mother of her boyfriend. . and a little sweetness in how she sheds the parts of her former self that now mean nothing. If any of you have every thought during a movie or book that the treatment of death is shallow. . .this will certainly satisfy you. This is how you think you would feel if you lost the love of your life. This is agony drawn out on several hundred pages.
While it’s difficult to recommend this type of book to anyone, what I liked about it is how well you get to know Josie, the main character. I can watch any movie or read any book with virtually no plot at all . .. as long as the characters are well developed. I don’t want a description, but I want to get to know the characters through what they do and what they say. This book is perfect for that.
I didn’t love it. .but I liked it. Not nearly as good as White Oleander, but much more real.. . much more raw.