Hand, Elizabeth: Generation Loss
Generation Loss (2007)
Written by: Elizabeth Hand
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 265
I've wanted to sit down with a book of Elizabeth Hand's ever since I met her in the 2005 Odyssey Writing Workshop. I've read some short stories here and there, and I liked them well enough, but I never got around to picking up one of her novels, despite the praises.
This one I'd heard enough praise that when I happened upon a first-edition hardcover still on the shelves last year, I had to pick it up. And that, my friends, is why I read this book. Exciting story, eh?
The premise: Cassandra Neary got her fifteen minutes of fame in the seventies by photographing the burgeoning punk movement, the dark side of life, and the dead. She got art galleries and a book deal, and then shortly thereafter, her life went to hell. Thirty years later, she's a nothing, a nobody, an addict who cares for no one. But when she gets a chance to interview the photographer who was her inspiration, Cass takes the job, hoping to jump start her career. What she finds instead is a very small town with a decades-old mystery that's still going strong, and if she's not careful, she's going to get lost in it.
Review style: I'll be honest, I finished this book last weekend and I'm still trying to figure out how to review the sucker. I don't feel I have much to talk about, so I'm going to revert to my usual stream-of-conscious reaction to the text that usually ends up in spoilers.
So, beware of spoilers.
First off, I want to say how much I love the title of the book. For both its technical definition and how it relates to photography, but how it works as a metaphor for so many elements in this book. It's a fantastic title that sticks with you regardless, but after reading the book, you can't shake it off.
But honestly, the book itself is really hard to review. Character-wise, Cass Neary lives up to her nickname of "Scary Neary," in that she's one of the most unlikable characters I've come across in a while, and that's saying something. And you don't realize just how far GONE she is until she gets to the island and we see all the quirks of her character bulging beneath the surface. Now I'll admit, there may be some personal prejudice on my part. After all, I've never been this far gone, not even close. When I drink, I don't want to drink myself into oblivion. I've never taken drugs, and as far as pills go, I take what I need when I need it. So for me, seeing this character who pretty much exists on liquor (points for the use of Jack Daniels though), pain pills, and whatever else she can get her hands on that isn't food, well . . . I don't like to think I'm judging Cass, though I'm sure I am deep down whether I mean to or not, it's just that I can't even remotely relate. And what's worse is that on top of her addictions and her bad attitude, she went through a brutal rape/assault, and then lost her lover to 9-11, though her lover wasn't her lover at the time.
So yeah, this is a story about finding redemption. Cass admits, on some level, that her trip and her hope in interviewing and meeting Aphrodite was to get back in touch with her inspiration, in hopes that would pull her out of the downward spiral she's so hopelessly stuck in.
But my problem was that until that revelation, I never believed she was looking for redemption. And in addition to the lovely addictions she's accustomed to, watching her repeatedly steal things, especially that guy's keys even when she saw him looking for them, just made me step back, put the book down, and take a break.
Don't get me wrong: Hand's writing is solid. Strong. There's some lovely prose here, and while the amount of dark honesty that's packed in this book makes me uncomfortable, I certainly appreciate and applaud Hand for taking a character so far down the path of human darkness. The voice of the book is what kept me going, in spite of my growing dislike of Cass.
I really enjoyed how photography and its terminology colored the description and the actions of the characters. The fact that this book is really a mystery is kind of nifty too, especially on how it centers on the art of the eye (meaning the camera). But I'll be honest, I figured out a few things long before we got there, like Denny being the VILLAIN so to speak, as well as him being the father.
And I'm a little disappointed. Maybe what I read was mistaken, but I heard somewhere that Hand never meant for this book to be supernatural in nature. And that's a shame, because I liked reading along not knowing if what was going on had any sort of dark, supernatural element to it. Even knowing that Hand didn't intend it to be so, I pretty much have decided this book is a dark, magical realism, because for starters, it's more INTERESTING that way, given the connection Denny had to, well, death as well as Cass's childhood vision of the EYE in the sky and Aphrodite's obsession that Denny and Cass and others like them STOLE her talent and she fought SOMETHING in the bedroom before she fell. And that's not to say all of these seemingly supernatural, somewhat magical events can't be explained with the process Denny was using to develop his photography and a child's over-active imagination and Aphrodite's alcoholism, but I LIKE the magical metaphor. I like that possibility in the work, rather than the characters being all too crazy and all too human. That's a personal thing, and I'd prefer to have my reading open to that interpretation instead of being told that no, it's absolutely and totally realistic fiction.
It's creepy, no matter what it is, especially toward the end. Denny isn't a complete and total raving lunatic. He's intense and earnest and truly believes in what he's doing, and sure, Cass has to interpret a bit for the reader so we can see him through her eyes and understand him the way she does, but that's okay. What's weird is the climax with him chasing them in the boat, waving a gun and then putting it down and waving his book. I get Cass's later remorse for not being able to save his art; however, I couldn't quite figure out his intention in chasing her and Kenzie down. Okay, yeah, I know, Denny is batshit-crazy, but I guess that I personally want a method and logic to the madness, even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else but the character involved, and of course, I want it to make sense to me in a weird sort of way.
Also a little disappointed that Cass didn't come clean to Gryffin that she watched his mother die. She could have, when he gave her back that roll of film, but I guess it wasn't wholly necessary for the story. However, if you want to peg the point of this story as one of redemption, is Cass truly redeemed? To me, and this is my Christian background rearing its head, I always associate redemption with coming clean, and that Cass still has secrets makes me think that everything that happened on the island had little to do with redemption and more with doing the right thing (she felt responsible for not picking up Kenzie, which led to her kidnapping, but more to the point, she had to meet Denny and know if she was right about him and to see his art, etc) because it was necessary. And the ending, the last page itself. It happened a little fast, and yeah, Cass is stuck there for a LITTLE while longer, but that doesn't mean she's going to take Gryffin's offer. It's implied she will, but not implied enough for it to be an ambiguous ending where I can safely assume that she's going to take it, but others--if they want the other ending where she doesn't--can assume otherwise.
And I reach the point where I'm making little sense to no one unless they've read the book. That's expected. It's taken me too long to process this book enough to review it, and even then, it took me two days to write this up. That's not a slight on Hand or her book--it's just one of those books that, well, I feel I have little to say about. Stupid I know, considering how much I've written, but oh well.
My Rating
Buy the Paperback: my general rule of hardcovers is that unless you're a DIE-HARD FAN of the author and/or one of those book collectors that must have first editions of everything you read and/or one of those readers who think that anything that isn't published in hardcover isn't worth your time, unless you're one of these types, you're better off getting a cheaper copy. In this case, I would've been perfectly happy spending the cash on the trade, but I took advantage of the first edition hardcover because my husband falls in group two and tends to fall in group three and he was there when I made the purchase. ANYWAY: it's a good read, especially if you let the idea of dark, magical realism fuel the tension of the prose, because it keeps you from really guessing what's going on and why, and it adds an extra element of mystery to everything that happens. The book never really SAYS there's something supernatural involved, and in truth, reading it as straight, realistic fiction (that's got a mystery) is probably more legit than my dark, magical realism reading. At any rate, the prose is solid, and Cass Neary is a character that makes you work hard to like her, but in the end, the voice pulled me through, as well as Cass's unique perspective on the world. I love how the art of photography is used to describe Cass's world, even when she isn't talking about her trade. The ending was a little unsatisfying for me, but I enjoy Hand's writing very much (in fact, I really like how the setting really permeates the prose) and will definitely look for more of her work, both past and future (after all, I still have to get my hands on Waking the Moon).
Cover Commentary: this one's fun. The hardback cover, which is displayed behind the cut, is wild and odd-looking but really eye-catching. In comparison to the trade cover, which is displayed first, I like the hardcover art much better, because it's cool, contemporary, and weird. And it kind of makes sense once the narrator starts talking about a specific type of photo processing (with Polaroids, I think?). Before reading this book, the trade cover with the landscape and gorgeous colors made absolutely no sense to me, but actually, it's also a perfect cover in that it, too, relates to a certain type of photography (in fact, a certain set of photos) described in the book. Either way, both covers are eye-catching and pleasing to look at in their own way.
Next up: in the middle of a few titles, so I'm not telling. I've decided I won't tell the next book unless I've already finished it. Aren't I evil? :) But honestly, this way you don't get your hopes up if I get distracted in the middle of something and don't post a specific review you're waiting for. :)