A Review - Pure - A Novel by Julianna Baggott

 

I'm usually not a post-Apocalypse fan, but I did read Justin Cronin's tome and liked it very much...so if he says this is a good read, and Lisa Tucker says she loved it - well, okay, I'm sold.  But I need to make up my own mind, just as any reader must.

While in the midst of reading this book, I had to say:  I have read some unusual stories in my day, but this has to be the weirdest one yet! This author, Julianna Baggott, goes hog wild with her imagination, and as I tend to critique books as I read along, some of this story just can not be conceivable.

So, I read on:  I'm such a visual realist; I found it difficult to visualize this apocalyptic landscape, let alone wrap my head around these futuristic concepts and people who live in this wasteland.  It is not possible; again I say this to myself.  But, there is a But, because in some part of me, in some peculiar way, this writer hooked me into this strange story.  A degree of good writing brings intrigue, and lots of thought provoking scenarios, in a mixed metaphor kind of oxymoron way:  Fascinatingly sweet and sour – Poignantly beautiful and ugly – Drops you into memories of past and present – Psychologically, and a huge amount of physical polar opposites of every ‘real’ known thing, living and or dead.  Now that I’ve totally confused you, there is more.

I stayed up until two a.m. reading to the end.  There are some stories that are compelling in their own heart break, their own sorrows, which all does happen to emit from these characters, enough to keep you reading.  These characters hold you to them, taking you into that next breath, but the problem for me was, I struggled to find my own breath as they found theirs.  And as I read to the end, I had hopes of finding a small amount of relief.   I didn’t.  I must say, this story has all the light and dark edges of wanting more, but the unfortunate thing is, I don’t.

In a nutshell, I found it mind exhausting, trying to keep up with this action filled, implausible story, putting my senses in turmoil and wanting relief in logic that this story couldn’t offer.  I admit it did have its touching moments, but it felt forced in a land mine or visual horrors.  This is only the first in a sequel, and I’m sure things will all work out in the end, whatever those loose ends may be, but I’m just not up to it.   

Maybe this story needs a young audience, or maybe less violence, or gross exaggerations.  But how much horror and violence do we need in this day and age?  I don’t have the answers, but if strange post-apocalyptic melodramatic characterization is what you are looking for in teenagers in the next life, you have definitely found it in Julianna Baggott’s, Pure.