Saturday 18 May 2024

"Northline" by Willy Vlautin

A young woman flees an abusive relationship in Las Vegas and becomes a waitress in an all-night diner in Reno. She encounters other poor Americans, damaged by life, and each one gives her a precis of their life story.

It was written in lean prose, using mostly short sentences, like reportage, to encapsulate gritty reality. But every voice was the same. As they were telling their stories there was very little in the way of characterisation. And once the characters had delivered their testimony, they tended to disappear from the narrative. As a result, this seemed more like a documentary than a novel. 

Selected quotes:

  • "She had the face of a woman who drank every day and forgot to eat when she did." (The Verdict)
  • "Men are a pain in the ass. I'd rather sit at home with the TV and a few snacks then have to watch sports and do laundry all the time." (The Little Nugget)
  • "Remember, kid, there ain't no place you can escape to. There's no place where there ain't weirdos and death and violence and change and new people." (A Late Night Conversation)

Gritty, but bitty. May 2024; 192 pages



This review was written by

the author of Bally and Bro, Motherdarling 

and The Kids of God


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