Western Lane

I kept waiting for the trying to transcend herself part, I feel like it never quite happened.

Neutral 2.5 rounded up.

2,5-3*

This one left me with some mixed feelings. On one hand, I appreciated the unique way the book tackled themes of grief. It gave me a new perspective and made me think about things differently. However, I found the storytelling overly subtle at times, which made it frustrating to follow along. The characters, unfortunately, didn't quite click with me. None of them felt particularly likable or relatable, and I wished they had more depth to them.

Gopi's life becomes squash-centered after her mother's death. Her father enrolls her in a rigorous training program, and soon this is all Gopi does.

Unfortunately, I know little of squash, and I couldn't get deeply interested in the life of this child or this story. I've heard many people talk of this story with high praise. But you will not hear that from me.

A quiet and slow meditation on grief and survival. I struggled to see the characters in my mind, with the Auntie the only one I could fully understand her motives and actions. One for the squash players.

Western Lane was a slow and quiet novel. In it, we follow Gopi, a young girl who has recently lost her mother. As a means to look past the trauma, Gopi and her sisters are encouraged by their father to delve completely into the world of squash. (If you, like me, didn't really know what squash was, I'll tell you what I learned: it's very, very similar to racquetball–and if you don't know what racquetball is...). And so we have a short novel about Gopi grieving, putting her entire heart into a sport, learning about family and sisterhood, and experiencing the flutter of first love. Western Lane is that quiet coming-of-age story about loss and love, and yes, there's some sports in the background.

One of the things I most liked about Western Lane was that it was consistent throughout. This consistently was appreciated and what made this otherwise quiet tale rise above. The prose is direct, focusing on the action and dialogue of each scene. Aside from the sports, there isn't a ton of pep in this novel. In the grand scheme of things, there isn't a lot at stake here. Yet, from beginning to end, there is a solid story about growing up, and a deeper exploration of how silence and distraction can be used to fill a huge void.

This isn't the kind of novel that will likely blow the average reader's mind, or impress upon them deeply, but it is a work that holds a lot of subtlety beneath its surface. And as a debut, it shows a lot of potential for a young novelist.