Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group Year Published: 2022
A while ago I asked my fellow bookstagrammers for recommendations for “sad girl summer” books. Someone commented and recommended Hurricane Girl. I hadn’t heard much about this book, but I heard mixed things about Very Nice, the author’s previous book. I wanted to love this one, and for the first 80 pages, I did, but then something about it fell short for me. I couldn’t quite nail down why it didn’t work for me, but upon reflection, it seems to be that I had trouble rooting for Allison. This is a bit unexpected as far as reasons for me not to like a book go. Usually, I find likability a low-grade reason for disliking a book, but I’m biased because I tend to enjoy books with decidedly unlikable characters. Still, Allison, as a character, made decision after decision that stressed me.
For much of the book, I thought Dermansky managed the wild, unreasonable decisions well. I thought a voice coated in distance meant Allison had a distance from her actions, so she could remove responsibility while also appearing self-aware. Some of this book is horrifying, some of it is laugh-out-loud funny, and some of it is mystifying in how it confuses the reader (should we feel bad for Allison? should we care about what happens? why don’t care more?).
More About This Book
“A propulsive and daring new novel by the author of Very Nice (“A cupcake that turns out to be nutritious.” —Rumaan Alam) about a woman on the run from catastrophe, searching for love, healing, home, a swimming pool, and for someone who can perhaps stop the bleeding from her head
Allison Brody is thirty and newly arrived on the east coast after just managing to flee her movie producer boyfriend. She has some money, saved up from years of writing and waitressing, and so she spends it, buying a house on the beach. But then a Category Three hurricane makes landfall and scatters her home up and down the shore, leaving Allison adrift. Should she follow the strange cameraman home from the bar and stay in his guest room? Is that a glass vase he smashed on her skull? Can she wipe the blood from her eyes, get in her car and drive to her mother’s? Does she really love the brain surgeon who saved her, or is she just using him for his swimming pool? And is it possible to ever truly heal emotionally without seeking some measure of revenge? A gripping, provocative novel that walks a knife’s edge of comedy and horror, Hurricane Girl is the work of singular talent, a novelist unafraid to explore the intersection of love, sex, violence, and freedom–while celebrating the true joy that can be found in a great swim and a good turkey sandwich.”
Overall, I think this book will be polarizing. I can already hear the reviews saying nothing happens, Allison wasn’t likable, and there was no point to this book. I am not in that camp of reviewers. I am also not in the camp of reviewers who loved this. I liked this book. I thought it was sharp, engaging, and a curious study of the unhinged woman who does things that are least expected. Generally, readers don’t seem to enjoy women who do things that are “unsafe,” “unlikable” or “cruel.” Any action that could be classified as one of the aforementioned contributed to the woman being “unlikable.” The novel is unapologetically subversive and for that, I liked it.
Have you read this one? If so, please share your thoughts. If you’ve read Very Nice, I’d also love to hear your thoughts.
Read It Like Rory 