Revenge of the parenthetical title

I loved Haven Kimmel's two other novels so much that I had high (perhaps too high) expectations for Something Rising (Light and Swift). I was willing to overlook the weirdness of parentheses in the title (which has annoyed me in the past), but I just didn't love this story. While Cassie is an interesting and well-written character, I couldn't like her or relate to her. The plot felt choppy in too many places -- some of the skips in time made sense, but others made the story too jumpy. Surprisingly (to me, anyway), my favorite parts were the descriptions of the games of pool, something I generally have zero interest in. And the book did end very well. Had I read this one first, I might have enjoyed it more, but up against The Solace of Leaving Early and The Used World, Something Rising couldn't quite compete.

"It was just your life. You were just living your life."

Once again, upon finishing a Haven Kimmel book, I want nothing more than to flip to the front and start reading it over again. Her characters are just amazing -- so beautifully written, complicated, fully realized -- even down to minor passersby. The plot in The Solace of Leaving Early is simpler than that of The Used World, and while I predicted the ending early on, what happens next isn't what drives her writing. She's really an artist of words and particularly of people. I really fell in love with both Langston and Amos (whom I had already enjoyed in The Used World), despite all of their quirks and failings. I think I have a new addition to my list of favorite writers.

Finding home

The jacket copy for Haven Kimmel's The Used World ends by saying that it's a book that "charts the many meanings of the place we call home." But for me, it is really more about the many meanings of love and friendship, which I suppose ends up in the same place. I loved Kimmel's characters -- perfectly real, flawed and complicated -- and the intertwining stories that slowly but surely revealed their connections. This is a book I wouldn't mind rereading, just to make sure I caught all of the links and to savor the writing.

One of my favorite characters had only a peripheral role, but he does have his own book: The Solace of Leaving Early. That's definitely going on the reading lists.