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Can You See Anything Now?
Can You See Anything Now?, a debut novel, follows a year in the small town of Trinity where the tragedy and humility of a few reveal the reality of people’s motivations and desires.
This is a story without veneer, and for readers who prefer reality to sanitized fiction—this book is unsentimental, and yet grace-filled.
The characters here are complex and intriguing—the suicidal painter, Margie, who has been teaching her evangelical neighbor, Etta, how to paint nudes; her husband, the town therapist, who suspects his work helps no one; and their college-aged daughter Noel—whose roommate, Pixie, joins them at home for a winter holiday, only to fall into Trinity’s freezing river.
Author Katherine James' memoir, Notes On Orion, will also be published in spring of 2018.
This is a story without veneer, and for readers who prefer reality to sanitized fiction—this book is unsentimental, and yet grace-filled.
The characters here are complex and intriguing—the suicidal painter, Margie, who has been teaching her evangelical neighbor, Etta, how to paint nudes; her husband, the town therapist, who suspects his work helps no one; and their college-aged daughter Noel—whose roommate, Pixie, joins them at home for a winter holiday, only to fall into Trinity’s freezing river.
Author Katherine James' memoir, Notes On Orion, will also be published in spring of 2018.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2017
19 people are currently reading
437 people want to read
About the author
Katherine James
57 books35 followersKatherine James has an MFA in fiction from Columbia University where she received the Felipe P. De Alba Fellowship and taught undergraduate fiction. She also writes narrative non-fiction as well as poetry, and has work published in various journals and anthologies. One of her short stories was recently a finalist for a Narrative Spring Prize.
Can You See Anything Now? is her debut novel, and was a semi-finalist for the Doris Bakwin Prize. She also has a memoir, Notes On Orion about heroin in the suburbs of Philadelphia, that follows one particular year when it affected her family. It will be released in the spring of 2018.
Can You See Anything Now? is her debut novel, and was a semi-finalist for the Doris Bakwin Prize. She also has a memoir, Notes On Orion about heroin in the suburbs of Philadelphia, that follows one particular year when it affected her family. It will be released in the spring of 2018.
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October 9, 2017
TRIGGER WARNING: This novel, from the very first sentence onward, addresses themes of suicide and self-harm.
There's one interesting mix of folks living in the small town of Trinity! The focus of this novel is mainly on Margie, an artist who has been struggling with various forms of physical and mental illness for much of her life. Most recently, her doctor has dropped a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Struggling to get a grip on her dark moods, Margie introduces herself to the reader in the opening scene of Can You See Anything Now? via a suicide attempt. Though she's nearly successful in her attempt, due to some unexpected details of the moment, Margie is given a second chance at life.
Within these opening chapters, there was something that struck me as very Sylvia Plath about Margie, what with the struggles with the emotionally distant husband and all. Perhaps that is what author Katherine James meant to convey, as the likeness between Margie and Sylvia Plath IS actually brought up as the reader nears the final chapters of the book. Margie mentions to a friend that her husband treats her like Sylvia Plath, a moment where, had I been there in person, I would've likely pointed and yelled a "haha! I knew it!" The rice box scene was particularly telling:
Though still deeply depressed much of the time, Margie makes an honest effort to find the good in each day. Quite the feat, as the reader comes to learn that Margie is married to a therapist disillusioned with his work and quietly grumbly over how his life has turned out, though he outwardly tries to put a good face on things for show. Margie gives the impression that she and her husband, Nick, were quite happy and in love for many years but over time something ever so subtly shifted. Though there is still love there, the kind that comes with having been with someone for a good chunk of one's lifetime, perhaps these two are not IN love these days? Because there is a noticeable difference, one that is more easily defined after many years of life together, between having a general, overall autopilot kind of love for someone versus still having the hearts aflutter IN LOVE quality to one's union. Margie's source of happiness and strength these days seems to largely stem from her bond with daughter Noel... but even there Margie fears a loosening of the child-mother ties.
Hurting in her own heart, living with a dissatisfied spouse, these two empty-nesters struggling to stay emotionally connected with their now college-age daughter, Noel... your heart just breaks for this woman silently but fervently grasping for a lifeline of light and joy. But the important thing is she's trying. A common theme that runs through the stories of all the characters actually, that determination to make a daily effort to try, even when the path seems obscured, even impossible to traverse. Margie tries to keep things exciting and positive within her marriage, she tries to build a friendship with neighbor Etta, even if it feels awkward at first, she tries to talk with her daughter, even if she's not sure she's saying the things Noel needs to hear.
Margie's neighbor, Etta, is another character who gets a good chunk of the novel's focus. Etta is also an artist, albeit one who has developed a following largely through her paintings of tomatoes. Just tomatoes. But Etta wants to branch out, maybe start doing some paintings of rooftops. She feels there's something magical about the way light touches rooftops that she'd like to capture. Connecting with Margie, one artist to another, Etta is pushed to explore her artistic side in ways she's never considered before. While Etta has her own struggles with depression and general dissatisfaction, her method of coping is to just push aside any and all negative thought. Instead, she challenges herself to be the very best wife, friend, bible study group member.... whatever life asks of her, she will give her all. Etta powers through the darker days with relentless optimism: visiting with the sad or lonely, cheering a down in the dumps neighbor with her homemade baked goods, whatever will turn the world's frowns upside down.
This novel is definitely one that begs to be taken slow and honestly contemplated. Thinking over my reading experience after that last page, the book in its entirety was not solid gold for me, but man, it was close. There were some points where certain conversations felt a bit filler-ish. There were also multiple points within the last 100 pages or so where I thought to myself "oh, this would make for a great dramatic close right here," but the story would continue on.. and on... perhaps to its detriment.
But given time to think on the novel's topics days after completing the book, there's so much good here... good in the "hard truths" sense, a kind of tough love way of storytelling ... that can really benefit those brave enough to face it. This is not a book for the reader who always and only ever wants the happy ending with rainbows and gumdrops. This is for the reader who has been run through the gauntlets of life and wants literary representation for it. The characters of the town of Trinity illustrate the person who cries out for the desire to truly be seen, the need and hope one has for loved ones to somehow innately sense your silent struggle and TRULY understand your pain when you can't find the words to ask for help yourself... impossible as that can be at times, you can't help but want it anyway.
Through their individual life paths, each character within this novel, in their own way and time, discovers the incredible release that comes with a good ugly cry when you've been trying to be strong for so long, as well as the lesson that oftentimes the best way to heal or at least diminish the pain in your own heart is to help others work through their moments of suffering.
Though this novel technically falls under Christian Fiction, purists of the genre may struggle with the grittier themes of this story. Can You See Anything Now? touches upon mature content themes such as cursing, premarital sex, drug abuse, suicide, and self harm. While possibly hard to stomach, these elements do play an important role in the emotional struggle and overall development of the characters. Still, readers should be aware of what they are getting into, particularly if the reader is highly sensitive to such themes. One scene involving the character who struggles with self harm is rather memorably graphic as it describes the actual process and damage on the body of the character.
That being said, if you are a big fan of the topic of love languages, that topic as well has a recurring role within the characters' conversations.
FTC Disclaimer: Paraclete Press kindly provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
There's one interesting mix of folks living in the small town of Trinity! The focus of this novel is mainly on Margie, an artist who has been struggling with various forms of physical and mental illness for much of her life. Most recently, her doctor has dropped a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Struggling to get a grip on her dark moods, Margie introduces herself to the reader in the opening scene of Can You See Anything Now? via a suicide attempt. Though she's nearly successful in her attempt, due to some unexpected details of the moment, Margie is given a second chance at life.
Within these opening chapters, there was something that struck me as very Sylvia Plath about Margie, what with the struggles with the emotionally distant husband and all. Perhaps that is what author Katherine James meant to convey, as the likeness between Margie and Sylvia Plath IS actually brought up as the reader nears the final chapters of the book. Margie mentions to a friend that her husband treats her like Sylvia Plath, a moment where, had I been there in person, I would've likely pointed and yelled a "haha! I knew it!" The rice box scene was particularly telling:
She struggled with the box of rice. "The side of the box says to push and pull up to open but it's not working." She scratched at what looked like a perforated part of the cardboard.
Nick said, "I don't read the directions, I just open the box."
"You force things."
He took the box from her and pressed the perforated tab in with his thumb and handed it back to her.
She turned back to the stove. "You force things and then they break."
Though still deeply depressed much of the time, Margie makes an honest effort to find the good in each day. Quite the feat, as the reader comes to learn that Margie is married to a therapist disillusioned with his work and quietly grumbly over how his life has turned out, though he outwardly tries to put a good face on things for show. Margie gives the impression that she and her husband, Nick, were quite happy and in love for many years but over time something ever so subtly shifted. Though there is still love there, the kind that comes with having been with someone for a good chunk of one's lifetime, perhaps these two are not IN love these days? Because there is a noticeable difference, one that is more easily defined after many years of life together, between having a general, overall autopilot kind of love for someone versus still having the hearts aflutter IN LOVE quality to one's union. Margie's source of happiness and strength these days seems to largely stem from her bond with daughter Noel... but even there Margie fears a loosening of the child-mother ties.
Hurting in her own heart, living with a dissatisfied spouse, these two empty-nesters struggling to stay emotionally connected with their now college-age daughter, Noel... your heart just breaks for this woman silently but fervently grasping for a lifeline of light and joy. But the important thing is she's trying. A common theme that runs through the stories of all the characters actually, that determination to make a daily effort to try, even when the path seems obscured, even impossible to traverse. Margie tries to keep things exciting and positive within her marriage, she tries to build a friendship with neighbor Etta, even if it feels awkward at first, she tries to talk with her daughter, even if she's not sure she's saying the things Noel needs to hear.
Margie's neighbor, Etta, is another character who gets a good chunk of the novel's focus. Etta is also an artist, albeit one who has developed a following largely through her paintings of tomatoes. Just tomatoes. But Etta wants to branch out, maybe start doing some paintings of rooftops. She feels there's something magical about the way light touches rooftops that she'd like to capture. Connecting with Margie, one artist to another, Etta is pushed to explore her artistic side in ways she's never considered before. While Etta has her own struggles with depression and general dissatisfaction, her method of coping is to just push aside any and all negative thought. Instead, she challenges herself to be the very best wife, friend, bible study group member.... whatever life asks of her, she will give her all. Etta powers through the darker days with relentless optimism: visiting with the sad or lonely, cheering a down in the dumps neighbor with her homemade baked goods, whatever will turn the world's frowns upside down.
This novel is definitely one that begs to be taken slow and honestly contemplated. Thinking over my reading experience after that last page, the book in its entirety was not solid gold for me, but man, it was close. There were some points where certain conversations felt a bit filler-ish. There were also multiple points within the last 100 pages or so where I thought to myself "oh, this would make for a great dramatic close right here," but the story would continue on.. and on... perhaps to its detriment.
But given time to think on the novel's topics days after completing the book, there's so much good here... good in the "hard truths" sense, a kind of tough love way of storytelling ... that can really benefit those brave enough to face it. This is not a book for the reader who always and only ever wants the happy ending with rainbows and gumdrops. This is for the reader who has been run through the gauntlets of life and wants literary representation for it. The characters of the town of Trinity illustrate the person who cries out for the desire to truly be seen, the need and hope one has for loved ones to somehow innately sense your silent struggle and TRULY understand your pain when you can't find the words to ask for help yourself... impossible as that can be at times, you can't help but want it anyway.
Through their individual life paths, each character within this novel, in their own way and time, discovers the incredible release that comes with a good ugly cry when you've been trying to be strong for so long, as well as the lesson that oftentimes the best way to heal or at least diminish the pain in your own heart is to help others work through their moments of suffering.
Though this novel technically falls under Christian Fiction, purists of the genre may struggle with the grittier themes of this story. Can You See Anything Now? touches upon mature content themes such as cursing, premarital sex, drug abuse, suicide, and self harm. While possibly hard to stomach, these elements do play an important role in the emotional struggle and overall development of the characters. Still, readers should be aware of what they are getting into, particularly if the reader is highly sensitive to such themes. One scene involving the character who struggles with self harm is rather memorably graphic as it describes the actual process and damage on the body of the character.
That being said, if you are a big fan of the topic of love languages, that topic as well has a recurring role within the characters' conversations.
FTC Disclaimer: Paraclete Press kindly provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
March 27, 2018
A Glorious Bustle of Life
The layers of life, in all their overwhelming proportions, call for a large God. The unexpected diagnosis, the many ways in which we disappoint ourselves, and the messiness of the generations all seem to come home to roost during middle age as parents depart this world and adult children come into their own. Margie Nethercott elected to manage all these complications by carefully selecting a large rock, tying it to her ankle, paddling to the middle of a lake and letting the rock pull her to the bottom.
Her plan would have been flawless except for low rainfall and high temperatures which put the water level at about neck high on a medium height middle-aged woman, leaving her tethered and standed in the middle of the lake. Can You See Anything Now?: A Novel by Katherine James faces head-on the emptiness, weariness, insecurity, and discord of small town life in Trinity, New York where the Nethercott family and a constellation of their friends seek appropriate ways to struggle.
My favorite character, Etta Wallace surveys Trinity’s comings and goings from a white Cracker Barrel rocking chair on her front porch and makes a quiet commitment to Margie’s well-being and recovery. Prescribing banana bread (with nuts) and Crock-Pot dinners, she serves up grace in the evangelical tradition. Their unlikely friendship grew out of the rich soil of Etta’s resolve to “do the opposite”:
” . . . when people are struggling, it seemed to Etta, the people around them run away–embarrassed, uncomfortable. She would do the opposite and introduce herself.”
Finding the glory of God sufficient to carry her down the hill and away from her safe fortress, Etta also found herself walking beside Margie through her adjustment to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and a tragedy on the banks of the Weekeepeemee River that rocked the town.
Those who struggle with mental illness either personally or in their family tree will rejoice to note that Margie does not immediately bounce back from her depression and begin spouting Hillsong lyrics. Pixie’s fraught experimentation with drugs and sex are portrayed as ineffectual methods for taking the edge off the bleakness that had become normal for her. Readers who are sensitive to triggers should know that there’s a good bit of vivid description around a young woman’s habit of self harm (cutting) and the internal dialogue leading up to Margie’s attempted suicide.
Can You See Anything Now? is a complicated read and the winner of Christianity Today’s 2018 award for fiction. The believing community needs fictional accounts of family life set in the raw details of walking this broken ground that do not require a happy ending to be redemptive. If you are disposed to tolerate some obscenities and profanities in your reading, James’s lyrically written prose will encourage you to look for the thread of hope in your own story.
Many thanks to Paraclete Press for providing a copy of this book.
The layers of life, in all their overwhelming proportions, call for a large God. The unexpected diagnosis, the many ways in which we disappoint ourselves, and the messiness of the generations all seem to come home to roost during middle age as parents depart this world and adult children come into their own. Margie Nethercott elected to manage all these complications by carefully selecting a large rock, tying it to her ankle, paddling to the middle of a lake and letting the rock pull her to the bottom.
Her plan would have been flawless except for low rainfall and high temperatures which put the water level at about neck high on a medium height middle-aged woman, leaving her tethered and standed in the middle of the lake. Can You See Anything Now?: A Novel by Katherine James faces head-on the emptiness, weariness, insecurity, and discord of small town life in Trinity, New York where the Nethercott family and a constellation of their friends seek appropriate ways to struggle.
My favorite character, Etta Wallace surveys Trinity’s comings and goings from a white Cracker Barrel rocking chair on her front porch and makes a quiet commitment to Margie’s well-being and recovery. Prescribing banana bread (with nuts) and Crock-Pot dinners, she serves up grace in the evangelical tradition. Their unlikely friendship grew out of the rich soil of Etta’s resolve to “do the opposite”:
” . . . when people are struggling, it seemed to Etta, the people around them run away–embarrassed, uncomfortable. She would do the opposite and introduce herself.”
Finding the glory of God sufficient to carry her down the hill and away from her safe fortress, Etta also found herself walking beside Margie through her adjustment to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and a tragedy on the banks of the Weekeepeemee River that rocked the town.
Those who struggle with mental illness either personally or in their family tree will rejoice to note that Margie does not immediately bounce back from her depression and begin spouting Hillsong lyrics. Pixie’s fraught experimentation with drugs and sex are portrayed as ineffectual methods for taking the edge off the bleakness that had become normal for her. Readers who are sensitive to triggers should know that there’s a good bit of vivid description around a young woman’s habit of self harm (cutting) and the internal dialogue leading up to Margie’s attempted suicide.
Can You See Anything Now? is a complicated read and the winner of Christianity Today’s 2018 award for fiction. The believing community needs fictional accounts of family life set in the raw details of walking this broken ground that do not require a happy ending to be redemptive. If you are disposed to tolerate some obscenities and profanities in your reading, James’s lyrically written prose will encourage you to look for the thread of hope in your own story.
Many thanks to Paraclete Press for providing a copy of this book.
October 25, 2017
Can You See Anything Now? opens with a suicide attempt. Margie an artist living in the town of Trinity, decides to drown herself in the lake. She fails. The lake isn’t as deep as she remembers.
can-you-see-anything-now[Spoiler Alert: Though I’ll try to be opaque about details] Margie is an artist who paints nudes. She struggles with depression and is diagnosed with MS. Her therapist husband Nick, is better at diagnosing Margie than listening to her with an ear for understanding. Margie’s neighbor Etta is also an artist. She doesn’t paint nudes, she paints tomatoes. She’s an evangelical who has read the Five Love Languages and Christian sex books. Margie teaches Etta how to paint nudes.
Margie’s daughter Noel, is in an on-and-off again relationship with Owen and is college roommates with Pixie, a recovering addict and a cutter. When Pixie comes home with Noel for Thanksgiving break, she falls into Trinity’s river and loses consciousness. Her bald dad, Pete comes to town to be at her side. He stays for months. Long after almost everyone gives up hope for Pixie, he organizes a prayer vigil, declaring that “Pixie will rise on July 3.” Things don’t quite work out the way Pete expects.
James’s characters swear, cut themselves, and attempt suicide. While there is a redemptive arc to the story, the details aren’t all tied-up in a pretty bow. This is less a story about a person (i.e. Margie) but a tale of the way lives overlap, are interwoven and influence one another. The persons of Trinity co-inhere. I am not sure who the protagonist of this novel is, unless it is someone who looks like Devandra Banhart (you won’t understand this comment, until you read the book).
With the release of Katherine James’s debut novel, Paraclete Press re-inaugurates their fiction line-up. This is the first novel on their newly christened Paraclete Fiction label. My standing critique of Christian fiction is its preachiness. It tells instead of shows. Also, Christian fiction often presents a sanitized version of reality, certain topics off limits. If James’s new novel is any indication, Paraclete Press has bucked this trend. This is novel that is both gritty and compelling, without being preachy and dogmatic. Faith haunts the novel without assaulting the reader with a peculiar worldview. Each of the characters, even the most overtly religious character, Etta, are on a journey.
If you are looking for straightforward tale, or some mindless fiction to pass the time, this probably isn’t the book you want. With the shifting focus on the various characters, this book is somewhat demanding, forcing readers to follow along and keep track of the various threads. But this is an excellent debut novel for James and an engaging read. I give this book four and half stars. ★★★★½
Notice of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Paraclete Press in exchange for my honest review.
May 2, 2018
So....
It opens with a suicide attempt. Keep that in mind and consider yourself warned. It doesn't drift too far from that realm of pain through the rest of the story.
Other reviewers have pointed out the quality of metaphor and writing in this novel. Agreed! It was vivid and textured.
What makes the book so intense is the way that she brings these metaphors and this writing to bear on characters who have very deep pain. The way in which she describes guilt (without really describing it), isolation, fragmentation, and disappointment are, at times, almost excruciating. Which, is more or less how we experience them in real life.
But I think the aspect of the book that really haunted me is developed by her David Foster Wallace quote in part I. The bit about living in 5-walled rooms.
She describes a world that could only exist in our time, where characters live in a self-contained universe (I take the 5th wall to be a ceiling). There is very little transcendence, indeed it seems that in part I the characters are almost impervious to anything beyond the 5-walled rooms (Margie is a painter who struggles to see/find light). In a story with so much pain, it gives the sense of despair that is particularly true for a people in history who live -many of us - cut off from a sense that there is meaning or purpose beyond what we make. The sheer amount of guilt and isolation fills up the room and makes it claustrophobic. She articulates a world in which self-harm makes sense, and I find that truly haunting. It gives me empathy for my community where teenage self-harm is a deep sadness and somewhat hidden reality.
What is then very remarkable is the way that light breaks in to this collapsed (walled-off?) world. Friends develop. People remember. The suffering weep. Reconciliation sprouts. I'll call that Grace. It's incomplete. It's only in fits and starts. It does not erase the suffering. But in the twinkling of an eye, things -people- change even just a little. It's all the sweeter because the changes are as authentic as the suffering. It's a good reminder that light only dawns on those living in darkness...
It opens with a suicide attempt. Keep that in mind and consider yourself warned. It doesn't drift too far from that realm of pain through the rest of the story.
Other reviewers have pointed out the quality of metaphor and writing in this novel. Agreed! It was vivid and textured.
What makes the book so intense is the way that she brings these metaphors and this writing to bear on characters who have very deep pain. The way in which she describes guilt (without really describing it), isolation, fragmentation, and disappointment are, at times, almost excruciating. Which, is more or less how we experience them in real life.
But I think the aspect of the book that really haunted me is developed by her David Foster Wallace quote in part I. The bit about living in 5-walled rooms.
She describes a world that could only exist in our time, where characters live in a self-contained universe (I take the 5th wall to be a ceiling). There is very little transcendence, indeed it seems that in part I the characters are almost impervious to anything beyond the 5-walled rooms (Margie is a painter who struggles to see/find light). In a story with so much pain, it gives the sense of despair that is particularly true for a people in history who live -many of us - cut off from a sense that there is meaning or purpose beyond what we make. The sheer amount of guilt and isolation fills up the room and makes it claustrophobic. She articulates a world in which self-harm makes sense, and I find that truly haunting. It gives me empathy for my community where teenage self-harm is a deep sadness and somewhat hidden reality.
What is then very remarkable is the way that light breaks in to this collapsed (walled-off?) world. Friends develop. People remember. The suffering weep. Reconciliation sprouts. I'll call that Grace. It's incomplete. It's only in fits and starts. It does not erase the suffering. But in the twinkling of an eye, things -people- change even just a little. It's all the sweeter because the changes are as authentic as the suffering. It's a good reminder that light only dawns on those living in darkness...
October 10, 2017
Katherine James mines the depth of the fragile human mind in the slow rhythm of small town life. Her scenes reveal corners of life we tend to avoid. Chapters rotate points of view allowing readers to learn from each character. Some characters use of language can be offensive to readers, but it is consistent with the character. James masterfully weaves faith, church life, isolation, suicide, parenting, love, and hope into the novel.
The writing is beautiful. Descriptions are so perfect I found myself silently nodding through every page. “There was a snow-shovel-wide path through the living room to Miriam’s room that had the occasional shoe or paperback book that needed to be kicked aside like a stray clod of snow” (p. 50). I highly recommend “Can You See Anything Now?” I guarantee it will be a challenging read. It’s one of those stories that sticks with you long after you turn the last page, impacting encounters with people and encouraging a gentler care of one another.
The writing is beautiful. Descriptions are so perfect I found myself silently nodding through every page. “There was a snow-shovel-wide path through the living room to Miriam’s room that had the occasional shoe or paperback book that needed to be kicked aside like a stray clod of snow” (p. 50). I highly recommend “Can You See Anything Now?” I guarantee it will be a challenging read. It’s one of those stories that sticks with you long after you turn the last page, impacting encounters with people and encouraging a gentler care of one another.
January 14, 2020
I had strong expectations for this but just could not manage to stick with it. The prose is good but rambling and I could not connect with any of the characters. Perhaps I should have persevered - but there are just too many wonderful reads out there to waste my time with something that is just not for me!
October 12, 2017
I was so absorbed I nearly missed a plane. Wonderful writing, and amazing insight into very complex characters. It might take a bit for some readers to dive in ... you probably haven't ever read a book that opened "inside the head" of a person attempting suicide. And you may close the book wondering -- as I did -- what's next for these tightly intertwined lives. I'd recommend this to anyone who knows a challenging person, any counseling professional, and anyone who wants to read some truly beautiful wordsmithing. (Note: I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my review.)
November 28, 2017
There’s a reason why this woman holds an MFA in Creative Writing: she knows how to write creatively. Gorgeous, contemporary lit book with themes of Christian spirituality that’s not barf in your face Christian fiction.
December 28, 2017
Wow! Katherine has amazing word skills. Loved getting to know her characters--so well developed. An intriguing story--pulled me in. Thanks for a great read!
October 10, 2017
If you like books with unbelievably quirky and unique characters who find themselves in the most unexpected circumstances, you’ll love this novel by new author Katherine James. Poignant, tragic, and funny, the story deals with some of the most unlikely pairs of mismatched people who find themselves in relationship, contrasting one another as they find themselves thrown together to deal with life’s adventures and challenges.
In the small town of Trinity, a complex, kind, suicidal painter, Margie, is recently diagnosed with MS and struggling with the outlook of her future. She inherited her grandfather’s gift for painting and attacks her canvases with a frenzy when her health allows it, but her MS symptoms are causing her to spiral down. Married to an analytical psychologist who wants to solve the problem of pain but seems to almost abhor some of his clients and seems unable to offer Margie much perspective, Margie finds herself navigating the fear of the future.
Their daughter Noel appears studious and serious, committed to her family and looking for a lifelong monogamous relationship, believing humans mate for life. At college, she lives with a roommate as complicated as her mother. Pixie cuts herself, dresses all in black, and chops her hair almost clean with scissors. She keeps the television on constantly, turning up the volume for the commercials and down for the programs. Tragedy descends when Noel takes Pixie home for the holiday.
As the town contemplates how to support Margie after her failed suicide attempt, evangelical Etta decides to show up with food and kindness, taken aback by the nude art displayed in Margie’s studio, comparing her own love of painting tomatoes as “just a craft really.” But talented Margie is gracious and takes Etta under her wing.She bakes banana bread and hot dog casseroles, character details that could box Etta into the place of ordinary to the point of boring, but we fall in love this down-home woman willing to branch out and learn to love others so different from herself. We learn that Etta’s home is located in a place in Trinity where the view from her home gives her a bird’s eye view of the town, yet she never seems to look down on people.
Again, these two women couldn’t be more different, but we watch as they become friends and begin taking a painting class together to work on nudes, eventually melding their unique behaviors in a way that lends a quiet poignancy to the story. Etta sets aside her tomatoes and begins to explore painting the human body, and Margie ponders how to “bless” someone in the midst of their trauma, reaching outside her own painful life when the tragedy strikes.The development of this believable concern among the characters contributes to the beauty of this novel.
In addition to Etta’s bird’s eye view, we repeatedly see characters looking at their subject matter from different angles: a photographer taking a picture, trying to capture the most meaningful angle of his subject; Margie and Etta’s special care choosing the angles of their subject matter to help deepen and layer the subject. When we finish the last page of Can You See Anything Now, readers will also view life and our fellow travelers from a new view, having seen these broken but loveable characters from every angle. We’ll close the book having enjoyed a rich story addressing life in its fullness: illness, death, hope, fear, compassion, annoyance, and so many human emotions, with an absolutely stunning ending.
In the small town of Trinity, a complex, kind, suicidal painter, Margie, is recently diagnosed with MS and struggling with the outlook of her future. She inherited her grandfather’s gift for painting and attacks her canvases with a frenzy when her health allows it, but her MS symptoms are causing her to spiral down. Married to an analytical psychologist who wants to solve the problem of pain but seems to almost abhor some of his clients and seems unable to offer Margie much perspective, Margie finds herself navigating the fear of the future.
Their daughter Noel appears studious and serious, committed to her family and looking for a lifelong monogamous relationship, believing humans mate for life. At college, she lives with a roommate as complicated as her mother. Pixie cuts herself, dresses all in black, and chops her hair almost clean with scissors. She keeps the television on constantly, turning up the volume for the commercials and down for the programs. Tragedy descends when Noel takes Pixie home for the holiday.
As the town contemplates how to support Margie after her failed suicide attempt, evangelical Etta decides to show up with food and kindness, taken aback by the nude art displayed in Margie’s studio, comparing her own love of painting tomatoes as “just a craft really.” But talented Margie is gracious and takes Etta under her wing.She bakes banana bread and hot dog casseroles, character details that could box Etta into the place of ordinary to the point of boring, but we fall in love this down-home woman willing to branch out and learn to love others so different from herself. We learn that Etta’s home is located in a place in Trinity where the view from her home gives her a bird’s eye view of the town, yet she never seems to look down on people.
Again, these two women couldn’t be more different, but we watch as they become friends and begin taking a painting class together to work on nudes, eventually melding their unique behaviors in a way that lends a quiet poignancy to the story. Etta sets aside her tomatoes and begins to explore painting the human body, and Margie ponders how to “bless” someone in the midst of their trauma, reaching outside her own painful life when the tragedy strikes.The development of this believable concern among the characters contributes to the beauty of this novel.
In addition to Etta’s bird’s eye view, we repeatedly see characters looking at their subject matter from different angles: a photographer taking a picture, trying to capture the most meaningful angle of his subject; Margie and Etta’s special care choosing the angles of their subject matter to help deepen and layer the subject. When we finish the last page of Can You See Anything Now, readers will also view life and our fellow travelers from a new view, having seen these broken but loveable characters from every angle. We’ll close the book having enjoyed a rich story addressing life in its fullness: illness, death, hope, fear, compassion, annoyance, and so many human emotions, with an absolutely stunning ending.
March 7, 2021
I found the opening - a first-person suicide attempt - harrowing, but didn't find the rest of the novel unputdownable. In fact, I put it to one side, having read 2/3 of it, and left it for several weeks. It didn't grip me. The characters felt authentic but I guess because there wasn't one central protagonist I didn't know where the story was supposed to be going. This is more of a snapshot of people's lives than a story with a defined plot.
Not one I'm raving about...
Not one I'm raving about...
December 11, 2017
Relevant Christian fiction novels are hard to come by. Katherine James is a fresh voice among many cookie cutter Christian books. Can You See Anything Now took me by surprise. I had to check the back cover on numerous occasions to make sure I was reading a Christian book. I'm not used to curse words in Christian books. And how refreshing it is!
Tragedy and humility lace the stories of the people of Trinity. Can You See Anything Now follows Margie, the suicidal painter who teaches uptight Etta to paint nudes and follows Margie's daughter, Noel and her roommate, Pixie, who falls into a freezing river. What better place to reveal mercy and grace than in the middle of a raw and unapologetic story of loss?
My favorite under-highlighted story was the story of Margie and her grandfather who was also a painter. His wisdom permeated the novel. James reveals to us that he is a painter who has chosen to paint about "things that people consume." It turns out that people were consuming him in the same manner.
And it is a foreshadow of how the mystery of faith consumes us, the reader. I'm grateful to Paraclete Press for a publishing this incredible book. It reminded me at times of Junot Díaz's, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar of Oscar Wao. Similarly, Díaz's tour de force takes the literary bull by the horns and unapologetically inserts language that serves as resistance to the status quo and a slap to the literary canon face. He won the Pulitzer for it.
I'm grateful for Katherine James' voice. I'm glad that people like her are writing in the Christian world without apology. I am hungry to read her memoir, Notes on Orion, set to release in 2018.
If you enjoy books like The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Sleep in Me, Let the Great World Spin, and Shock of the Fall, I recommend that you read this book. It is definitely a favorite. I will be following Paraclete Press more closely.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher as part of Katherine James' launch team. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Tragedy and humility lace the stories of the people of Trinity. Can You See Anything Now follows Margie, the suicidal painter who teaches uptight Etta to paint nudes and follows Margie's daughter, Noel and her roommate, Pixie, who falls into a freezing river. What better place to reveal mercy and grace than in the middle of a raw and unapologetic story of loss?
My favorite under-highlighted story was the story of Margie and her grandfather who was also a painter. His wisdom permeated the novel. James reveals to us that he is a painter who has chosen to paint about "things that people consume." It turns out that people were consuming him in the same manner.
And it is a foreshadow of how the mystery of faith consumes us, the reader. I'm grateful to Paraclete Press for a publishing this incredible book. It reminded me at times of Junot Díaz's, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar of Oscar Wao. Similarly, Díaz's tour de force takes the literary bull by the horns and unapologetically inserts language that serves as resistance to the status quo and a slap to the literary canon face. He won the Pulitzer for it.
I'm grateful for Katherine James' voice. I'm glad that people like her are writing in the Christian world without apology. I am hungry to read her memoir, Notes on Orion, set to release in 2018.
If you enjoy books like The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Sleep in Me, Let the Great World Spin, and Shock of the Fall, I recommend that you read this book. It is definitely a favorite. I will be following Paraclete Press more closely.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher as part of Katherine James' launch team. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
November 29, 2017
Immediately at the start, you are thrown into Margie trying to kill herself by drowning. My heart absolutely felt for Margie. What has happened in her life for her to get a point where she believes that nothing can be fixed and the only way out is suicide. Also, I think her suicide attempt by drowning really foreshadows the rest of the novel.
Margie has major depression and struggles with it for the most part. She has a strained relationship with her husband, Nick. It's strained because of Margie's depression and how Nick is not quite supportive of her struggles. I wanted to shake Nick, and say hey, your wife needs help!
Etta is also an artist. She kind of reminds me of that one neighbor that appears to have it all together. She tries to be the perfect wife, the best bible study member, and a perfect friend to others. But deep inside she is also struggling with a sadness and not feeling worthy or good enough.
Pixie, oh my heart went out for her. She was a girl that was very lost. I am not going to give away too much, but she ends up going into a coma which brings the entire town together to help pixie recover.
What I really liked about this book was how long it took for the characters to slowly feel better. And that is true in reality. It doesn't take months to recover from depression, it can take a year, sometimes years. I also appreciated that Katherine emphasized that depression or any mental illness never really goes away, it's something you have to learn how to live with and heal from daily.
I was really impressed with Katherine and how she let the characters start to heal from their illness. For example, Margie attempted to create a relationship with Etta and keep her marriage positive.
My favorite part of this book, however, is the concept that life isn't always perfect. And that no one's life is perfect. Mental illness is not often talked about and I think should be talked about more. It affects so many, your neighbor, a co-worker, could be fighting their inner demons. It also covers topics like premarital sex, drug abuse, self-harm, and suicide. Topics that are taboo to talk about. I appreciated that Katherine made such a book to help maybe people who are suffering know that they are not alone and there is help.
Note- I was given a free copy of this book to review by Paraclete Press.
Margie has major depression and struggles with it for the most part. She has a strained relationship with her husband, Nick. It's strained because of Margie's depression and how Nick is not quite supportive of her struggles. I wanted to shake Nick, and say hey, your wife needs help!
Etta is also an artist. She kind of reminds me of that one neighbor that appears to have it all together. She tries to be the perfect wife, the best bible study member, and a perfect friend to others. But deep inside she is also struggling with a sadness and not feeling worthy or good enough.
Pixie, oh my heart went out for her. She was a girl that was very lost. I am not going to give away too much, but she ends up going into a coma which brings the entire town together to help pixie recover.
What I really liked about this book was how long it took for the characters to slowly feel better. And that is true in reality. It doesn't take months to recover from depression, it can take a year, sometimes years. I also appreciated that Katherine emphasized that depression or any mental illness never really goes away, it's something you have to learn how to live with and heal from daily.
I was really impressed with Katherine and how she let the characters start to heal from their illness. For example, Margie attempted to create a relationship with Etta and keep her marriage positive.
My favorite part of this book, however, is the concept that life isn't always perfect. And that no one's life is perfect. Mental illness is not often talked about and I think should be talked about more. It affects so many, your neighbor, a co-worker, could be fighting their inner demons. It also covers topics like premarital sex, drug abuse, self-harm, and suicide. Topics that are taboo to talk about. I appreciated that Katherine made such a book to help maybe people who are suffering know that they are not alone and there is help.
Note- I was given a free copy of this book to review by Paraclete Press.
November 20, 2017
This book had a strong opening chapter that intrigued me right away. However, instead of building on that great opening, I felt the rest of the book struggled for a clear sense of direction. Some may argue that that was the point of the book... to simply follow the characters as they really would be; that this makes them "gritty" and "real". Yes, they were realistic, but they were also static and flat. No purpose or meaning was woven into their stories. There was nothing to gain by watching these interactions unfold. Additionally, many opportunities to understand or empathize with the characters were muddled by highly stylistic, yet unclear prose. For example, on page 194 Margie's character says, "My toes feel like beetles. They feel crisp, like they're going to dry up and fall off." Comparing toes to beetles does not help me understand what Margie is feeling at all. Another example is this description on page 175: "Down state, deep in the mouth of the river, the Abenaki, already blended with the Feldspar Brook, Opalescent River, and finally Hudson, mighty and braided, join like friends and move together toward the land of salt, where water is a mirage and the ships float on acid, alive for the moment but destined to disappear with eternity." What does this mean? How does this add to my understanding of what just happened in the chapter? I think there is a confusion of tenses here (blended/join...shouldn't it be joined?), but I'm not really sure. Otherwise, I think if you take out the whole middle part about the land of salt, water is a mirage, ships that float on acid, you basically have rivers that are alive for a moment but destined to disappear with eternity. I think a simpler statement would have been more profound and less confusing. The point is that this happens all throughout the book, leading to confusion and not clarity. Finally, there are swear words and sexual content that many may not be comfortable with in a book marketed as Christian.
I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 7, 2017
You could hardly imagine two more different artists than the ones you meet in the opening pages of Katherine James’s debut novel, Can You See Anything Now? [Paraclete, 2017].
There’s Margie, who paints vivid canvases, attributing personal characteristics to still lifes, sketching nudes, and doing a grand scale work featuring ovens that make her daughter think of Sylvia Plath. Margie, who explores and struggles with depth and negative space in her attic studio, her life, her family, and in Trinity, her small, upstate town. Margie, who chooses drowning as the method for her latest suicide attempt because it is “metaphorically appropriate in light of the lungs filling with liquid and air bubbling upward like packets of life that pop at the surface” (5).
Then there’s Etta, her churchgoing neighbor, whose painting tends toward tomatoes and rooftops. Her work is folky, adorned with rusty nails and wire, accessible, and easily reproducible. She has a front porch with a Cracker Barrel rocker and she reads popular Christian books to help strengthen her marriage. Her cooking tends to Crock Pot recipes and hot dog casseroles.
The artist behind these artists is Katherine James, who has fashioned a richly-textured, sharply-observed book that deserves to be in the hands of everyone who grieves over the divides of our day, longs to feel God’s presence in the land of living, and who imagines unlikely friendships.
Full review on Heartlands... https://alexjoyner.com/2017/10/07/fin....
There’s Margie, who paints vivid canvases, attributing personal characteristics to still lifes, sketching nudes, and doing a grand scale work featuring ovens that make her daughter think of Sylvia Plath. Margie, who explores and struggles with depth and negative space in her attic studio, her life, her family, and in Trinity, her small, upstate town. Margie, who chooses drowning as the method for her latest suicide attempt because it is “metaphorically appropriate in light of the lungs filling with liquid and air bubbling upward like packets of life that pop at the surface” (5).
Then there’s Etta, her churchgoing neighbor, whose painting tends toward tomatoes and rooftops. Her work is folky, adorned with rusty nails and wire, accessible, and easily reproducible. She has a front porch with a Cracker Barrel rocker and she reads popular Christian books to help strengthen her marriage. Her cooking tends to Crock Pot recipes and hot dog casseroles.
The artist behind these artists is Katherine James, who has fashioned a richly-textured, sharply-observed book that deserves to be in the hands of everyone who grieves over the divides of our day, longs to feel God’s presence in the land of living, and who imagines unlikely friendships.
Full review on Heartlands... https://alexjoyner.com/2017/10/07/fin....
October 18, 2017
To say that this debut novel by Katherine James is edgy and unexpected is an understatement. I will admit that I had some issues with the language some of the characters use, until I realized that if these characters were living, breathing humans, this is the way they would talk. Do I think that it has to necessarily be brought out in the writing? Well, I don't know. Previously, I probably would have said no. But previously I would have been reading books that did not bring the characters to life. From Margie, tortured in her failing body, to Pixie, fighting the demons from her past with drugs and cutting, to Noel, Margie's college-aged daughter who loves her mom but is confused about so much more in life, James' characters are believable and real. At times a hard read, "Can You See Anything Now" leads us through a year in the life of small town Trinity, but touches so much more. Beautiful descriptions, raw emotions, confusing relationships all blend together in a story that you don't want to put down and introduces you to people that you don't want to let go.
June 16, 2018
The story of “Can You See Anything Now” is not one where a hero must rise up against all odds to save the world, rather, it is a lush, close up examination of the world that we actually live in.
Katherine James builds up the story like a painter, each section slowly developing, rich with detail and honesty. Colorful characters are crafted, their messy blending of angst, hope, virtue and vice interacting on the canvas of the everyday—and a bit of the tragic.
Initially, I approached this like other fiction that I consume; something pleasant to take in as I pass through it, like a casual stroll through an art museum. But I soon realized that it called for a slower pace and greater attention—to stop and stand with it, leaning in to appreciate the depth and beautiful brushwork.
Because of the rich quality of her depiction and its believability, the characters and scenes have stuck with me, often coming to mind as if real, recent experiences in my own life. And I am grateful for them.
Katherine James builds up the story like a painter, each section slowly developing, rich with detail and honesty. Colorful characters are crafted, their messy blending of angst, hope, virtue and vice interacting on the canvas of the everyday—and a bit of the tragic.
Initially, I approached this like other fiction that I consume; something pleasant to take in as I pass through it, like a casual stroll through an art museum. But I soon realized that it called for a slower pace and greater attention—to stop and stand with it, leaning in to appreciate the depth and beautiful brushwork.
Because of the rich quality of her depiction and its believability, the characters and scenes have stuck with me, often coming to mind as if real, recent experiences in my own life. And I am grateful for them.
October 10, 2017
James is a master of sensory detail that brings the reader into the room. You FEEL what the characters are sensing. Here's how she describes 17-year-old Margie painting her dying grandfather.
"It was late in the day and he sat in his chair half golden from the sun, half blue from cancer.... She had a way of pulling up the colors from beneath the skin ... his slowing pulse, the ache of blood against artery walls pulsing forward in ever more fragile ways and lessening, so that the blues and grays crept from the edges of him ...."
And the characters! Pixie, a brilliant, addicted girl who fell into a freezing river, could have come from the pen of Carson McCullers. Like her writing, on one level this is a story of a tragedy in a small town; but on another it is a story of redemption.
"It was late in the day and he sat in his chair half golden from the sun, half blue from cancer.... She had a way of pulling up the colors from beneath the skin ... his slowing pulse, the ache of blood against artery walls pulsing forward in ever more fragile ways and lessening, so that the blues and grays crept from the edges of him ...."
And the characters! Pixie, a brilliant, addicted girl who fell into a freezing river, could have come from the pen of Carson McCullers. Like her writing, on one level this is a story of a tragedy in a small town; but on another it is a story of redemption.
June 23, 2021
I think I would give this a 3.5 if Goodreads allowed it. There is LOTS of beauty in the writing; sometimes it's overwrought, I'm afraid, but sometimes it's more spare & truly lovely.
Every single character is revealed as fearful & self-doubting, no matter how successful she or he appears to others. This may be true to the human condition, but in a book that shifts among quite a few characters, it becomes a bit tedious. At the same time, the author's ability to show us an impulse toward good in each character is admirable.
The book could have done with better copyediting to fix the homonym substitutions & cringe-worthy misspellings here & there (a bright student's love for poet Richard "Wilber"--yikes!).
Every single character is revealed as fearful & self-doubting, no matter how successful she or he appears to others. This may be true to the human condition, but in a book that shifts among quite a few characters, it becomes a bit tedious. At the same time, the author's ability to show us an impulse toward good in each character is admirable.
The book could have done with better copyediting to fix the homonym substitutions & cringe-worthy misspellings here & there (a bright student's love for poet Richard "Wilber"--yikes!).
November 1, 2017
Welcome to Trinity where you will meet a host of quirky, yet totally believable individuals, including talented yet depressed Margie, her sometimes gruff and grumpy husband Nick, naive and faithful Etta, fiery Noel, and many others. Can You See Anything Now? is deep, gritty, honest, and hopeful. James is a masterful writer who succeeds in making us care about the entire, disparate cast. The book begins with an attempted suicide and ends, well, you will have to read it to find out. (Noted - this book has mature themes and language. It may not be for those who want their fiction to be neat, clean and G rated. However, it's deep, powerful, and redemptive.)
January 3, 2019
Nothing really happens in this book. I mean, there is one big event, but it doesn't seem to impact most of the character's lives at all. Each chapter focuses on different groups of characters and tell the story from their viewpoint, but all the characters sound the same, so it's hard to tell who is the focus of each chapter if you don't remember the chapter headings. I was really unimpressed with Noel . The emotion of the book is completely flat - I found no one that I could empathize with at all.
October 31, 2017
A story of struggle - with life and love, with disease and disaster, and with belief in God. James brings us deep into the hearts and thoughts of a cast of characters who all come out of the pages as real and flawed and believable. There were so many moments while reading this that I paused, taken in by the sheer beauty of description or by how keenly I felt the truth of what I was reading. I still catch myself thinking about Etta and Noel and Margie and Owen and, of course, Pixie, as though they are people from my own life.
September 29, 2017
This is a remarkable book. James is an artist with words and her story is an inspiration to my own literary pursuits. I hope to eventually write one page, or even one paragraph, with the mastery of syntax that James has displayed here. The level of creativity in this novel is likely greater than any other contemporary work I've read. If you read this, you'll hear truth, and a voice of confidence amidst the story's raw and unnerving currents.
April 17, 2018
I read Can You See Anything Now by Katherine James as my “book nominated for an award in 2018” Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenge book. Can You See Anything Now won the Christianity Today 2018 Book Award. But this was the most different Christian book I’ve ever read. This is not a preachy Christian book. In fact, the kids have real life issues. The adults have real life issues. But it’s a story of loving your neighbor as yourself. A story of redemption. A story of faith.
October 1, 2017
What a beautiful novel. I am a picky reader, even more so with fiction, but this has everything I want in the best books...and it is true in that it tells the truth of life, with its joy and pain. James hooked me in the first chapter (as a good book should!), kept me going with incredibly crafted sentences and descriptions, and kept me wanting more all the way to the end. Well worth reading.
February 5, 2020
Some of this I liked very well, especially the depth of most of the characters...and realistic issues that they had to deal with. But the dark sides and some of the language was off-putting at different times (even accounting for wanting to make the book more realistic). I "get" this book and I appreciate the honesty of the searchings that various characters go through.
February 4, 2022
Who is the audience? Seems so niche. (Ex?)-Christian AWFLs? Jarring to switch back and forth between (a more profane) Jonathan Franzen and Sue Monk Kidd. When you go to a rock concert, you don’t want two hours of drum solos, even if the drummer is Peart or Moon. Author can surely write well, but too much flourish. Get to the plot, the dialogue, the song.
May 11, 2018
Wow. I knew this book was going to be good... but, wow. I couldn't put it down - completely absorbed in the story.
Loads of profanity that was a little unexpected (to me) but, honestly, it fit well with the characters.
Loads of profanity that was a little unexpected (to me) but, honestly, it fit well with the characters.
December 18, 2023
I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book like this before. It was… stark? Profound? Intimate. Each chapter told from the perspective of different community members… it felt real, but I expected more from the plot.
That said, I wish Christian fiction felt as authentic as this more often.
That said, I wish Christian fiction felt as authentic as this more often.
December 13, 2017
Could not even finish it.
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