Vienna

by Jade Brown

Vienna is a story of a young woman exploring herself in New York City, told by the disturbed people who fall in love with her. A poetic tale highlighting the troublesome disarray of young adulthood, made for adults of any age.

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2020

About the author

Jade Brown is a poet and fiction writer based in New York City. Her writing centers around liberating women placed in dehumanizing categories - with an emphasis on women of color. Jade is known for her innovative approach to prose and language.

Reviews

[T.J. McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jade has a way with words and a steady hand at giving voice to character. As we experience our protagonist through the characters that surround her, we are simultaneously given a full spectrum of who she is and who they are. Each character in this book is fleshed out in their own unique and authentic way. You literally feel like you are hopping from psyche to psyche with each turn of the page. We are catapulted into a poetic discovery of one enigmatic character by way of all the hearts they’ve touched. A difficult juggling act, but Jade succeeds and then some. Her ability to give a dynamic, fully realized life to every perspective creates an illuminating read. As we inch toward understanding of Vienna, we are faced with questions we often wonder about ourselves like, how do the people that know me see me? What am I to them? How would they describe me? Am I even worth a description? You feel like you are a part of an intimate circle, learning about an ancestor that came before you. Their whole history left up to the orators of their time. Jade weaves a seamless narrative across differing perspectives and we are that much more rewarded by her choice to approach the novel in such a way. We can know a person, but will we ever really know them? How is it they can be something different to someone else? Beyond the narrative structure, Jade tackles so much within these 160 pages or so. Everything from mental health to what it means to be an artist, and the varying degrees of trauma entangled into our lives From childhood to adulthood. Just a really fascinating character study. I cannot wait to see what comes next from Jade.

[Justin Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read! I was so disappointed when I got to then not because it was bad, but because I didn't want it to finish!. Jade has an excellent use of poetry and prose in this book. Each scene was painted perfectly in my mind and the poetic elements gave it a breath of fresh air from your typical story book. The characters through out were very interesting and diverse making me feel for them on an emotional level or despise them if I ever had the unfortunate opportunity to meet them. All in all it is a magnificent read and you should definitely pick it up when you get the chance!

[Adrianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vienna is a novel written uniquely from any other book I’ve read. The prose is beautiful and the story is enriched with poetic lines. It follows the life of Vienna, but the fact that I never heard from her point of view kept me intrigued. Through all the people in her life you as the reader come to learn who Vienna is, how she’s struggled, and how she finally began finding her place. Definitely a book I would highly recommend for anyone wanting something different on their shelf.

[Jesselyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

I read this multiple times and each time I am blown away. Jade beautifully blends poetry and prose. Each chapter, though told from a different views you truly start to uncover Vienna. You accept and love her with flaws and all because she is real. If you haven't already bought this book, buy it now!!

[Poetcurious · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vienna is an inspiringly original approach to storytelling. With a main character who is almost entirely seen through the eyes and words of other characters and a densely poetic approach to prose, Vienna is an experimental masterpiece.

[Kimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. The characters' behavior and their back stories in this are hard and horrible a lot of the time, but the writing is so good and I love the technique of so many perspectives about one character.