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Lurkers
From author and filmmaker Sandi Tan, director of the acclaimed documentary 'Shirkers', comes a novel about a neighborhood of immigrants, seekers, lovers, and lurkers.
In a suburban LA neighborhood, neighbors keep wary distance and at times collide, propelled by desire, fury, and mischief. Precocious Korean American sisters Mira and Rosemary find their world rocked by a suicide; a charismatic and creepy drama teacher grooms his students; an aging gay horror novelist fights loneliness; and a white mother and her adopted Vietnamese daughter deal with lifelong anger issues. Spanning decades, and bringing together a diverse and interlocking group of stories, 'LURKERS' is a Los Angeles masterpiece, showing Sandi Tan’s fiction to be as formidable and exciting as her filmmaking.
In a suburban LA neighborhood, neighbors keep wary distance and at times collide, propelled by desire, fury, and mischief. Precocious Korean American sisters Mira and Rosemary find their world rocked by a suicide; a charismatic and creepy drama teacher grooms his students; an aging gay horror novelist fights loneliness; and a white mother and her adopted Vietnamese daughter deal with lifelong anger issues. Spanning decades, and bringing together a diverse and interlocking group of stories, 'LURKERS' is a Los Angeles masterpiece, showing Sandi Tan’s fiction to be as formidable and exciting as her filmmaking.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2021
75 people are currently reading
3408 people want to read
About the author
Sandi Tan
3 books107 followersSandi Tan is a filmmaker (SHIRKERS) and novelist. And hasn't used goodreads in YEARS! Her novel LURKERS is forthcoming from Soho Press in Spring 2021.
Please visit: https://instagram.com/_sanditan_/
or find her on Facebook
facebook.com/sanditan
About THE BLACK ISLE:
A PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY *PICK OF THE WEEK*
LOS ANGELES TIMES: “An ambitious, supernatural coming-of-age story… With its paranormal-meets-goth sensibility and angsty, flawed-but-fierce heroine, The Black Isle is a natural fit for the Twilight crowd… But the book is decidedly darker than the vampire series and not without social commentary.”
PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "Ambitious...Gripping...Gothic... Mesmerizing."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...
LA WEEKLY: "The Black Isle is an elegant, disturbing and satisfying read, both epic and intimate."
http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2012/0...
VOGUE: "Destined to be among summer’s sleeper hits is Sandi Tan’s gulpable first novel, THE BLACK ISLE... A juicy psychosexual odyssey."
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: "An engaging and engrossing novel that will absolutely captivate you and should not be missed."
http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-04...
Please visit: https://instagram.com/_sanditan_/
or find her on Facebook
facebook.com/sanditan
About THE BLACK ISLE:
A PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY *PICK OF THE WEEK*
LOS ANGELES TIMES: “An ambitious, supernatural coming-of-age story… With its paranormal-meets-goth sensibility and angsty, flawed-but-fierce heroine, The Black Isle is a natural fit for the Twilight crowd… But the book is decidedly darker than the vampire series and not without social commentary.”
PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "Ambitious...Gripping...Gothic... Mesmerizing."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...
LA WEEKLY: "The Black Isle is an elegant, disturbing and satisfying read, both epic and intimate."
http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2012/0...
VOGUE: "Destined to be among summer’s sleeper hits is Sandi Tan’s gulpable first novel, THE BLACK ISLE... A juicy psychosexual odyssey."
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: "An engaging and engrossing novel that will absolutely captivate you and should not be missed."
http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-04...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
March 18, 2021
The characters in this book are mostly residents of a Los Angeles neighborhood called Santa Claus Lane. They aren’t friends but they occasionally interact with each other and sometimes observe each other’s lives. Two of the houses hold mothers and daughters with normal, but somewhat complicated relationships. The third house holds a writer of horror stories who hoped that they would lure young boys to him. That didn’t really work out. Men come off particularly badly in this book. In addition to the author there is a man who preys on young Asian girls and an acting teacher who is grooming one of his students until she starts to have sex (a lot of graphic sex) with her acting partner. Then the teacher turns on her. The acting partner’s only storyline revolves around his state of arousal.
Sorry, but I didn’t enjoy this, although I didn’t abandon the book. I kept hoping that something interesting would happen to tie this together, but a plot never really developed. This was just a collection of not particularly interesting or likable people. There is also some blather about ghosts and poltergeists that I generally ignored. 2.5 stars
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.
Sorry, but I didn’t enjoy this, although I didn’t abandon the book. I kept hoping that something interesting would happen to tie this together, but a plot never really developed. This was just a collection of not particularly interesting or likable people. There is also some blather about ghosts and poltergeists that I generally ignored. 2.5 stars
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.
April 23, 2021
Lurkers is one of those character driven novels where there is no plot. I'm personally not a fan of those so this didn't work for me. There are some very dark topics explored in this but also it just sex at some parts and I could care less. This book just wasn't for me. It reminded me a little of Cobble Hill where it's about people's lives. Thank you so much to Soho Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 16, 2021
I was thrilled to find out that one of the makers of the documentary Shirkers had written a novel called Lurkers. Maybe everything she makes will rhyme? Will her upcoming musical album be called Workers?
Other than the name, and a unique quirky style (Quirkers?), the novel did not appear to have much in common with the documentary (more on that later). It's set in suburban Alta Vista, California, a portrait of the people who live on Santa Claus Lane and how their lives intersect and (sometimes unintentionally) affect each other.
The book starts out with tragedy and trauma, but rather than harp on feelings, these characters let their feelings make them do stupid and sometimes funny things. Tan is not concerned about getting to the bottom of those problems and somehow finding a satisfying resolution. She's not interested in characters changing for the better or faux sentiments about life. Rather, she watches these feelings play out in the world like the documentarian that she is, one who's not willing to disturb the nest even as its being eaten by wolves.
The traumatic events that happen are not taken as light or dark, but merely vehicles that set up the absurd events that unfold towards the end of the novel like a grand theatrical production. There is a comical element to it all, but it's a very dark one, with no easy moral.
Remember how I said that there didn't appear to be anything similar to Shirkers? Well I was wrong. There is an element that is similar to that docu-feature. Towards the middle of the book, the reader slowly realizes, to his/her horror, that one of the protagonist's teachers is grooming her and acting in many horribly inappropriate ways. Not that Shirkers was exactly that, but there definitely was some teacher/student boundary issues in that movie too.
These scenes were especially affecting because of the way it was written--through the lens of the protagonist's experience. She, being a teenager with fantasies of romance and freedom from suburbia, does not know that what the teacher is doing is wrong. She thinks she's been chosen and that she is special in the eyes of her teacher, and that she doesn't want to disappoint him. Her schoolgirl infatuation is portrayed unapologetically. And the author does not step in at any point to show how wrong any of this is. Remember, she's a documentarian at heart, even when writing fiction.
I think a lot of the bad reviews on here are because people are extremely uncomfortable with this narrative (and I was too). But I think there's immense value in that discomfort. I've read my fair share of books about pedophilia in my time (ok that sounds bad haha), but usually they either 1.) come with some kind of redemption for the victim, or at least some kind of poetic "meaning" so that the experience is not for naught or 2.) is told from the perspective of the perpetrator a la Lolita (I was struck by how much Lolita was a figment, a ghost of Humbert Humbert's imagination, her entire agency erased).
I can't recall any book that so inhabited the delusional mindset of the victim, and was so willing to let it stand uncorrected. A meaningless tragedy. Not only that, the book doesn't even recognize it as tragedy, but allows the reader to interpret it how they want. There's a gutsiness in that.
As for the book on a whole, I felt like the characters were very well written and believable and very unique personalities. But there were parts of the book that bored me, mostly the mid-section, where a lot of backstory was told in less than inspiring prose. And the very end of the book felt anticlimactic. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting it to just end.
Other than the name, and a unique quirky style (Quirkers?), the novel did not appear to have much in common with the documentary (more on that later). It's set in suburban Alta Vista, California, a portrait of the people who live on Santa Claus Lane and how their lives intersect and (sometimes unintentionally) affect each other.
The book starts out with tragedy and trauma, but rather than harp on feelings, these characters let their feelings make them do stupid and sometimes funny things. Tan is not concerned about getting to the bottom of those problems and somehow finding a satisfying resolution. She's not interested in characters changing for the better or faux sentiments about life. Rather, she watches these feelings play out in the world like the documentarian that she is, one who's not willing to disturb the nest even as its being eaten by wolves.
The traumatic events that happen are not taken as light or dark, but merely vehicles that set up the absurd events that unfold towards the end of the novel like a grand theatrical production. There is a comical element to it all, but it's a very dark one, with no easy moral.
Remember how I said that there didn't appear to be anything similar to Shirkers? Well I was wrong. There is an element that is similar to that docu-feature. Towards the middle of the book, the reader slowly realizes, to his/her horror, that one of the protagonist's teachers is grooming her and acting in many horribly inappropriate ways. Not that Shirkers was exactly that, but there definitely was some teacher/student boundary issues in that movie too.
These scenes were especially affecting because of the way it was written--through the lens of the protagonist's experience. She, being a teenager with fantasies of romance and freedom from suburbia, does not know that what the teacher is doing is wrong. She thinks she's been chosen and that she is special in the eyes of her teacher, and that she doesn't want to disappoint him. Her schoolgirl infatuation is portrayed unapologetically. And the author does not step in at any point to show how wrong any of this is. Remember, she's a documentarian at heart, even when writing fiction.
I think a lot of the bad reviews on here are because people are extremely uncomfortable with this narrative (and I was too). But I think there's immense value in that discomfort. I've read my fair share of books about pedophilia in my time (ok that sounds bad haha), but usually they either 1.) come with some kind of redemption for the victim, or at least some kind of poetic "meaning" so that the experience is not for naught or 2.) is told from the perspective of the perpetrator a la Lolita (I was struck by how much Lolita was a figment, a ghost of Humbert Humbert's imagination, her entire agency erased).
I can't recall any book that so inhabited the delusional mindset of the victim, and was so willing to let it stand uncorrected. A meaningless tragedy. Not only that, the book doesn't even recognize it as tragedy, but allows the reader to interpret it how they want. There's a gutsiness in that.
As for the book on a whole, I felt like the characters were very well written and believable and very unique personalities. But there were parts of the book that bored me, mostly the mid-section, where a lot of backstory was told in less than inspiring prose. And the very end of the book felt anticlimactic. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting it to just end.
February 12, 2021
Via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝. 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧- 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞.
An apt title, Lurkers. On Santa Claus Lane, Korean American sisters Mira and Rosemary are growing up in a home where their father is a mystery, someone they imagine wanted nothing more in life to be somewhere else, or better yet, anyone else. Their mother is clueless about the realities they will soon face. If they lose their home, the girls fear they will have to move back to the one place their mother is comfortable living, Korea. The idea horrifies the two, who can’t even speak their parents native tongue. Long ago, Mr. Park ( their immigrant father) showed promise with his engineering degree but life snowballed and fate led him to work as a busboy at his cousin’s restaurant. Later by marrying their much younger mother, life led him to take the place of his wife’s minister father and become one himself. His daughters don’t understand him, they are too American in their speech and thoughts, disrespectful, and no one realize he has a secret dream of his own. If he can just produce something of value, then things could be different! Misfortune visits and a suicide leaves the Park family reeling.
By the time the girls discover what he was working on, it may be too late and just confound them even more. The Park’s neighbor, Raymond Van Der Holt, a gay horror writer, finds himself on the hook helping Mrs. Park. Her visit is a strange disruption but nothing as odd as his intruder/ghost and at least the Korean housewife comes bearing food. Before long, the strange neighbors infiltrate his quiet life. He doesn’t realize just how deeply he will be connected to them.
Rosemary takes up theater to spice up her college application, under the spell of the seductive Mr. Z, who pushes trust exercises on the students and urges them to let go of their inhibitions. He hones in on Rosemary, paying her the attention she desperately craves but it’s a dangerous game. He demands raw honesty, but he himself is anything but honest. His workshop is a hothouse of sexual innuendos, and he himself is corrupting youth, grooming them. Youngest daughter Mira wants to conjure an entity to haunt their home. She is coming up with strange ideas to stop the sale of their house, tormenting their mother. When a termite inspector visits, her mind strays to devious plans.
Mary-Sue lived a life away from the poisonous chaos of her brother, spending years in a colony of modern ascetics trying to be a better, calmer version of herself. Family intrudes, as does the Vietnam war, and when she finally makes her way home she gathers the last remains of her family. She decides to adopt a Vietnamese orphan. This child, Kate, grows up feeling shadowed by her tragic history. A sullen girl who feels more like a lodger than her mother’s child, despite Mary-Sue’s love, there always seems to be a vast distance between them. Kate’s best friend is Paul, a kid just as disaffected as her. The two spend their teen years never turning romantic, all those should haves. After college she moves back home, years roll on and the two cross paths again. Paul has fifteen year old girl at his side, she assumes it’s his child. This is where it gets seedy and weird, and his explanation for being with the girl is warped.
The stories merge on Santa Claus Lane and at times it’s hard to keep track of. I didn’t much care for the sisters, Mira and Rosemary. Sure, their exasperation with their parents is understandable but they come off as cold fish. Kate and Paul’s tale makes for an uncomfortable read, not because the younger girl as a mirror/ode to Kate was surprising but I was disgusted with the whole mess of it. That Kate isn’t appalled is shocking. It’s a perverse bunch. Honestly, in the end, the saddest thing is I felt sorry only for the characters who aren’t given much space- Mr. and Mrs. Park. If there are redeeming qualities here it is in poor Raymond. The supernatural bits confounded me, sort of threw off the story. The letter at the end would have made for a far more meaningful, affecting story I would have gobbled up. It had all the emotion I was searching for in the rest of the book. Why I liked parts of it has to do with the immigrant experience, leaving behind their origins, the feeling of searching for an identity and how Kate never felt she belonged or deserved anything was rich writing. Too, the struggle Mr. Park faced trying to fit into this American life. It’s awful, honest. What I could do without, the sex which was not erotic, just felt voyeuristic and not at all my cup of tea. The sleazy men dominated the tale, my God, it’s low belly bastards haunting the book and I could not stand it. The writing is at times intelligent but a lot of the uncomfortable stuff doesn’t sit well. I think Tan can write, but I felt like the characters just kept running away from me. When it comes to Paul and Mr. Z- don’t get me started.
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Soho Press
𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝. 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧- 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞.
An apt title, Lurkers. On Santa Claus Lane, Korean American sisters Mira and Rosemary are growing up in a home where their father is a mystery, someone they imagine wanted nothing more in life to be somewhere else, or better yet, anyone else. Their mother is clueless about the realities they will soon face. If they lose their home, the girls fear they will have to move back to the one place their mother is comfortable living, Korea. The idea horrifies the two, who can’t even speak their parents native tongue. Long ago, Mr. Park ( their immigrant father) showed promise with his engineering degree but life snowballed and fate led him to work as a busboy at his cousin’s restaurant. Later by marrying their much younger mother, life led him to take the place of his wife’s minister father and become one himself. His daughters don’t understand him, they are too American in their speech and thoughts, disrespectful, and no one realize he has a secret dream of his own. If he can just produce something of value, then things could be different! Misfortune visits and a suicide leaves the Park family reeling.
By the time the girls discover what he was working on, it may be too late and just confound them even more. The Park’s neighbor, Raymond Van Der Holt, a gay horror writer, finds himself on the hook helping Mrs. Park. Her visit is a strange disruption but nothing as odd as his intruder/ghost and at least the Korean housewife comes bearing food. Before long, the strange neighbors infiltrate his quiet life. He doesn’t realize just how deeply he will be connected to them.
Rosemary takes up theater to spice up her college application, under the spell of the seductive Mr. Z, who pushes trust exercises on the students and urges them to let go of their inhibitions. He hones in on Rosemary, paying her the attention she desperately craves but it’s a dangerous game. He demands raw honesty, but he himself is anything but honest. His workshop is a hothouse of sexual innuendos, and he himself is corrupting youth, grooming them. Youngest daughter Mira wants to conjure an entity to haunt their home. She is coming up with strange ideas to stop the sale of their house, tormenting their mother. When a termite inspector visits, her mind strays to devious plans.
Mary-Sue lived a life away from the poisonous chaos of her brother, spending years in a colony of modern ascetics trying to be a better, calmer version of herself. Family intrudes, as does the Vietnam war, and when she finally makes her way home she gathers the last remains of her family. She decides to adopt a Vietnamese orphan. This child, Kate, grows up feeling shadowed by her tragic history. A sullen girl who feels more like a lodger than her mother’s child, despite Mary-Sue’s love, there always seems to be a vast distance between them. Kate’s best friend is Paul, a kid just as disaffected as her. The two spend their teen years never turning romantic, all those should haves. After college she moves back home, years roll on and the two cross paths again. Paul has fifteen year old girl at his side, she assumes it’s his child. This is where it gets seedy and weird, and his explanation for being with the girl is warped.
The stories merge on Santa Claus Lane and at times it’s hard to keep track of. I didn’t much care for the sisters, Mira and Rosemary. Sure, their exasperation with their parents is understandable but they come off as cold fish. Kate and Paul’s tale makes for an uncomfortable read, not because the younger girl as a mirror/ode to Kate was surprising but I was disgusted with the whole mess of it. That Kate isn’t appalled is shocking. It’s a perverse bunch. Honestly, in the end, the saddest thing is I felt sorry only for the characters who aren’t given much space- Mr. and Mrs. Park. If there are redeeming qualities here it is in poor Raymond. The supernatural bits confounded me, sort of threw off the story. The letter at the end would have made for a far more meaningful, affecting story I would have gobbled up. It had all the emotion I was searching for in the rest of the book. Why I liked parts of it has to do with the immigrant experience, leaving behind their origins, the feeling of searching for an identity and how Kate never felt she belonged or deserved anything was rich writing. Too, the struggle Mr. Park faced trying to fit into this American life. It’s awful, honest. What I could do without, the sex which was not erotic, just felt voyeuristic and not at all my cup of tea. The sleazy men dominated the tale, my God, it’s low belly bastards haunting the book and I could not stand it. The writing is at times intelligent but a lot of the uncomfortable stuff doesn’t sit well. I think Tan can write, but I felt like the characters just kept running away from me. When it comes to Paul and Mr. Z- don’t get me started.
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Soho Press
October 9, 2020
Lurkers is a novel about neighbours whose lives intersect in a suburb of LA. Despite setting this book in multicultural southern California, the author writes about race in a very hamfisted way. Even background characters need to be identified as the "glossy Latina" or the "petite Latina". The characters who don't speak English as a first language are given cartoonish dialects. While there are some interesting plot lines here, they would be much better served in the hands of a more sensitive writer. I had a hard time caring about even the more sympathetic characters and they are easily drowned out by the two-dimensional unlikeable ones. It's hard to discern the tone of this book. None of the serious plot events seem to have any stakes to them but there isn't enough (successful) levity to make it comedic either. It's not a good book.
April 8, 2021
"Lurkers" by Sandi Tan was a delicious and slightly depraved romp. I thought the writing was sharp, funny, and very tongue-in-cheek. I think this book is getting a lot of unfair feedback. There are some disturbing subject matter but I thought it was handled tastefully. Also, I think people need to remember this novel is a SATIRE. The subplots and adult themes are supposed to be written in an off-color way. Not meant for the light-hearted and easily offended. This book had me hooked until the last 30 pages. The ending was so rushed and certain storylines didn't feel resolved, and I was left with unanswered questions. That was my only gripe. The story is so breezy and full of personality. I was hooked after the first chapter. Usually I'm not a fan of intersecting storylines, but this one was strong because of the writing style and character development. Every character was unique. None of them felt interchangeable or wooden. I think my favorite was Mira, she's such a little pistol. And would you look at that cover art!?!? It's simply divine.
Thank you, Netgalley and Soho Press for the digital ARC.
Thank you, Netgalley and Soho Press for the digital ARC.
December 23, 2020
I liked a lot of the pieces of this but the whole is pretty content to leave all kinds of dangling threads, and sometimes as a reader you can't quite tell whether you've missed something or not. I do like ambiguity, but here I couldn't always tell when something was purposely ambiguous, which is trickier. Tan has a lot of interesting ideas and characters, which isn't surprising if you've seen her film SHIRKERS.
May 8, 2021
Sometimes a book should not work. On paper it makes no sense. Lack of plot? Hate that. Characters with confusing motives? The worst. Just sort of ends at some point? Why bother? Coming of age? How cliche.
Despite all of that I loved this book. The author describes it as a coming of age book for characters 15-65 and that is the perfect description. All of the characters feel real. They are all flawed but not so badly that I don't believe they are real. I'm left wanting more.
Despite all of that I loved this book. The author describes it as a coming of age book for characters 15-65 and that is the perfect description. All of the characters feel real. They are all flawed but not so badly that I don't believe they are real. I'm left wanting more.
January 26, 2021
Holy moly what a book LURKERS is. I could not put it down the past few days. I fell in love with the author, Sandi Tan, after seeing her documentary SHIRKERS last year (it's on Netflix and I implore you to watch it!) I was so excited to see she had written a novel and was super excited to get a early copy of it. It does not disappoint, especially if you are in the mood for some dark humor, twisted storylines, and characters like you have never come across in writing before.
Set in 2006 in Southern California, we meet the inhabitants of Santa Claus Lane, consisting of a Korean-American family with two precocious teenage girls, a gay horror author living in a hermetically sealed mansion, and a late bloomer mother who adopts a Vietnam refugee 20 years prior. Their lives collide in completely wild ways and Tan's writing will both keep you guessing and glued to the page. Fair warning, many of the shocking moments can also be cringeworthy and uncomfortable, but I felt safe with Tan and knew she could pull off the outrageous and controversial moments. The characters do not hold back, and their points of view often questionable, but it paints a vivid picture and the pay-off in the end certainly works. Highly recommend LURKERS if you are in the mood for something off-beat and unforgettable.
Thank you to Soho Press for providing an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The book comes out March 30, 2021!
Set in 2006 in Southern California, we meet the inhabitants of Santa Claus Lane, consisting of a Korean-American family with two precocious teenage girls, a gay horror author living in a hermetically sealed mansion, and a late bloomer mother who adopts a Vietnam refugee 20 years prior. Their lives collide in completely wild ways and Tan's writing will both keep you guessing and glued to the page. Fair warning, many of the shocking moments can also be cringeworthy and uncomfortable, but I felt safe with Tan and knew she could pull off the outrageous and controversial moments. The characters do not hold back, and their points of view often questionable, but it paints a vivid picture and the pay-off in the end certainly works. Highly recommend LURKERS if you are in the mood for something off-beat and unforgettable.
Thank you to Soho Press for providing an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The book comes out March 30, 2021!
April 26, 2021
I loved Sandi Tans award winning autobiographical documentary Shirkers which investigates the mystery of stolen film footage, betrayal of trust and coming of age. So I was intrigued to find out about her writing style and how the clear voice that comes through on the screen transmutes to the page.
The book is set in suburban Los Angeles on the whimsically named Santa Claus Lane and here we meet a disparate cast of characters. We begin with the Park family who are South Korean immigrants, Mr Park dies by suicide and leads his family to find a collection of short stories which are in the "so bad they are good" mould. We meet Mary-Sue and adopted daughter Kate (brought from Vietnam) who seems unable to reconcile her life with her Vietnamese roots and then there is Raymond a lonely horror novelist coming to terms with suburbia.
We then have a trio of male characters who quite frankly I detested, Bluto a brooding, unhealthy presence lurking in Kate's life, Mr.Zehring drama teacher with a penchant for the young and nubile, and Arik a manipulative, violent boyfirend.
The book was gripping but for me an uncomfortable read given the portrayal of mens manipulation of women. I know some readers found the sex, swearing and violence not to their tastes but all I can say is that I didn't find any of this gratuitous. It is a novel about people, place and consistent with it's setting in the early 2000s.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, all views are my own.
The book is set in suburban Los Angeles on the whimsically named Santa Claus Lane and here we meet a disparate cast of characters. We begin with the Park family who are South Korean immigrants, Mr Park dies by suicide and leads his family to find a collection of short stories which are in the "so bad they are good" mould. We meet Mary-Sue and adopted daughter Kate (brought from Vietnam) who seems unable to reconcile her life with her Vietnamese roots and then there is Raymond a lonely horror novelist coming to terms with suburbia.
We then have a trio of male characters who quite frankly I detested, Bluto a brooding, unhealthy presence lurking in Kate's life, Mr.Zehring drama teacher with a penchant for the young and nubile, and Arik a manipulative, violent boyfirend.
The book was gripping but for me an uncomfortable read given the portrayal of mens manipulation of women. I know some readers found the sex, swearing and violence not to their tastes but all I can say is that I didn't find any of this gratuitous. It is a novel about people, place and consistent with it's setting in the early 2000s.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, all views are my own.
February 1, 2022
This book started out so strangely that I was unsure (1) If I could follow along and (2) If I could even become invested enough to finish it. I ended up really enjoying it. Lurkers gives the reader a peek into the personal lives of our neighbors; the people we see day to day as we get into our cars or walk our dog. It is a stark reminder that everyone has a story and what you see is definitely not what you get or, for that matter, a reminder that we each have a history and a variety of experiences who make us who we are. The characters in this story, the residents of Santa Claus Lane, embody a typical American neighborhood. Tan paints that picture in her narrative and then zooms the reader into how differences can complement each other and highlight hidden similarities/needs. There were moments where the story took sharp, muddled turns that lost me a bit but the primary message of humanity, healing (following tragedy of individual journeys), and connectedness prevailed.
April 28, 2021
I've tried to come up what I want to say about this book for many hours now but I don't have anything really to say. Didn't left an enough impression on me to me to have any opion on it. Don't know how I really feelt for it.
August 7, 2021
3.5 rounded to 4
March 26, 2021
Although there were elements to this debut novel that rubbed me the wrong way, it is well written and is an #ownvoices novel about Asian Americans. My #bookreview is on my blog here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2021/03/2...
September 14, 2021
I caught the Bookworm (KCRW podcast) interview with Tan. It got me to put Lurker's on my to-read list.
It's great to stumble upon a novel (and a writer) so good.
Lurker's has a structure similar to a Robert Altman movie: an ensemble cast with a loose plot, but in the end it all ties together (L.A Shortcuts, Nashville). In "Lurkers" Santa Clause Lane of (fictional) Alta Vista (like Altadena) connects the cast.
There's the Park's from Korea, and their two daughters Rosemarie & Mira (short for Miracle). Next door is Raymond van der Holt the famous enough sci-fi / horror writer, and across the street from the Parks is hippie alumnus Mary-Sue and her Operation Baby Lift survivor adopted daughter Kate.
This is the cast of characters on Santa Clause Lane.
Tan introduces us to the cast and location and get the stew simmering with the suicide of Mr Parkl, the girls' father.
Then Lurkers follows the characters separate conflicts and struggles until it all comes together.
So why five stars? Tan doesn't an excellent job of creating flesh & blood characters from the page. Like Salinger. And on top of it, this novel is very funny through out. She has a quick wit, especially for satire. And she can mix it in with some very squirmy situations.
A creepy, borderline pedophile, theater teacher. And yet another character who is most definitely a pedophile? And then there's all the teen sex.
Tan pulls it all together - the humor in it, it's disturbing, and what's most brilliant is this is all done through the eyes of the characters themselves. There's no preaching in these scenes of squirmy (if not disturbing) escapades, instead it's the emotional moments of these characters at play for us readers to take in, and often with laughs. It's the same playbook that Flaubert did with Madam Bovary, no preaching on adultery, let the characters make it all real. No preaching on teen sex or creepy pedo men, let all ensemble speak for themselves.
This novel has probably the hottest, funniest, and disturbing teen sex scenes of any story ever.
One other thing. Why Lurkers? Why is Lurker the right title? First, in an interview Tan says she did not set out to rhyme it with her documentary Shirkers. It's Lurkers, because these main characters of Santa Clause Lane all have this in common: They're otherly - they struggle to belong, to be seen, and they end up looking in and wanting in, more than they're actually in the mix.
These two quotes:
It's great to stumble upon a novel (and a writer) so good.
Lurker's has a structure similar to a Robert Altman movie: an ensemble cast with a loose plot, but in the end it all ties together (L.A Shortcuts, Nashville). In "Lurkers" Santa Clause Lane of (fictional) Alta Vista (like Altadena) connects the cast.
There's the Park's from Korea, and their two daughters Rosemarie & Mira (short for Miracle). Next door is Raymond van der Holt the famous enough sci-fi / horror writer, and across the street from the Parks is hippie alumnus Mary-Sue and her Operation Baby Lift survivor adopted daughter Kate.
This is the cast of characters on Santa Clause Lane.
Tan introduces us to the cast and location and get the stew simmering with the suicide of Mr Parkl, the girls' father.
Then Lurkers follows the characters separate conflicts and struggles until it all comes together.
So why five stars? Tan doesn't an excellent job of creating flesh & blood characters from the page. Like Salinger. And on top of it, this novel is very funny through out. She has a quick wit, especially for satire. And she can mix it in with some very squirmy situations.
A creepy, borderline pedophile, theater teacher. And yet another character who is most definitely a pedophile? And then there's all the teen sex.
Tan pulls it all together - the humor in it, it's disturbing, and what's most brilliant is this is all done through the eyes of the characters themselves. There's no preaching in these scenes of squirmy (if not disturbing) escapades, instead it's the emotional moments of these characters at play for us readers to take in, and often with laughs. It's the same playbook that Flaubert did with Madam Bovary, no preaching on adultery, let the characters make it all real. No preaching on teen sex or creepy pedo men, let all ensemble speak for themselves.
This novel has probably the hottest, funniest, and disturbing teen sex scenes of any story ever.
One other thing. Why Lurkers? Why is Lurker the right title? First, in an interview Tan says she did not set out to rhyme it with her documentary Shirkers. It's Lurkers, because these main characters of Santa Clause Lane all have this in common: They're otherly - they struggle to belong, to be seen, and they end up looking in and wanting in, more than they're actually in the mix.
These two quotes:
"... You can’t just waltz back into people’s lives and expect everything to be the same as you left it, OK? You can’t just lurk, and then show your face when it’s convenient to you!
He couldn’t be classified a stalker because he never got out of his car, never did anything worrying. He simply lurked. When the cops did nothing, her husband bought the family a bull terrier to stand guard.
May 12, 2021
This is unlike any book I've ever encountered. As soon as I learned that the action in Lurkers mostly happens in a neighborhood on Santa Claus Lane, I knew we were going to click. This book is absurd..... but is it? Nothing quite left the realm of reality, but it manages to be deeply disturbing in all of the most hilarious ways. Honestly, I really enjoyed all of the characters Tan created in this novel, but the precocious Park sisters are hard to beat. The stuff that came out of their mouths was just so funny. Honorable mention goes to Kate, who had the zingiest one liners. This book will definitely stick in my brain as the book that most frequently had me stopping mid-laugh because whatever I was laughing at........ was also completely effed up. It was a wild ride!
Can't wait to see what Tan puts out next. I'm here for it.
My thanks to Soho Press and NetGalley for the review copy!
Can't wait to see what Tan puts out next. I'm here for it.
My thanks to Soho Press and NetGalley for the review copy!
July 19, 2021
A most appropriate title. Reading this book made me feel like a creepy lurker, peeping on the residents of Santa Clause Lane. I don't know why I expected the book to be more of a dark comedy/satire (maybe the name of the street?) when the jacket lists one of the characters as a pedophile drama teacher who grooms his students.
To be honest, this book is a depressing read. I like the exploration of the underbelly of suburbia thing and there is also a look into trans-racial adoption and immigrant generational differences, but it does seem like the characters in this book are constantly punished, with no pay-off. Especially Mrs. Park. Her character has very little depth. Though we pick the novel in the aftermath of her husband's suicide, we only see her through the eyes of others, particularly her sullen teens. Her ending was so unsatisfying.
To be honest, this book is a depressing read. I like the exploration of the underbelly of suburbia thing and there is also a look into trans-racial adoption and immigrant generational differences, but it does seem like the characters in this book are constantly punished, with no pay-off. Especially Mrs. Park. Her character has very little depth. Though we pick the novel in the aftermath of her husband's suicide, we only see her through the eyes of others, particularly her sullen teens. Her ending was so unsatisfying.
May 5, 2021
Really enjoyed this novel--I honestly couldn't put it down. The characters were interesting, tragic, and motivated. Really suits my flair for dark humor. There's lots of drama that's quite heartbreaking as well. Impressed by the intricately woven storylines. Author Kevin Kwan (Crazy Rich Asians) is right when he calls the characters "demented" and the book "laugh out loud funny"--and that's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me.
Expect raw stories about deeply-flawed and interesting people mixed in with a hint of supernatural, not a saccharine, sugar-coated fairyland.
Expect raw stories about deeply-flawed and interesting people mixed in with a hint of supernatural, not a saccharine, sugar-coated fairyland.
October 26, 2023
Very fast read! It’s really hard to put down. The cast of characters is all pretty bad people, so they’re hard to root for. But you never know what they’re going to do next which makes them intriguing.
Telling a story about the people who live in one area gives organic reasons for them to interact. However it read largely as a collection of disparate stories that didn’t really mesh until the end. Even that was limited and felt forced — the neighbors who end up “bonding” (I’ll use that word to avoid spoilers) hadn’t had enough interaction that made their later relationship make sense. Overall not a bad book but I would pause before reading another book by this author, especially if it was a similar style (disparate yet related stories, as opposed to a traditional novel).
Telling a story about the people who live in one area gives organic reasons for them to interact. However it read largely as a collection of disparate stories that didn’t really mesh until the end. Even that was limited and felt forced — the neighbors who end up “bonding” (I’ll use that word to avoid spoilers) hadn’t had enough interaction that made their later relationship make sense. Overall not a bad book but I would pause before reading another book by this author, especially if it was a similar style (disparate yet related stories, as opposed to a traditional novel).
July 8, 2021
I felt compelled by the opening chapter where Tan describes this dad playing Grand Theft Auto, but instead of hijacking cars or clocking people with guns he just wanders the streets until he finds the ocean and then just … hangs. The writing is quite strong and moving from one unexpected description like this to another is what kept me going.
In the afterword the author talks about writing a collection of coming of age stories where the characters are coming to different ages at the same time and I wish I had this thought in my head when I started and had a better idea of what she was trying to accomplish as it gave me something more to think about. At first I wasn’t sure she succeeded because I was thinking of coming of age as maybe being rewarding or more obviously enlightening to the character, but that is too closed minded for this work.
In the afterword the author talks about writing a collection of coming of age stories where the characters are coming to different ages at the same time and I wish I had this thought in my head when I started and had a better idea of what she was trying to accomplish as it gave me something more to think about. At first I wasn’t sure she succeeded because I was thinking of coming of age as maybe being rewarding or more obviously enlightening to the character, but that is too closed minded for this work.
May 16, 2022
Woof, this book. Initially intrigued by the story of the Park family, I soon regretted picking up this book. It made me feel angry, miserable and grossed out, and that seems like the intention of the author, so well-done? But I really didn't enjoy the experience of reading this, which never gets better and actively gets worse. (You might say, Rachel, why finish it? Well, I needed to kill 2 hours so I had nothing to do but literally scroll the internet mindless or keep reading and, frankly, neither option was great so here I am.)
April 24, 2023
There was zero balance in this book between the gross/disturbing/icky/depressing and… anything else. At some point all the events just seemed to pile up for shock value which felt incredibly boring. I also wasn’t a fan of some of the language around race, fatness and homosexuality. Like, I get that the events take place in 2006 mostly but the book was still written in 2020 and I couldn’t see a justification for such choices.
February 6, 2023
I bought this book during a short vacation in Singapore and it seemed the most serendipitous thing to find this at a book store near where I was staying, after having really liked the author's doccie, Shirkers. The book has the same eerie vibe as the doccie as well, naïve, oddly hopeful teenage girls and double the creepy older white men. There were stretches of this book that felt quite flat but there were also parts that peaked enough to make the story interesting.
An interesting novel with a strange setting and characters, and rather good writing. A little sad, a little humorous and a little unsettling overall. Three to three and a half stars, I think.
An interesting novel with a strange setting and characters, and rather good writing. A little sad, a little humorous and a little unsettling overall. Three to three and a half stars, I think.
October 7, 2021
Really, Really, wanted something to happen with ANY of the characters, and it didn’t. By the end of the book I didn’t like any of the characters. I disliked the authors portrayal of Iowa and people from Iowa. The description of the state and the people weren’t flattering or accurate. 2.5/5 🤟🏻
April 9, 2021
4.5 I loved this!
May 11, 2023
Lurkers is like a weird-core version of Little Children (by Tom Perrotta), and I loved every minute of it.
June 1, 2021
"Lurkers", by Singaporean filmmaker Sandi Tan, follows different people living in the same neighborhood in the LA suburbs as their lives cross at times. There are the Park sisters, two Korean-American teenage girls at odds with their mother who wants to move the whole family back to Korea. There is Mary-Sue and her Vietnamese daughter, Kate, adopted following the Vietnam war. And lastly, there is Raymond Van Der Holt, a horror writer, dealing with his own house haunting. As all the characters are dealing with the different issues in their lives, their paths occasionally cross.
There were sections in the book that had me truly engrossed in the story, and then there were sections that had my attention wander off constantly. This inconsistency made it difficult for me to become overall involved in the story. I feel perhaps it was because a lot of the times the different storylines felt completely separate from one another, and it felt like getting pulled out of a story and get throw in another and sometimes it felt difficult to keep up. The characters were not particularly likable, hence the title, but that was not an issue with me, as people are not always particularly likeable. The storylines were definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, which was alright also, but overall, I felt a lot of things were not wrapped up, and quite frankly, I was not sure if it was because I wasn't paying attention or not. I enjoyed the writing and Tan's humor, so I am interested in reading more by her. Overall, I liked the book, but apart from different bits and pieces, did not find it memorable. Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
There were sections in the book that had me truly engrossed in the story, and then there were sections that had my attention wander off constantly. This inconsistency made it difficult for me to become overall involved in the story. I feel perhaps it was because a lot of the times the different storylines felt completely separate from one another, and it felt like getting pulled out of a story and get throw in another and sometimes it felt difficult to keep up. The characters were not particularly likable, hence the title, but that was not an issue with me, as people are not always particularly likeable. The storylines were definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, which was alright also, but overall, I felt a lot of things were not wrapped up, and quite frankly, I was not sure if it was because I wasn't paying attention or not. I enjoyed the writing and Tan's humor, so I am interested in reading more by her. Overall, I liked the book, but apart from different bits and pieces, did not find it memorable. Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
February 28, 2021
I have to tell you that I really struggled with this book. While the blurb sounded interesting, the book was not. It was filled with violence, anger, foul language, and sex. Nothing really that makes a great book in my opinion. It didn't make the characters memorable. It made them caricatures of people everyone should strive to avoid in their lifetime.
I have always felt that good writing doesn't need foul language in excess to get one's point across; and I am far from a prude, but I'd rather read something with substance, which this book does not have. What it does have is a group of people who are afraid of life. They are stalkers and avoiders, and I just couldn't get into the book. People who obsess over little girls are repulsive, as are people who "lurk" outside others windows. Who on earth wants to be with someone who thinks that's okay to do? Ugh. I also didn't care for the fact that the author obviously hates men, as she creates male characters that are sexual deviants, and not a single decent guy among them.
There really isn't a solid plot to the book, it just rambles throughout, just a bunch of people who do all the things normal people wouldn't consider, and there isn't a single likable character among them.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a book I will remember.
I received an advance copy from the publisher but this in no way influenced my review.
I have always felt that good writing doesn't need foul language in excess to get one's point across; and I am far from a prude, but I'd rather read something with substance, which this book does not have. What it does have is a group of people who are afraid of life. They are stalkers and avoiders, and I just couldn't get into the book. People who obsess over little girls are repulsive, as are people who "lurk" outside others windows. Who on earth wants to be with someone who thinks that's okay to do? Ugh. I also didn't care for the fact that the author obviously hates men, as she creates male characters that are sexual deviants, and not a single decent guy among them.
There really isn't a solid plot to the book, it just rambles throughout, just a bunch of people who do all the things normal people wouldn't consider, and there isn't a single likable character among them.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a book I will remember.
I received an advance copy from the publisher but this in no way influenced my review.
August 20, 2021
I thought the first story about the Park family was interesting, but the rest of it was sad, boring and weird.
I don't mind dark narratives, but there was no relief from the disturbing things that were happening all the time.
I got the satire of suburban lives, but I did not find it amusing, or enjoy reading about it.
I felt as if I needed to wash my hands & face and read something wholesome after this book.
I don't mind dark narratives, but there was no relief from the disturbing things that were happening all the time.
I got the satire of suburban lives, but I did not find it amusing, or enjoy reading about it.
I felt as if I needed to wash my hands & face and read something wholesome after this book.
July 8, 2021
The ending was super rushed. Some ambiguity is fun and keeps one guessing but I was left feeling like I missed something.
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