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The Seaplane on Final Approach
A lusty young woman seeks out experience on a remote Alaskan homestead in this erotic and darkly humorous novel
Mira is a loner, a drop out, an obsessive fascinated by the concept of sleaze. She wants two to move to Alaska and find the tattooed fisherman that’s the object of her desire. Her single-mindedness takes her to the remote Kodiak Archipelago, where she finds work at a homestead-turned-tourist-lodge offering a carousel of meticulously scripted Alaskan experiences.
But the lodge is failing and, as life on Lavender Island becomes increasingly claustrophobic and strange, Mira’s plans for her future become more elaborate and perverse.
Part meditation on unhinged longing, part biting commentary on eco-tourism and the mythology of the American West, and part yearning portrayal of people at the end of their tether, The Seaplane on Final Approach is wholly original, “a perfect blend of deep, dark humor, sadness, and (of course), adolescent horniness (Literary Hub).”
Mira is a loner, a drop out, an obsessive fascinated by the concept of sleaze. She wants two to move to Alaska and find the tattooed fisherman that’s the object of her desire. Her single-mindedness takes her to the remote Kodiak Archipelago, where she finds work at a homestead-turned-tourist-lodge offering a carousel of meticulously scripted Alaskan experiences.
But the lodge is failing and, as life on Lavender Island becomes increasingly claustrophobic and strange, Mira’s plans for her future become more elaborate and perverse.
Part meditation on unhinged longing, part biting commentary on eco-tourism and the mythology of the American West, and part yearning portrayal of people at the end of their tether, The Seaplane on Final Approach is wholly original, “a perfect blend of deep, dark humor, sadness, and (of course), adolescent horniness (Literary Hub).”
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2022
59 people are currently reading
9841 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Rukeyser
2 books76 followersRebecca Rukeyser's debut novel, The Seaplane on Final Approach, is coming June 2022 from Doubleday (USA) and Granta Books (UK).
Her fiction has appeared in Zyzzyva, The Massachusetts Review, was awarded the Berlin Senate Stipend for Non-German Literature, and anthologized in Best American Nonrequired Reading. She received an MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Originally from Davis, California, Rebecca lives in Berlin.
Her fiction has appeared in Zyzzyva, The Massachusetts Review, was awarded the Berlin Senate Stipend for Non-German Literature, and anthologized in Best American Nonrequired Reading. She received an MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Originally from Davis, California, Rebecca lives in Berlin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 276 reviews
November 2, 2020
This novel is sexy and dark and strange and absolutely perfect.
February 1, 2022
I'm not really sure what to make of this story, but calling it "Hilarious, sensual, and charged with menace..." is not at all accurate.
1. There was nothing 'hilarious' about this story. Nothing. Not one thing.
2. Sensual? Again, nope. A 17/18-year-old girl obsessed with sleaze and her older step-cousin (her Aunts stepson) was not sensual. It was kind of gross.
3. Charged with menace...I mean, menace isn't the right word for what was happening on that island. At no time did I feel like anyone was in any real danger, even if that's what the author was trying to convey. It felt more like awkward discomfort.
Mira, our main character, is a complete weirdo obsessed with her step-cousin and all things 'sleazy'. She's working a summer job as the baker for the floundering Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge on a remote island off the Alaskan coast. Now, maybe I'm just too old (41) to really 'get' her, but she comes off as very naive and ridiculous. I kept telling myself that most girls her age are still trying to find themselves, so I tried to cut her some slack.
Maureen and Stu are in a marriage that is clearly over, but they still feel the need to put on a show for their dwindling guests. Erin, Polly, and Chef are the other employees, and they're all pretty one-dimensional.
I get Erin's job in the story. She's the hot young 'temptress' that lures Stu away from his wife and nothing more. The other two, though, are less defined. Polly's character diminishes a little more and a little more as the story goes on until finally, she's reduced to a near-catatonic child by the very end. Other than bringing Erin to the island with her, she serves no purpose. You could completely erase her from the story, and nothing would change.
The ending with Chef felt abrupt and out of place. You get through this entire story where nothing really happens until finally, in the last chapter, there's a bit of drama with a background character who was only just introduced a few pages before the book ended. It was a case of 'too-little-too-late' for me. I didn't feel any shock or concern because the characters involved were so minor, and the act was random and unintentional.
I think this would have made a better short story. As it is, nothing much happens. It's just a snapshot into the lives of 6 employees over the course of one Alaskan summer told by a teenager who isn't as philosophical as she thinks she is.
The writing isn't terrible. It has a vagueness that I don't particularly care for, but others may enjoy. I think my main problem here is, based on the description, I was expecting something similar to Christopher Moore or Carl Hiaasen, and that is NOT what I got, so I may be a tad bitter.
Overall though, while this wasn't my jam, I don't discourage anyone from reading it. I don't think the description does it much justice. If you like character studies or the slow, quiet deterioration of things, then you'll dig this. If you're looking for suspense and sensual drama, then you have come to the wrong place because you will not find it here.
1. There was nothing 'hilarious' about this story. Nothing. Not one thing.
2. Sensual? Again, nope. A 17/18-year-old girl obsessed with sleaze and her older step-cousin (her Aunts stepson) was not sensual. It was kind of gross.
3. Charged with menace...I mean, menace isn't the right word for what was happening on that island. At no time did I feel like anyone was in any real danger, even if that's what the author was trying to convey. It felt more like awkward discomfort.
Mira, our main character, is a complete weirdo obsessed with her step-cousin and all things 'sleazy'. She's working a summer job as the baker for the floundering Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge on a remote island off the Alaskan coast. Now, maybe I'm just too old (41) to really 'get' her, but she comes off as very naive and ridiculous. I kept telling myself that most girls her age are still trying to find themselves, so I tried to cut her some slack.
Maureen and Stu are in a marriage that is clearly over, but they still feel the need to put on a show for their dwindling guests. Erin, Polly, and Chef are the other employees, and they're all pretty one-dimensional.
I get Erin's job in the story. She's the hot young 'temptress' that lures Stu away from his wife and nothing more. The other two, though, are less defined. Polly's character diminishes a little more and a little more as the story goes on until finally, she's reduced to a near-catatonic child by the very end. Other than bringing Erin to the island with her, she serves no purpose. You could completely erase her from the story, and nothing would change.
The ending with Chef felt abrupt and out of place. You get through this entire story where nothing really happens until finally, in the last chapter, there's a bit of drama with a background character who was only just introduced a few pages before the book ended. It was a case of 'too-little-too-late' for me. I didn't feel any shock or concern because the characters involved were so minor, and the act was random and unintentional.
I think this would have made a better short story. As it is, nothing much happens. It's just a snapshot into the lives of 6 employees over the course of one Alaskan summer told by a teenager who isn't as philosophical as she thinks she is.
The writing isn't terrible. It has a vagueness that I don't particularly care for, but others may enjoy. I think my main problem here is, based on the description, I was expecting something similar to Christopher Moore or Carl Hiaasen, and that is NOT what I got, so I may be a tad bitter.
Overall though, while this wasn't my jam, I don't discourage anyone from reading it. I don't think the description does it much justice. If you like character studies or the slow, quiet deterioration of things, then you'll dig this. If you're looking for suspense and sensual drama, then you have come to the wrong place because you will not find it here.
June 9, 2022
I don't know if I've ever seen such a disconnect between a book blurb and the actual contents of the book - but perhaps I haven't read enough. The blurb describes this story as "psychologically razor sharp" and says the characters "tear aside the façade of good manners to reveal all of our deepest needs and naked desires," but that wasn't the case for me. I also found no humor - maybe it went over my head. The "sensuality" was more like overt perviness (which is fine, but not sensual). Also - menace? - no. There were no real stakes by the time the "real danger" arrived as I could not bring myself to care about a single one of the one dimensional characters or what happened to them.
Mira is the main character with the entire story told from her perspective. She is an oddball, completely obsessed with the concept of "sleaze" as well as the idea of a future with her admittedly sleazy step-cousin Ed (ew). The rest of the cast is a handful of archetypes in the background for Mira to observe and speculate on, but they are barely important. Most of the story takes place inside Mira's head and there is minimal plot to speak of. I have no issue with character-focused books that skimp on plot, but somehow this skimped on characters and plot and we're left with the musings of an odd, horny teenager on a remote island with a smattering of melodrama.
It really felt like this book was trying to DO something - find some deep meaning? Tell an important tale of a failing homestead? I really don't know. But it certainly doesn't match the blurb. The writing isn't unpleasant to read and the rapid-fire-chapters speed up the reading pace, but if you are expecting tension and sensuality, it's not here. This is more...shallow angst of a teenager trying to be cerebral.
Mira is the main character with the entire story told from her perspective. She is an oddball, completely obsessed with the concept of "sleaze" as well as the idea of a future with her admittedly sleazy step-cousin Ed (ew). The rest of the cast is a handful of archetypes in the background for Mira to observe and speculate on, but they are barely important. Most of the story takes place inside Mira's head and there is minimal plot to speak of. I have no issue with character-focused books that skimp on plot, but somehow this skimped on characters and plot and we're left with the musings of an odd, horny teenager on a remote island with a smattering of melodrama.
It really felt like this book was trying to DO something - find some deep meaning? Tell an important tale of a failing homestead? I really don't know. But it certainly doesn't match the blurb. The writing isn't unpleasant to read and the rapid-fire-chapters speed up the reading pace, but if you are expecting tension and sensuality, it's not here. This is more...shallow angst of a teenager trying to be cerebral.
Read
September 19, 2022Okay, I'm now 55% through and fell asleep three times getting there, I guess I should quit this one. Rukeyser's debut is narrated by 18-year-old Mira who is a seasonal worker at Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge, an Alaskan tourist destination. The young woman is obsessed with the concept of sleaze and largely lives inside her own head, detached from reality, but is slowly drawn into the dynamics between her coworkers, from a married couple over other teens to an addict. I could not get into this, although it got high praise from great writers like Carmen Maria Machado and Rachel Yoder - I just didn't care about Mira's fixations on abstract ideas and on Ed, her aunt's stepson.
June 20, 2022
I'm glad I went into this novel totally blind. What a quirky and trippy little story. This is a great debut. I really enjoyed Rebecca Rukeyser's writing style. It was simple but packed a punch. The story flowed nicely, and nothing was overdone or awkward. I also really liked the foreshadowing. Everything made perfect sense and it tide up the ending in a satisfying way. I think this was first time I didn't mind reading the point-of-view of a horny, but lonely teenage girl, Mira. Great coming-of-age story of a girl discovering her sexuality. But mostly, I liked all the characters on the homestead/wilderness lodge. Maureen and Stu were a great dysfunctional couple. I really enjoy stories that take place in Alaska, and this one didn't disappoint. This was a quick and snappy read. Only 10 chapters, not too long, not too short. The ending was straight-up slapstick and yet tragic as well. If you like quirky reads, you will enjoy this. And the cover art is gorgeous!
Thank you, Netgalley and Doubleday for the digital ARC.
Thank you, Netgalley and Doubleday for the digital ARC.
April 6, 2023
barely perverse, not even a fraction feral, and to call this psychological on any level vastly overestimates the fullness or complexity of the characters. this is a book written by an mfa graduate, so its strengths are largely stylistic/aesthetic, and i would only really recommend it if you're into nature / flora + fauna writing, as the book's biggest draw is its ability to flesh out the alaskan setting. 1.8/5.
May 15, 2021
I'm obsessed with this sleazy and brilliant book. If you're into horny narrators and novels set in remote holiday resorts and seedy dudes with missing teeth, let's be friends. And also get a copy of this as soon as you can, because it is EVERYTHING you want to read.
April 27, 2022
Have you all seen the story about the woman who kept notes on a lifetime of reading, then after her death, her family found the code she used to rate books? "Readable Piffle" was one of her ratings.
This book is Readable Piffle.
There are some fine sentences, some mildly funny observations, and the beginnings of a darkly comedic, interesting book here. But Rukeyser never gets beyond the surface of the premise. Why is Mira obsessed with sleaze? Why is Maureen & Stu's marriage falling apart? The book synopsis says this book is "charged with menace," and, primed by that blurb, I did spend most of the book waiting for danger. But when something finally happened, it felt inconsequential. And that's ultimately how I felt about the whole book: it was fine but nothing that will stick with me.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy
This book is Readable Piffle.
There are some fine sentences, some mildly funny observations, and the beginnings of a darkly comedic, interesting book here. But Rukeyser never gets beyond the surface of the premise. Why is Mira obsessed with sleaze? Why is Maureen & Stu's marriage falling apart? The book synopsis says this book is "charged with menace," and, primed by that blurb, I did spend most of the book waiting for danger. But when something finally happened, it felt inconsequential. And that's ultimately how I felt about the whole book: it was fine but nothing that will stick with me.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy
July 2, 2022
that was so boring ? the last fifty pages were good but otherwise I didn't really get the idea of the story...
September 3, 2022
Rebecca Rukeyser writes beautifully about gross things. Every word in this book had a purpose, every image was vivid, and every paragraph was crafted with precision.
And yet, the content of the book was so wackadoodle that I’m still deciding if I hated it or if I loved it. Perhaps trying to quantify whether or not this book is enjoyable is missing the point - The Seaplane on Final Approach leans so strongly into the weird and bizarre, that to review it with a normal criteria seems redundant.
Mira is a young woman spending the summer working on a remote Alaskan island while developing her theory on what constitutes ‘sleaze.’ She’s obsessed with sleaze and fantasises so strongly about a sexy local fisherman that even staring at his name in the phone book makes her reach climax. Yeah, it’s a weird book.
I would call it a coming of age tale but the main character doesn’t seem to learn anything about herself or the world along the way. Her only epiphanies are to do with what shampoo ingredient is the most erotic, or how men with one-syllable names make the best lovers…
There are laughs to be had with such random musings - just maybe internal, silent laughs… like funny “huh” not funny “ha ha”.
I certainly appreciate what the author was trying to accomplish, but she didn't quite land the seaplane…
And yet, the content of the book was so wackadoodle that I’m still deciding if I hated it or if I loved it. Perhaps trying to quantify whether or not this book is enjoyable is missing the point - The Seaplane on Final Approach leans so strongly into the weird and bizarre, that to review it with a normal criteria seems redundant.
Mira is a young woman spending the summer working on a remote Alaskan island while developing her theory on what constitutes ‘sleaze.’ She’s obsessed with sleaze and fantasises so strongly about a sexy local fisherman that even staring at his name in the phone book makes her reach climax. Yeah, it’s a weird book.
I would call it a coming of age tale but the main character doesn’t seem to learn anything about herself or the world along the way. Her only epiphanies are to do with what shampoo ingredient is the most erotic, or how men with one-syllable names make the best lovers…
There are laughs to be had with such random musings - just maybe internal, silent laughs… like funny “huh” not funny “ha ha”.
I certainly appreciate what the author was trying to accomplish, but she didn't quite land the seaplane…
September 6, 2022
2.5 ⭐️ for a weird and odd little book about a nasty teen obsessed with figuring out what “sleaze” and adulthood mean. I loved the Alaskan setting, but other than that this story was mostly vibes (but strange ones). I’d bet some good money that this was a fever dream turned book.
It suffered from pacing and lacked depth. It’s pretty short so I wasn’t expecting anything too well developed (even though it’s for sure possible for books under 300 pages), but quite literally nothing was addressed enough for me to care. It’s definitely a quirky book that made me want to continue reading about all of these oddball characters, but I feel like I kept turning the page because I WANTED there to be more to the story. I suppose in some ways I did enjoy it, kind of a snippet into very peculiar and disturbing people. However, the author left me with a billion unresolved questions (and it definitely didn’t feel purposefully done 🥲). Like, why is the MC obsessed with figuring out what “sleaze” is???? Whyyyy is the big issue with the main couple an issue and what even is it because it’s not explained??? This review sucks and it’s still better than what I read 😬 sorry
It suffered from pacing and lacked depth. It’s pretty short so I wasn’t expecting anything too well developed (even though it’s for sure possible for books under 300 pages), but quite literally nothing was addressed enough for me to care. It’s definitely a quirky book that made me want to continue reading about all of these oddball characters, but I feel like I kept turning the page because I WANTED there to be more to the story. I suppose in some ways I did enjoy it, kind of a snippet into very peculiar and disturbing people. However, the author left me with a billion unresolved questions (and it definitely didn’t feel purposefully done 🥲). Like, why is the MC obsessed with figuring out what “sleaze” is???? Whyyyy is the big issue with the main couple an issue and what even is it because it’s not explained??? This review sucks and it’s still better than what I read 😬 sorry
February 7, 2024
I completely understand why people would rate this low, but respectfully I disagree
Read it if you liked Pizza Girl
Read it if you liked Pizza Girl
July 8, 2022
I don't know, I was into it. I certainly feel the impulse to be grossed out by Mira and the way she thinks about sleaze, but ultimately, there's something innocent about her. What it means to be sleazy and sexual and adult is all in her horny adolescent brain. But while she is judgy and kind of awful in her horny adolescent brain, she is kind to the people around her, comforting them, cleaning up their messes. I mean, even her study of sleaze is all in pursuit of a stable adult relationship, a stable adult life. Meanwhile, Stu, who she doesn't deem as sleazy, stomps around and wrecks people.
Rukeyser's interview in Lit Hub adds an interesting layer to this, too. She talks about Westerns and how the masculine heroes are always in pursuit of purity out on the Last Frontier, but those heroes and the way they express their masculinity are actually pretty terrible and cruel. So, maybe Mira is skipping to the chase with her sleaze/Ed obsession.
Oh, and that name! Ed! In the interview, Rukeyser explains, "Edward is a name steeped in rugged hot guy tradition, of hot that gets weird when you look at it too long. Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre is a hot busted drunk, Edward Cullen is a hot homicidal corpse, etc. But they’re granted salvation because of their immoderate, prolonged yearning. Enter Ed; enter Mira’s immoderate, prolonged yearning."
I don't know. It's a funny, weird, sharp little book. Keep in mind, though, that I am, in fact, one of those notorious Ottessa Moshfegh fans. So take what I say with a pinch of salt or whatever.
Rukeyser's interview in Lit Hub adds an interesting layer to this, too. She talks about Westerns and how the masculine heroes are always in pursuit of purity out on the Last Frontier, but those heroes and the way they express their masculinity are actually pretty terrible and cruel. So, maybe Mira is skipping to the chase with her sleaze/Ed obsession.
Oh, and that name! Ed! In the interview, Rukeyser explains, "Edward is a name steeped in rugged hot guy tradition, of hot that gets weird when you look at it too long. Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre is a hot busted drunk, Edward Cullen is a hot homicidal corpse, etc. But they’re granted salvation because of their immoderate, prolonged yearning. Enter Ed; enter Mira’s immoderate, prolonged yearning."
I don't know. It's a funny, weird, sharp little book. Keep in mind, though, that I am, in fact, one of those notorious Ottessa Moshfegh fans. So take what I say with a pinch of salt or whatever.
June 9, 2022
2.5 ⭐️
This quirky book was published today and it’s a tricky one to review. While the writing is excellent and it has received a favourable write-up from Kirkus Reviews, the story didn’t do it for me.
Mira is a young girl obsessed with “sleaze” who heads off to Alaska for the season to work in the Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge, run by Stu and Maureen, whose lodge (and marriage) is failing. Mira is in pursuit of Ed, a young fisherman she is a little obsessed with, but gets caught up with the sleazy goings-on at the lodge.
I loved the writing and the homestead setting in Alaska but that’s where my enthusiasm for the book begins and ends. It was described as “hilarious, sensual and charged with menace” - to be honest, it was more a case of moderately quirkily funny and slightly, oddly perverse.
I would read whatever Rukeyser writes next and I think there’s a cohort of people who would love this (it’s pitched at Ottessa Moshfegh fans). Maybe get it from the library if your curiosity is piqued?
I’m putting this squarely in the “weird little book” category - I mean that in the nicest possible way and I know there are a few of you (not looking at anyone in particular 😂) who will immediately think, ooh that’s for me 😅. 2.5/5 ⭐️
*The Seaplane on Final Approach is published today 9 June by @grantabooks. Many thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for an advance digital copy of the book. As always, this is an honest review.*
This quirky book was published today and it’s a tricky one to review. While the writing is excellent and it has received a favourable write-up from Kirkus Reviews, the story didn’t do it for me.
Mira is a young girl obsessed with “sleaze” who heads off to Alaska for the season to work in the Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge, run by Stu and Maureen, whose lodge (and marriage) is failing. Mira is in pursuit of Ed, a young fisherman she is a little obsessed with, but gets caught up with the sleazy goings-on at the lodge.
I loved the writing and the homestead setting in Alaska but that’s where my enthusiasm for the book begins and ends. It was described as “hilarious, sensual and charged with menace” - to be honest, it was more a case of moderately quirkily funny and slightly, oddly perverse.
I would read whatever Rukeyser writes next and I think there’s a cohort of people who would love this (it’s pitched at Ottessa Moshfegh fans). Maybe get it from the library if your curiosity is piqued?
I’m putting this squarely in the “weird little book” category - I mean that in the nicest possible way and I know there are a few of you (not looking at anyone in particular 😂) who will immediately think, ooh that’s for me 😅. 2.5/5 ⭐️
*The Seaplane on Final Approach is published today 9 June by @grantabooks. Many thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for an advance digital copy of the book. As always, this is an honest review.*
June 16, 2022
Not sure what to even say about this book. I thought I was reading a coming of age/Alaskan/Remote Inn book, and honestly I don’t know what that was. The story went no where. To many characters and the back story did not play much part into the main story (if there even was one).
June 29, 2022
This book has no plot line, and no cohesive story. It is a page turner, because each page you are desperate to see if it gets better. But each page leaves you more confused and bewildered. Very rare I’d say this was a full waste of time and a beach day
January 31, 2023
got kinda wild at the end there! really enjoyed this actually, it was a pretty easy read. thank u 2 phoebe bridgers for the rec mwah
June 9, 2022
It's uncool or whatever to Love litfic as we Love other genres but who cares, this book worked for me in pretty much every way. Subjectively perfect. Sometimes Iowa delivers. Thanks to GR, the publisher, and Rukeyser for this copy.
January 23, 2025
i totally get why this book generally gets low ratings, but something about it just WORKED for me. the alaskan setting becomes a character in and of itself. this was just a BIZARRE book, but i think i loved it.
July 7, 2022
what was even the point of this book?
July 12, 2022
Alright so. What even.
This is the second time in a week that I've read a book that had a completely inaccurate blurb on the back. What's up with that?
The blurb using the words "hilarious," "sensual," and "charged with menace" just does not fit. I did not find anything to be remotely funny in this book, like not even a shot and a miss - I did not see what was SUPPOSED to be funny in this book. Likewise, I do not see how this can be called sensual. A 17 year old girl having nonstop perverted thoughts about her step-cousin is not my kind of sensual.
I also did not see how this was tense or dark. There was so little insight into what was happening with Maureen and Stu's marriage, Erin and Polly's relationship, etc that I never felt invested or concerned with what was happening. I never felt like anyone was in danger.
Overall I simply didn't "get" this book. The way it's written gives the impression that I am meant to walk away with something important from it, a lesson or purpose, but whatever that is it was totally lost on me. The ending was a non ending and honestly I feel empty inside.
This is the second time in a week that I've read a book that had a completely inaccurate blurb on the back. What's up with that?
The blurb using the words "hilarious," "sensual," and "charged with menace" just does not fit. I did not find anything to be remotely funny in this book, like not even a shot and a miss - I did not see what was SUPPOSED to be funny in this book. Likewise, I do not see how this can be called sensual. A 17 year old girl having nonstop perverted thoughts about her step-cousin is not my kind of sensual.
I also did not see how this was tense or dark. There was so little insight into what was happening with Maureen and Stu's marriage, Erin and Polly's relationship, etc that I never felt invested or concerned with what was happening. I never felt like anyone was in danger.
Overall I simply didn't "get" this book. The way it's written gives the impression that I am meant to walk away with something important from it, a lesson or purpose, but whatever that is it was totally lost on me. The ending was a non ending and honestly I feel empty inside.
July 21, 2022
Warning: hot melted chaos. I write all my rough drafts for reviews in my Notes app almost immediately after I’ve finished reading and I always say I’ll edit them. I never edit them. “IM ME” -Lil Wayne lol I’m so random 🤪✌️
1. admire narrator’a tenacity. She seems stubborn but drifting? Love the ironies and the hypocrisies lifted up like turning over a rock and the worm curls — I think Claire does this? Laissez faire — that’s the descriptor I’m looking for for Mira!! Maybe b cos I was medium horny when I read it. Made me excited to travel more go to Alaska and have sex hahaha 😷🙌It wasn’t sexy in the way I thought it’d be sexy. Oozy discomfiting; an unhurried pining. Her horniness was like yeah science — she approaches from curiosity. love that she wasn’t cowed by her own desire?? She instead chases after it because it’s the best thing she thinks she can do. Clinical but twisted man.
The imagery was so lush. Throwing out the trash with the tide, the dogs and the sunroom and Chef. Some reviews I just read didn’t feel the characters were three-dimensional and I’ll get to that in another way below but firstly: I can see that critique but I disagree!! They weren’t told so much as shown — in their little motions and gestures. Where their hands go eyes go feet go breath goes. And if they were at times less-dimensional I think it was a conscious choice by everyone involved (the characters, Mira, the author obviously) and served the storyZxkdkkdd and now more on WHY that🙀
I have worked in hospitality specifically glamping so a LOTTTT of this resonated 4 me — the scripts the repetition the American band standing for foreigners the white lies the staging of it all. When you work at a place like that, guests see you as a part of the setting — not as a person with autonomy. That they all felt like cartoons of themselves at times was brilliant and the ending was Chef’s kiss hahahahaha! I just made that joke!!!!
Did Stu become Mira’s ultimate sleazebag!!?? His name is monosyllabic!!! Did she sort of mold herself in the image of Maureen (with a little Stu sprinkles?) afterward?
the needlework of the text: Writing was lulling — very easy to read but then trip over certain images and turns of phrase around the room. Ebb and flow. Mwah kisses!!!bWould read again — in the future future future. Nothing happened but I loved doing nothing with Mira. Would read Rebecca’s future work as well!! Very very solid four stars!!! GOD I wanna watch I love dick so bad now hahahahehehehe I also feel that personally I embody a very specific kind of laziness maybe an entitled laziness 🥴like I am entitled to my rest and relaxation to glutting myself that is what I am owed by this world after doing things I hate. Anyway this novel made me feel better about not laziness b cos I don’t think Mira was lazy per se — A very special benevolent kind of sanguine? Is sanguine the word do I know what sanguine means??! It’s? Languish — ah brb lemme hit the thesaurus dinosaur I mean I think languid is the best. She lounges in things most other people would normally pass by. Or get over. I like this about this book — it is lingering. Like a Jolly Rancher that’s been on your car floor all summer you find in November. You eat it, of course, and it’s stuck in your teeth until evening when you finally brush them. Delicoious speaking of teeth oh Ed!!!
Anyway!
This book makes me wanna be perceived as a sexual being and that’s hot!
1. admire narrator’a tenacity. She seems stubborn but drifting? Love the ironies and the hypocrisies lifted up like turning over a rock and the worm curls — I think Claire does this? Laissez faire — that’s the descriptor I’m looking for for Mira!! Maybe b cos I was medium horny when I read it. Made me excited to travel more go to Alaska and have sex hahaha 😷🙌It wasn’t sexy in the way I thought it’d be sexy. Oozy discomfiting; an unhurried pining. Her horniness was like yeah science — she approaches from curiosity. love that she wasn’t cowed by her own desire?? She instead chases after it because it’s the best thing she thinks she can do. Clinical but twisted man.
The imagery was so lush. Throwing out the trash with the tide, the dogs and the sunroom and Chef. Some reviews I just read didn’t feel the characters were three-dimensional and I’ll get to that in another way below but firstly: I can see that critique but I disagree!! They weren’t told so much as shown — in their little motions and gestures. Where their hands go eyes go feet go breath goes. And if they were at times less-dimensional I think it was a conscious choice by everyone involved (the characters, Mira, the author obviously) and served the storyZxkdkkdd and now more on WHY that🙀
I have worked in hospitality specifically glamping so a LOTTTT of this resonated 4 me — the scripts the repetition the American band standing for foreigners the white lies the staging of it all. When you work at a place like that, guests see you as a part of the setting — not as a person with autonomy. That they all felt like cartoons of themselves at times was brilliant and the ending was Chef’s kiss hahahahaha! I just made that joke!!!!
Did Stu become Mira’s ultimate sleazebag!!?? His name is monosyllabic!!! Did she sort of mold herself in the image of Maureen (with a little Stu sprinkles?) afterward?
the needlework of the text: Writing was lulling — very easy to read but then trip over certain images and turns of phrase around the room. Ebb and flow. Mwah kisses!!!bWould read again — in the future future future. Nothing happened but I loved doing nothing with Mira. Would read Rebecca’s future work as well!! Very very solid four stars!!! GOD I wanna watch I love dick so bad now hahahahehehehe I also feel that personally I embody a very specific kind of laziness maybe an entitled laziness 🥴like I am entitled to my rest and relaxation to glutting myself that is what I am owed by this world after doing things I hate. Anyway this novel made me feel better about not laziness b cos I don’t think Mira was lazy per se — A very special benevolent kind of sanguine? Is sanguine the word do I know what sanguine means??! It’s? Languish — ah brb lemme hit the thesaurus dinosaur I mean I think languid is the best. She lounges in things most other people would normally pass by. Or get over. I like this about this book — it is lingering. Like a Jolly Rancher that’s been on your car floor all summer you find in November. You eat it, of course, and it’s stuck in your teeth until evening when you finally brush them. Delicoious speaking of teeth oh Ed!!!
Anyway!
This book makes me wanna be perceived as a sexual being and that’s hot!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2023
Rating: 3 stars
The first thing you need to know about this book is that everything described in the blurb is much more pathetic than it sounds. Looking at my rating, you can tell this didn’t really bother me, but someone who paid closer attention would expect an intense thriller, something that would keep them on the edge of their seat. In actuality, the novel is a character study, languid and melancholy. Still, there was a sense of unease that comes with the inability to put the truth into words.
Our main character is Mira, a nineteen-year-old who has found work as a baker at the Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge, a homestead in an isolated part of Alaska. Throughout the book, we discover that she has multiple reasons for going to such a place, the most relevant being her desire to explore the concept of sleaze. These attempts at exploration are as cringy and pretentious as you’d expect, but I felt that the book did a good job of exploring Mira’s background and why she was the way she was. We also get introduced to the other inhabitants at the lodge, all with their own idiosyncrasies.
The prose is simple, but detailed. Even though this is a chronological depiction, the events of the lodge are interspersed with other parts of Mira’s life, with all the subjectivity and ambiguity that comes with memory. For me, the biggest highlight of the book was the setting of Alaska. It was easy to imagine being there myself. I thought the writing did a great job of rendering the harsh beauty of the land, and the nature of describing it to a guest versus actually experiencing it for yourself.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC for review!
The first thing you need to know about this book is that everything described in the blurb is much more pathetic than it sounds. Looking at my rating, you can tell this didn’t really bother me, but someone who paid closer attention would expect an intense thriller, something that would keep them on the edge of their seat. In actuality, the novel is a character study, languid and melancholy. Still, there was a sense of unease that comes with the inability to put the truth into words.
Our main character is Mira, a nineteen-year-old who has found work as a baker at the Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge, a homestead in an isolated part of Alaska. Throughout the book, we discover that she has multiple reasons for going to such a place, the most relevant being her desire to explore the concept of sleaze. These attempts at exploration are as cringy and pretentious as you’d expect, but I felt that the book did a good job of exploring Mira’s background and why she was the way she was. We also get introduced to the other inhabitants at the lodge, all with their own idiosyncrasies.
The prose is simple, but detailed. Even though this is a chronological depiction, the events of the lodge are interspersed with other parts of Mira’s life, with all the subjectivity and ambiguity that comes with memory. For me, the biggest highlight of the book was the setting of Alaska. It was easy to imagine being there myself. I thought the writing did a great job of rendering the harsh beauty of the land, and the nature of describing it to a guest versus actually experiencing it for yourself.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC for review!
April 9, 2022
This novel really got under my skin and I couldn't put it down. The teenage narrator was very relatable to me - odd, horny, vulnerable, winsome, both very intelligent and incredibly stupid. The author is hugely talented - the book has real depth and an acute eye for the hypocrisy and delusions of the adults in the book, who are supposed to be the ones running the show. Many times I laughed out loud, but the author has points to make too. I think the novel is really interesting on the subject of nascent female sexuality and offers a nuanced take on the subject of older men preying on younger women. The setting is also brilliantly written - it really took me to the wilds of Alaska. So many reasons to add this to your TBR pile, but it is the unforgettable narrator who'll remain with you long after you finish the book.
July 14, 2023
pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of Alaskan stuff! I’m always hesitant to read books set in AK by non-alaskan authors. it felt very meta to listen to this audiobook about someone working as a baker for tourists while baking at 3am in fairbanks & I’ve worked in tourism here before too! (it’s possible that this brought up my rating lol)
November 2, 2020
The first approach is the last seaplane to her story
December 26, 2022
Absolutely do not read this book
April 28, 2023
Why is she so obsessed with "sleaze?"
July 30, 2022
This book has some really beautiful passages, but it's bogged down as a whole by extreme MFA program energy. It's written in stupid little sections, each a page or so long or less, so the story can't build any momentum. Mira's obsession with "sleaze"--which, to me, was already a played-out concept before this book came out--goes nowhere. The big dramatic climax at the end felt ridiculous and seemed to exist only because the author couldn't figure out how to end the book otherwise. This story really deserved a quieter conclusion than that, something that would have been more consistent with the tone of the last few pages.
The setting was immersive and the few parts that were good were really good, but my overall experience of this book was one big eyeroll.
The setting was immersive and the few parts that were good were really good, but my overall experience of this book was one big eyeroll.
January 5, 2023
I could not relate to the writing or have any reason to continue reading it past 20% as I was bored. Excuse my Irish tongue for saying the story and narrative was SHITE. This was a bummer and a big one.
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