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Noir: A Love Story
A Love Story is a detective novel without a detective, a polyphonic shift between twenty-six perspectives in an attempt to find the truth behind two a young woman burned alive at a crowded intersection, and a man hanging lifeless from an ancient tree. From modern America to an ancient culture lost in its depths, from faith to nationalism, a cacophony of men and women who never knew these two-and the few that almost did-tell a story of lives transformed, one town that exists nowhere, and what it means to have a dream.
172 pages, Paperback
First published July 25, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 7, 2014
I read an earlier version of this and really enjoyed what Rathke did in creating a world so fragile in design that the only way it can keep from falling to pieces is due to the strength of the characters that move through it. A fine and accomplished piece of fiction worthy of your time.
August 22, 2014
I love the fable-like worlds to which Rathke is able to take readers. Perhaps beautiful, perhaps rotting from the inside, perhaps both...or perhaps there is no way to know. Rathke's writing is readily readable, but you can puzzle over it for days. The entire narrative structure of this one makes final answers, as well as truth itself, elusive. It's masterfully done. Not the puzzler I expected, but the puzzler I was delighted to find. I'm still trying to sort it out, even though I know it isn't possible. It grabs that kind of a hold.
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July 3, 2014This is the first novel I ever finished. It's very dear to me.
I hope it will be dear to you too.
Here's more information about the novel and its composition.
I hope it will be dear to you too.
Here's more information about the novel and its composition.
July 18, 2015
This is a really well written book. It seemed both fragile and safe at the same time. The shifting perspectives works splendidly and makes the book a joy to read, with none of the perspectives seeming cliché.
I would definitely recommend reading this book!
I would definitely recommend reading this book!
November 22, 2014
Wow. I'm not sure what the fuck I just read, but I liked it.
July 28, 2014
This is the text the book-wallah in the oneiric bazaar chooses for you when he sees your nightburn from the rubicon beach.
I read this in places of nature, alone in my shabby room at night, and in places where innocents play. There may be two sentences in the entire work that could be improved, and nary a one bearing the patina of workshop planing.
Find your spot under the MotherTree and take this in.
I read this in places of nature, alone in my shabby room at night, and in places where innocents play. There may be two sentences in the entire work that could be improved, and nary a one bearing the patina of workshop planing.
Find your spot under the MotherTree and take this in.
December 30, 2019
This was my favorite read this year, hands down. The world that unfurls in Noir is something special, told through the perspectives of an entire town, where every character has a unique point of view. It takes 26--emphasis here, TWENTY SIX--different narrators to unfold this tale of slippery slopes and complex ideologies. And yet, with so much to say and so many people saying it, there's a precision in this writing. There's a noticeable and dire focus that outlines an intense juxtaposition of a whodunit surrounding a mysterious death and a whydunit with an explainable suicide, all told through an artfully arranged confluence of voices.
This novel covers a lot of ground in just 50,000 words. Imperialism, gentrification, cultural appropriation, racism, all the heavy things. It also delves deeply into the ideas of what it means to be in love, what it means to dream, to have hope and cares and what it means to be truly alive, even when confronted by death. Magical realism and a sense of the fantastic hide behind all these themes, peeking out here and there to give just the right amount of weight and mysticism in the most appropriate yet unexpected ways.
It's hard for me to pinpoint, really, which is the shining star here: the structure or the content. Both are equally measured and beautiful. Though a cacophony of voices, the structure is the more finite of the two; even with all the themes and topics and characters and all, there's still an ambiguity to the story, decisions that the reader has to make for themselves, to fill in the gaps in the storytelling. Rathke says himself, "The narrative here, it isn’t mine. It’s yours. It’s for the reader to construct. I placed the stars in the sky but it’s up to you to write the constellations, to map the landscape of their lives." And that, to me, is truly amazing.
Overall, this story felt so fresh in every way. It makes me really admire the kind of mind something like this could have spawned from, and I'm eager to see and learn more from this author. My Amazon cart is full of his other works as we speak.
This novel covers a lot of ground in just 50,000 words. Imperialism, gentrification, cultural appropriation, racism, all the heavy things. It also delves deeply into the ideas of what it means to be in love, what it means to dream, to have hope and cares and what it means to be truly alive, even when confronted by death. Magical realism and a sense of the fantastic hide behind all these themes, peeking out here and there to give just the right amount of weight and mysticism in the most appropriate yet unexpected ways.
It's hard for me to pinpoint, really, which is the shining star here: the structure or the content. Both are equally measured and beautiful. Though a cacophony of voices, the structure is the more finite of the two; even with all the themes and topics and characters and all, there's still an ambiguity to the story, decisions that the reader has to make for themselves, to fill in the gaps in the storytelling. Rathke says himself, "The narrative here, it isn’t mine. It’s yours. It’s for the reader to construct. I placed the stars in the sky but it’s up to you to write the constellations, to map the landscape of their lives." And that, to me, is truly amazing.
Overall, this story felt so fresh in every way. It makes me really admire the kind of mind something like this could have spawned from, and I'm eager to see and learn more from this author. My Amazon cart is full of his other works as we speak.
December 15, 2019
I only finished this book a few minutes ago, and feel like if I don't write a review now maybe I never will. It won't necessarily be exactly what I meant or wanted to say.
This multiple witness account of a tragedy is a story of heartbreak and of being lost, and has left me feeling both a little lost and a little heartbroken, against a backdrop of other losses and heartbreaks. A detective novel without a detective, it's a slow unwinding of different versions of the truth - or what the narrators think is the truth - some closer to reality (whatever that is) than others, but none of them entirely wrong.
It's also a study of tradition, of family, of being and/or feeling like an outsider, of deception on personal and political levels, of creativity, of relationships and, ultimately, of love.
It's a huge achievement to write a novel this engaging where the protagonists never directly utter a word. Everything is interpretation, like the dreams that swirl through the pages, like life itself.
I loved this book, and sometimes love can break your heart.
This multiple witness account of a tragedy is a story of heartbreak and of being lost, and has left me feeling both a little lost and a little heartbroken, against a backdrop of other losses and heartbreaks. A detective novel without a detective, it's a slow unwinding of different versions of the truth - or what the narrators think is the truth - some closer to reality (whatever that is) than others, but none of them entirely wrong.
It's also a study of tradition, of family, of being and/or feeling like an outsider, of deception on personal and political levels, of creativity, of relationships and, ultimately, of love.
It's a huge achievement to write a novel this engaging where the protagonists never directly utter a word. Everything is interpretation, like the dreams that swirl through the pages, like life itself.
I loved this book, and sometimes love can break your heart.
March 29, 2023
I read this in one sitting while waiting for a plane. I couldn’t stop. The feat that Edward J. Rathke pulls off here is nearly incredible. 27 (or is it 29?) distinct voices all coming together to tell one beautiful story that is at once epic in scope and laser focused in its love. If you want something with a tremendous amount of heart that never once feels false or misplaced, read this. Now. The wonderful sincerity on display here is such a rare thing to find. Read this book and then give it to someone important to you. This is meant to be shared.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews