Review: “The Factory”

OK, y’all … This is a strange one. I’m not even sure how to classify “The Factory” by Hiroko Oyamada. I think I will be perpetually confused by this book. I see a lot of folks describe this as Kafka-esque. Maybe that means something to y’all.

Oyamada gives us a peek inside this vague factory as we follow three new employees and share their experience. As the story progresses – and I use that word with the loosest of meanings – the work these new employees are tasked with becomes more meaningless, the workers become less human and the lines of reality become more blurry.

I’m sure “The Factory” is a commentary or an allegory for the modern corporate machine … but it’s too abstract a tale for me to surmise what exactly the message is supposed to be. Maybe I’m not as smart as I think I am.

Seriously, I can’t even give a good summary of the plot because my first thought when I finished “The Factory” was “What the hell did I just read?!” I felt like I was back in lit class with no idea what the professor was talking about. Every instance of symbolism or imagery I tried to seize on felt forced or like I was reaching for meaning. Maybe that was the point. I don’t know.

There were some gems buried in the murky muck, like some great language and phrases. But they were not enough to save this book for me.

And the format drove me INSANE! Long blocks of text, quickly shifting narratives with no attempt to make smooth transitions. Maybe that was all intentional, but it made it incredibly difficult to follow along. A book that should have taken me two or three hours to read took me DAYS because the format was so maddening.

Look, I’m sure there are folks who LOVE this book. I’m just not one of them. I appreciate what I think Oyamada was trying to do, but it’s still a miss for me. The good news is, “The Factory” satisfies the “a non-European novel in translation” criteria on the 2021 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.

I would suggest only picking this book up if you enjoy being confused and frustrated constantly.

2 out of 5 stars

Review: “The Only Good Indians”

OK, obvi I’ve been on a bit of a horror kick lately. That’s just were I am at this point in the pandemic, OK? Anyway …

This was a weird one. Good, but weird. If you’re a linear thinking/reader, “The Only Good Indians” by Stephen Graham Jones might frustrate you.

I intentionally didn’t look up anything about this book before diving in because I wanted to come at it with an unbiased perspective. This was not at all the story I’d been expecting.

Full disclosure: I listened to the audiobook, and I’m so glad I did. Shaun Taylor-Corbett’s narration of Jones’ words felt so incredibly authentic. This is a story about a group of American Indian men who are haunted – literally – by a heinous act committed a decade prior. Hearing this story in the voice of an indigenous man made it resonate so much more than I think it would have if I had read the book myself.

Jones’ writing style is wickedly cinematic. I can still picture the scenes he set in vivid detail. His writing is also haunting … to the point that I would feel uneasy while listening to the story and feel compelled to look over my shoulder.

As the four main characters in this book are literally stalked by demons of their past, Jones gives us glimpses of the culture and heritage they either have drifted or run from. This book provided an interesting perspective on the relationships indigenous people have with their ancestry and culture and with the feeling of being caught between that world of ritual and the modern world outside the reservation.

I wasn’t in love with the ending of this one, though. It felt a little disjointed and rushed. It definitely jarred me and confused the hell out of me. But I think that might have been the point.

Overall, “The Only Good Indians” is a good addition to the gothic horror genre. Speaking of which, this book satisfies the “genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations or Native American author” criteria of the 2021 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. And the audiobook is definitely the way to go with this one.

3 out of 5 stars