Title: State of Paradise
Author: Laura Van Den Berg
Purchased hardback bookstore in DC
Started: 8/10/2024
Finished: 8/17/2024
My literary crush with Van Den Berg continues. This book was something of a love letter to Florida, at least it felt that way to this native Floridian who grew up in central FLA and escaped (for lack of a better word). Not at all horror so some readers of Van Den Berg's previous work may be disappointed, but if they are, I'd argue they've focused too much on the stories and not enough on the writing.
Van Den Berg's writing speaks to me the way Denis Johnson's did. Absolutely terrific and drives a literary desire of my own (but I'm far too lazy/comfortable to write more than these blog posts). This is a relatively short novel so I tried to take my time with it.
I don't buy many books as is evidenced by how many of my posts are for library copies. But this was one I wanted to read immediately and to support the author for future works.
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