Up High in the Trees by Kiara Brinkman

The last book I finished was Up High in the Trees by Kiara Brinkman. I think I already want to read it again.

Written from the point of view of an 8-year-old boy with autism, this book is about a family dealing with the unexpected death of a wife/mother. Through Sebby's eyes, we see his father, brother, and sister and their varying states of collapse, all with Sebby's descriptions that lack interpretation--they are simply raw. Sebby's thoughts about his mother, often revealed in his letters to his teacher Ms. Lambert, show he sometimes has more insight into grieving than those around him do. He writes, "'I woke up in the night. I was trying very hard to think about Mother. I wanted to see her in my head, but I was only seeing myself. [...] Mother is farther and farther away from me. I miss her'" (275).

Although the subject matter in this book is sad--and I did cry at times--the story is redemptive. Ultimately, it's about a family surviving a very difficult trial together.

I always particularly enjoy novels written with some aspect of autism in mind, especially when it is treated with dignity. Up High did not disappoint.

The Echo Maker by Richard Powers

The Echo Maker is about Mark Schluter, who is in a coma-causing car accident; his sister, Karin, who travels to nurse him to health; and the brain expert, cognitive neurologist Gerald Weber. Upon waking from his coma, Mark believes the woman who looks and talks like his sister Karin is really a double, an impostor. Karin contacts Weber and asks him to help with Mark's case. Amid trying to help Mark recognize Karin, Karin and Weber also must deal with his increasing paranoia about his mysterious car accident--its causes and participants--all while experiencing their own struggles and shifting identities.

Told from the third person from several different perspectives, the story is sometimes narrated with Mark's point of view in mind, sometimes with Karen's, and sometimes with Weber's.

My impressions upon finishing this book:

Drawn-out and slow
Liberal (politically)
Clever

I guess you could say it wasn't my favorite. This was one of those books I thought about not finishing, but once I'm 300 pages into a book, I figure I might as well make it to the end. The novel has very little action or movement in the plot line. Powers instead slowly examines what's going on in the minds of the characters, which is fine, but still often redundant.

It was also painful for me to read the random, pointless attacks on conservatism and the overt "birds are better than humans" tree-hugger message.

One aspect of the novel I did enjoy was Powers' clever use of changing syntax, diction, and word choice as Mark's brain function and self-awareness return after the accident. When the third-person narrator narrates from Mark's point of view while Mark is in and out of a coma, the language is stilted, choppy, barely making sense. After he comes out of the coma and is recovering in the hospital, the narration begins to make more sense but shows how Mark isn't fully well. Later, out of the hospital, Mark is back to a normal level of brain function, but his paranoia and confusion are evident.

Although Powers' use of interesting, dynamic language is clever, for me it did not redeem the book. Overall, it was still too slow and too annoyingly liberal. I don't think I'd be tempted to read anything by Powers again.

Hi. I'm Katie. I will be linking to this blog from my main blog, The Varelas, which is private. I'm going to post reviews of the books I read and some old favorites, too. Right now I'm reading The Echo Maker by Richard Powers. In my pile to read next are The Hours, Up High in the Trees, and Wolf Boy.