Genre: Surrealist Humor
Release: October 20th
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Add on Goodreads
Night Vale fans rejoice! The Welcome to Night Vale novel is almost
out, and it does not disappoint.
For those unfamiliar with the highly popular podcast, Welcome to Night Vale
started three years ago as a story-based podcast set in the eerie desert town
of Night Vale, where conspiracy theories are true and weird is the norm. Taking
the form of a community radio show hosted by narrator Cecil, Welcome to Night Vale quickly became well
known both for its surreal setting and humor as well as for its clever use of
social commentary.
Welcome
to Night Vale: A Novel effectively pays tribute to the eerie
weirdness of the desert town many of us have become familiar with,
incorporating characters and locations already well known to listeners of the podcast,
while also providing a completely new story easily accessible to those of us
who have never heard of federally mandated pizza or hidden cities under the
bowling alley. The story revolves around two women who deal with living in
Night Vale as a single mother and as a business owner (respectively) in very
different ways. It tackles issues concerning age versus maturity, the right
time to share difficult information with children, and uncertainty over
identity, all with a delicate mix of weird humor and sincerity.
Unfortunately, the novel suffers a
little from stretches of inaction which are only slightly relieved by the various
absurdities of Night Vale. It did at certain points feel very much like an
extended episode of the podcast, which while entertaining felt at times like
the balance between telling the story and establishing the setting became
awkwardly lopsided.
That being said, once the action
picks up the reader is once again pulled eagerly through the strange world of
Night Vale. Overall, Welcome to Night
Vale: A Novel, though a little slow and clunky at times, proved just as
entertaining, spooky, and timely in its treatment of social issues as the
podcast it shares a name with. It makes a great introduction to the world of
Night Vale to newcomers, and scratches at the itch we listeners always feel
between long awaited episodes. A great read for those who enjoy Kafka,
Mikhail Bulgakov, Haruki Murakami, H. P. Lovecraft, or Stephen King.
No comments:
Post a Comment