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fbroom's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn’t put it down. It was charming and exactly what I wanted to read over a short weekend.
sculpthead's review against another edition
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
taygonz's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
zetuslapetus's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mcf's review against another edition
5.0
I think the most impressive thing about The Red Car (and basically EVERYTHING about it is impressive) is how gentle Dermansky's hand on it is. I realize that's a ridiculous thing to say about an author, but in other stories like this once -- a white woman in her 30s dealing with a life she's realized she doesn't love and the choices that got her there -- it often feels as if the writer is dragging the reader through scenes, assembling lessons, and aligning symbols. But The Red Car, somehow, is entirely Leah's story. She is its driving (literally and otherwise) force and, with the lightest of touches, Dermansky guides her, crafting each scene so goddamn perfectly that each and every moment is convincing and every bit of humor a pure delight. As a reader, you never, ever want the adventure to end. I feel entirely unequal to the task of writing about a book as great as this one, so it's something I will be mutely hurling insistently at every reader I know the moment it comes out.
Thanks to WW Norton and NetGalley for the chance to read it.
Thanks to WW Norton and NetGalley for the chance to read it.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
Leah is living in a lackluster Queens apartment with her self-involved husband when she receives word that her friend and former boss has died. Going back to San Francisco, she encounters friends and co-workers from her past as well as meeting a few new people. She also inherits the car her boss died in, a speedy vehicle that frightens Leah, along with her boss's voice in her head.
What is lost in the summary is how very What an odd and perfect book this is. Marcy Dermansky manages to pack so much depth into this slim novel, and I was so sorry when I turned the final page and was finished with it. Leah's voice is so immediate that there was no way to avoid experiencing the book though her eyes, and over the course of the novel, I began to understand her reactions to events (which was very different than what my own reactions would have been).
What is lost in the summary is how very What an odd and perfect book this is. Marcy Dermansky manages to pack so much depth into this slim novel, and I was so sorry when I turned the final page and was finished with it. Leah's voice is so immediate that there was no way to avoid experiencing the book though her eyes, and over the course of the novel, I began to understand her reactions to events (which was very different than what my own reactions would have been).
bianca89279's review against another edition
3.0
The Red Car is the first novel by Dermansky that I read.
The good bits: very short, easy to read and digest.
The rest was kind of meah, if I'm being honest. It wasn't because Leah, the protagonist and the narrator of this novel, wasn't particularly likeable. I like unlikeable female characters, if they stand out and are interesting in some ways, say, think, and do interesting things. Leah was just not that interesting. She's probably attractive because people seem to want to have sex with her, and she got married to an Australian wanna-be writer, whom she doesn't seem that into and whom she finds suffocating - with good reason.
The novel begins when Leah is twenty-three, lives in San Fran and works as an admin assistant. She's forming a close bond with her twenty years her senior boss, Judy. The two are close buddies, have long lunches together, go for drives etc. It's an unusual relationship which seemed very one-sided.
The title refers to Judy's red car, which was, from the description, a sports type of car, l0w to the ground and fast. Leah disliked the car and felt unsafe when she was the passenger.
Ten years later, Leah inherits the car, after Judy's passing.
Within a couple of days, all sorts of unusual things happen. I raised my eyebrow, metaphorically speaking, finding certain events and behaviours unbelievable.
All these things and the detached writing style, plus an out-of-nowhere hearing the dead talk to you made this novel have a dream-like quality, better said, sur-real.
But ultimately, upon finishing it, I felt unsatisfied and thought is that it?
My first encounter with Dermanky's writing didn't impress me much, I'll probably give her another chance to change my mind.
The good bits: very short, easy to read and digest.
The rest was kind of meah, if I'm being honest. It wasn't because Leah, the protagonist and the narrator of this novel, wasn't particularly likeable. I like unlikeable female characters, if they stand out and are interesting in some ways, say, think, and do interesting things. Leah was just not that interesting. She's probably attractive because people seem to want to have sex with her, and she got married to an Australian wanna-be writer, whom she doesn't seem that into and whom she finds suffocating - with good reason.
The novel begins when Leah is twenty-three, lives in San Fran and works as an admin assistant. She's forming a close bond with her twenty years her senior boss, Judy. The two are close buddies, have long lunches together, go for drives etc. It's an unusual relationship which seemed very one-sided.
The title refers to Judy's red car, which was, from the description, a sports type of car, l0w to the ground and fast. Leah disliked the car and felt unsafe when she was the passenger.
Ten years later, Leah inherits the car, after Judy's passing.
Within a couple of days, all sorts of unusual things happen. I raised my eyebrow, metaphorically speaking, finding certain events and behaviours unbelievable.
All these things and the detached writing style, plus an out-of-nowhere hearing the dead talk to you made this novel have a dream-like quality, better said, sur-real.
But ultimately, upon finishing it, I felt unsatisfied and thought is that it?
My first encounter with Dermanky's writing didn't impress me much, I'll probably give her another chance to change my mind.
manaledi's review against another edition
3.0
I started reading this late at night and thought it would be about a car and was confused for awhile until it really was about a car, but despite the literal red car it's much more a metaphorical journey. The writing was great but it was a little strange.