Clown Girl: A Novel

I read Clown Girl in about two days flat, forgoing sleep and sunshine just to finish the novel. It's dark, twisted, and beautiful with an unwavering voice and a lot of heart. Monica Drake really shines in her debut novel about a clown trying to be an artist in a world that only seems to pay those who sell out to the corporate world. Baloneytown is often a scary place full of drugs, prostitution, and those trying to make a buck at the expense of others. Being true to the art in such a place is certainly a test for Sniffles. And watching her try is a heartbreaking and enjoyable ride to take. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Recently I read somewhere that great novels aren't written anymore - certainly it's true that great novels aren't often published anymore. but Clown Girl stands as a shiny exception. Through spare dialogue, brutal imagery and divine comedy Drake pulls the reader into a vivid world that is mesmerizing, unkind, post-modern and somehow redeeming. If I wrote, "Drake compromises no character to explore complex issues of identity, role and class stereotyping within the gen X slacker world" I would give only a partial impression of her novel. Within this matrix are witty observations and hyperbolic plot lines that additionally provide a surreal, captivating, and yet wholly believable narrative. The clown who makes us laugh, makes us cry, the clown who laughs to cover her own tears are all here in a tale filled with tricks--in every sense of that word. In her crisp, poetic, slight-of- hand, Zen-like style she evokes a landscape where the images are drawn with only a few strokes of her deft ink brush. Rarely have I read anything so fresh, different, and curious. As the person said, who lent Clown Girl to me insisting I would like it, "It is really good." It is not, of course "good" or "really good", it is brilliant and gives me hope that a new generation of talent is out there, pushing us forward, finding yet a different and fascinating way to tell a story.

This is a wonderful mix of sad desperation and intentional unintentional hilarity. Monica Drake's debut novel has captured my heart. I never thought I would find myself relating to a pyro-clown who just wants to feel loved and accepted. I recommend this book to anyone who loves the sardonic comedy of Chuck Palahniuk, Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, or William S. Burroughs.

...the book, yeah. But I'm talking about the character. She's sick and cute and unsure of herself and I fell in love with her. She's like a sick little lost puppy you just want to take home and nurse back to health. This book is so endearing without being at all sentimental. Awesome read from a great new voice in literature.

So you all probably know that Monica workshopped with Chuck Palahniuk, and he refers to her in the intro of "Clown Girl" as the funnier, sexier, darker writer. I really enjoyed her book, it was indeed funny, laugh out loud funny, as well as twisted, dark, sexy and a blast to read. When I look back on 2006 I think it is one of the best books I read, one of the few I LOVED. I look forward to more of her work, and if you haven't gotten this book yet, get it right now.