Little Green by Loretta Stinson
I’ll admit that this is not a book that I would normally pick up at the bookstore while browsing or even after just reading a review of it. Books of this nature are usually not something that I like to read. So, when I received it in the mail, courtesy of Hawthorne Books, I was a little bit torn as to whether or not I should read it. However, after finishing the The Walk I turned around in my chair, looked at the books in my queue and decided to not judge the book based upon what little I knew of it and instead read it and judge it after I was finished reading it.
Well, here is my judgment.
Read this book only if you are in a good place. By good place I mean comfortable with your surroundings, your social network (physical, not digital) and happy with your family. I say this because this is a book about heartbreak, abuse, drugs, hardship, pain and one woman’s persistence to fight through it. I’m not going to pretend like the book doesn’t have a happy (or at least somewhat happy) ending but the process of getting there is rough.
This is Mrs. Stinson’s debut novel and it’s a powerful one. It’s a strong statement for survival and perseverance. Her title character, Janie Marek, is thrown into a world that she neither deserves or wants. Eventually, in the story, Janie finds a man, Paul, who she thinks is genuine and will be there for her like no other man has before. Unfortunately for her, she is mistaken. But, as in many stories of domestic violence and abuse Janie finds excuses to keep returning to Paul. Be it her belief that he will change or her belief that she is to blame for everything that happens to her, she finds ways to convince herself that he is as good as it’s going to get.
Janie’s character certainly appears to be naive at times but I think that goes along with growing up in the environment that she is given. There were certainly times in the book that I just wanted to yell “what the f*** are you doing?” or “kill that bastard,” but logic, in these stories, often goes out the window when all you know is abuse.
Luckily, Stinson has several characters in the book who genuinely care for Janie and are always there for her when she needs it most. Whether or not this is realistic or not, I just don’t know. I, personally, am far enough removed and fortunate enough to have very little experience with the things that Janie is dealing with to not really know what her world would actually be like.
I’m not going to try and be a tough guy and say that this book was not up my alley. I mean, like I said, it’s not a book I would normally pick up, but I still enjoyed it. I don’t think it was Stinson’s writing which got to me though, I felt that at times that was lacking and perhaps a bit choppy, but that doesn’t really take anything away from the story which is what really drew me in and kept me interested.
