Kathy is getting married, but she's not quite sure about love and if she's really capable of it. She's preoccupied with the world around her, and how it feels like it's falling apart.
This novel reads as if all in one breath, no stopping, lungs held tight with an unrelenting stream of all of this is happening at once and there's nothing I can do about it. Kathy's observations of the people and environments around her are mixed in with her thoughts, distractions, and recollections. Sentences hold several commas and clauses, and as soon as one sentence ends, another begins.
This style isn't my favorite, but I understand why she chose it. Kathy (like most of us) is constantly checking social media and being inundated with the 24 hour news cycle. This pressing, no-time-to-stop writing mimics the constant stream of information swirling around us.
Crudo is a reactionary novel to the current events in the world: politics, war, racism, etc. especially in America and Britain. Laing ultimately brings love and understanding to the forefront, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the prevailing tension and pain around us, highlighting how hard that love can sometimes be to give and maintain.
When I finished reading the book, I looked at the "Sources" pages in the back and saw loads of references to a woman named Kathy Acker. As it turns out, Laing's Kathy in Crudo is based on the feminist writer Kathy Acker (who I never knew existed until this book oops).
If I knew more about her and her works, perhaps my perception of this novel might have changed. But I was quite let down. Laing's nonfiction work The Lonely City was just so good: she blended personal narrative and insights about art, loneliness, and the state of the world in beautiful, emphatic prose. Crudo, by comparison, didn't feel as whole, compelling, or exciting. It felt like what it was: an amalgamation of tweets, headlines, and snippets from conversations and books without a strong enough unifying voice or character to make it feel truly its own. Sadly, I think I'll stick to her nonfiction.
5/10 📕