Rescue Me
Grade : C

What should I say about Rescue Me? Well, first of all, it's definitely not a romance. It's fiction. Gritty, overly realistic fiction about people you probably wouldn't like if you met them. Get-out-the-razor-blades-'cause-life-is-terrible-and-surely-not-gonna-get-any-better type fiction. Bleak. If that's what you like, then this is the book for you.

Amanda McHenry is a college graduate working a sucky underpaid receptionist job in 1985 Los Angeles. She lives with her drug dealer brother, his drug head girlfriend, and their infant son, Madison, in their mother's decrepit house. Her long-term boyfriend James has put their relationship on hold to go to Harvard Law, and Amanda could honestly care less. In fact, his departure has freed time for her to notice her brother's old friend, Gabe Williams, who has morphed into a huge, dark, very appealing, motorcycle-riding man of mystery.

But other concerns occupy Amanda's mind more than Gabe. Primary among them is Madison's safety, since neither of his parents can stop snorting coke long enough to see to his basic needs. And then there is her job, which was going nowhere. Recently, she has slept with her boss, disparaged his prowess as a lover, and now she may no longer have a job. Finally, there's her once bright and shiny brother who's becoming more erratic and skeletal-looking every day.

This is not an enjoyable read; the characters, with the exception of Gabe, are not likable, and even he exhibited some questionable behavior. Amanda's saving grace was that she truly cared about the welfare of her nephew. Otherwise, she was rather spineless. I was frankly horrified by all of the other characters. They spent all of their time slowly draining their lives of any meaning by using an astonishing array of chemicals and sleeping with any thing that moved.

And on the topic of sex, I have to clarify something. When I label the sensuality of this book as "subtle" that means that the sex scenes are not graphically described. But there are a lot of people having sex. A lot of people having indiscriminate sex - with people they don't even know, let alone like, respect, or love. Call me a prude, but my heart does not go pitter pat at the idea of strangers swapping fluids. I thought these people were disgusting.

However, if you can discount the air of bleakness and pathos that permeates Rescue Me, it was a pretty easy and quick read, and it's filled with a cynical, bitter humor. I can't say Grazer doesn't have talent and if you like to read relentlessly depressing fiction, this might be the book for you. As for me, I don't like to read depressing fiction. In fact, that's why I read romance, as an alternative to the depressing stuff found on the fiction and literary fiction shelves. There were a total of about five or six pages that I enjoyed in Rescue Me, including the ending which, unfortunately, seemed somewhat tacked on. You don't expect that a book that has been dismally sad for 350 pages to suddenly have an upswing. And, again unfortunately, this little upswing was nowhere near enough to redeem the book in my eyes. So don't say you weren't warned. Read this one at your own risk. It's a real downer.

Reviewed by Rachel Potter
Grade : C
Book Type: Fiction

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date : September 5, 2001

Publication Date: 2005

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

Rachel Potter

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

28 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
28
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x