Rating: 4 / 5 ⭐️
Death Valley
Author: Melissa Broder
Published: 2023 (Scribner, Simon & Schuster)
Pages: 232 (Hardcover)
Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Contemporary
CW: Brief Sexual Content, Grief, Wilderness Survival, Family Member Dying, Chronic Illness

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope you’re spending this day with your loved one(s) today, and appreciate them every day. This weeks read was a mystifying one for sure. I read “Death Valley” by Melissa Broder. She’s the author of several books including “The Pieces“, which I read years before I started this blog, and the popular “Milk Fed“, which I also want to read at some point. Broder has also written poems and stories for selected publications. “The Pieces” is a book I don’t have a strong memory of, but I remembered it was ridiculous and hilarious so when I saw her most recent book with the surrealist cactus cover, I knew I had to pick it up. I have to admit as a desert dweller (in the Sonoran Desert) this one had some appeal.

“I’m perfectly content to eat by myself in public, so long as the restaurant is crowded. There’s solitude in a crowd”

– Melissa Broder, “Death Valley”

“Death Valley” is a story of grief, contemplation and desert survival. Our narrator is an author who is dealing with the reality of her father dying as he’s currently in hospice, and her husband who has a mysterious chronic illness no one can explain that’s making him weaker as time goes on. She leaves Los Angeles and goes to a Best Western in the California high desert to escape and get inspiration for her next book. On a lonely hike, she spots a large and lush cactus that only she can see and steps through a large gash in side of the cactus, which sets her on a journey to see through her own grief, emotions and relationships.

“This is the problem with human relationships: you come to a person with one feeling and they’re having another”

– Melissa Broder, “Death Valley”

This novel had me laughing out loud at the inner thoughts of the narrator. The writing was so good, and the author has such a poignant but hilariously dry voice. The story felt brief, the book isn’t very long, but the richness and detail of the plot made it feel like a longer experience into pure madness. The narrator’s internal dialogue about the world around her felt comforting and playful, making me the reader feel more connected, before delving into a ridiculous scenario. The author’s exploration of death and grief felt emotional and surreal as Broder guides the reader through those complicated emotions using magical realism. I love the magical realism genre in fiction, personally. For me, it has similar goals the fantasy genre offers, using fantastical elements to explain the present characters’ circumstances, but they take place in present-day reality.

“If I’m honest, I came to escape a feeling—an attempt that’s already going poorly, because unfortunately I’ve brought myself with me, and I see, as the last pink light creeps out to infinity, that I am still the kind of person who makes another person’s coma all about me”

– Melissa Broder, “Death Valley”

If you want to laugh while simultaneously wanting to cry, “Death Valley” is a good book to read. But read up on what you’re getting into first; there are some ridiculous moments. I gave this one a 4/5 ⭐️ because this book is my cup of tea, and the writing and plot with some surreal surprises fit together so well. But there are some messy parts to the writing at times which feel a little unorganized. I’m not sure if that is intentional.

On a totally separate note in case anyone is wondering, I’ve decided to stop writing ‘short reviews’ and stick with writing just ‘reviews’. There’s no pressure of a word count here, and I’m not getting paid to write these at the moment. I found I write better and more often without the tension of how many words I should write, and just write what I want to write. This tension was fault of my own, of course.

Also, I noticed every book I’ve read in 2024 has eyes on the cover.. which is definitely not purposeful. Let me know what you all think of this book if you’ve read it!

_Elizabeth

---

How do I rate the books I write about? Click here