Thrust

This novel by Lidia Yuknavitch is a mess. There are plenty of themes – the destruction of the environment, the exploitation of workers, the meaning of childhood, the role of women – plus time travel and a talking worm and turtle. But despite some effective passages, the whole does not hang together. There is a didactic tone in parts that evokes someone who just learned something and can't stop talking about it. In other sections, alternatively, it is dreamy and diffuse, reminiscent of a teenager smoking his first joint and being fascinated by the worlds contained in his fingertip. A firmer editorial hand was desperately needed.