The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
4 stars
“I don’t plan on living a long life. Or a short life, necessarily. I have no plans at all. The thing is you keep existing whether you have a plan to do so or not, until you don’t exist, and then your plans are meaningless.”
Romy Hall finds herself in the Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility with two consecutive life sentences and it’s all because of the Mars Room. If she hadn’t been a dancer there then she wouldn’t have met Kurt Kennedy and she would still be with her son. The Mars Room looks into the harsh and degrading life of female inmates who never had a chance outside of their circumstances. Every woman and man that finds themselves in the prison system and in this novel is a stark representation of the reality of what environment does to those who can’t find a way out. When reading this novel, I was immediately reminded of Eileen (which is a fantastic character study) and her deranged musings. Eileen was a despicable human being and the characters in The Mars Room are in the same vein of apathetic and sympathetically enduring. It’s easy to hate these characters because they have done horrible things, but at the same time they are so very human. It’s an interesting contrast the Kushner captures brilliantly and it’s one of my favorite things about The Mars Room. Not only does Kushner excel at character studies, but her writing is gorgeous. I highlighted so many passages and I would sit back and reflect on certain sentences. Every word here feels intentional. Kushner delivers excellent descriptions of San Francisco and Romy’s turmoil with not appreciating its beauty until it was only a memory. Everything felt vivid and I felt like I was watching a documentary or a TV show unfold.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5
“We are all hopeful things would go differently. They did not go differently. They went this way.”
Romy is an intriguing main character. She is portrayed in such a way that the reader feels incredibly sympathetic towards her plight and the injustice of her trial and lack of ability to defend herself. I must say that Kushner threw me for a loop with Kurt Kennedy’s chapters. I was left feeling still sympathetic towards Romy, but also with a great distaste because it is important to keep in mind that she did brutally murder a man. I’ll just leave this quote here and let you decide whether or not Romy is reliable or not because I still don’t know.
“You can’t believe anything people say. But what they say is all you have.”
I was not a fan of Gordon and his POV. Why was it in this novel? He was a weird creep who was obsessed with Thoreau (obvious red flags) and I didn’t gain anything from his perspective. Doc’s POV (a dirty cop in a men’s correctional facility) is also a weird POV. He is just disgusting and crude. I know he’s supposed to make me uncomfortable, but that doesn’t equate to him being necessary. If half of his POVs were edited down, I probably would have enjoyed those passages more. It does shed light onto misogynistic entitlements that run rampant in people with power though, so it isn’t all nonsense. Kurt Kennedy’s chapters made me think. This guy was a repulsive stalker who had no respect of boundaries and was incredibly entitled to the thought of Romy (aka Vanessa). He shows up at her house in a completely different city after she tries to run away from him and confronts her with his son. Kurt is incredibly disable and can barely walk. He has two canes and to me, is obviously not a threat. However, to a mother, he poses a huge threat. Romy’s reaction is understandable of a woman who has been stalked and fears for the safety of her child.
Character Scale: 4
“That’s how dumpsters got their name. People dump bodies. The bodies of women and girls.”
The ending… what an ending. It was open-ended, but it hints at what probably occurred. I felt satisfied by it and I’m glad that Kushner ended it this way instead of some sappy or implausible happy ending. I do think that The Mars Room will be a favorite for a lot of people. It has a lot of wonderful qualities—the writing and characters. It also is hindered by unnecessary point of views that take away from the Romy’s story. I do recommend this one. I was so excited for this one when I heard about it before it was released and it did not disappoint.
Plotastic Scale: 3.75
Cover Thoughts: I like it. It’s depressing and bleak. Not a favorite of mine, but it has a certain thematic quality to it that represents The Mars Room well.
Thank you, Netgalley and Scribner, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
4 stars
“I don’t plan on living a long life. Or a short life, necessarily. I have no plans at all. The thing is you keep existing whether you have a plan to do so or not, until you don’t exist, and then your plans are meaningless.”
Romy Hall finds herself in the Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility with two consecutive life sentences and it’s all because of the Mars Room. If she hadn’t been a dancer there then she wouldn’t have met Kurt Kennedy and she would still be with her son. The Mars Room looks into the harsh and degrading life of female inmates who never had a chance outside of their circumstances. Every woman and man that finds themselves in the prison system and in this novel is a stark representation of the reality of what environment does to those who can’t find a way out. When reading this novel, I was immediately reminded of Eileen (which is a fantastic character study) and her deranged musings. Eileen was a despicable human being and the characters in The Mars Room are in the same vein of apathetic and sympathetically enduring. It’s easy to hate these characters because they have done horrible things, but at the same time they are so very human. It’s an interesting contrast the Kushner captures brilliantly and it’s one of my favorite things about The Mars Room. Not only does Kushner excel at character studies, but her writing is gorgeous. I highlighted so many passages and I would sit back and reflect on certain sentences. Every word here feels intentional. Kushner delivers excellent descriptions of San Francisco and Romy’s turmoil with not appreciating its beauty until it was only a memory. Everything felt vivid and I felt like I was watching a documentary or a TV show unfold.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5
“We are all hopeful things would go differently. They did not go differently. They went this way.”
Romy is an intriguing main character. She is portrayed in such a way that the reader feels incredibly sympathetic towards her plight and the injustice of her trial and lack of ability to defend herself. I must say that Kushner threw me for a loop with Kurt Kennedy’s chapters. I was left feeling still sympathetic towards Romy, but also with a great distaste because it is important to keep in mind that she did brutally murder a man. I’ll just leave this quote here and let you decide whether or not Romy is reliable or not because I still don’t know.
“You can’t believe anything people say. But what they say is all you have.”
I was not a fan of Gordon and his POV. Why was it in this novel? He was a weird creep who was obsessed with Thoreau (obvious red flags) and I didn’t gain anything from his perspective. Doc’s POV (a dirty cop in a men’s correctional facility) is also a weird POV. He is just disgusting and crude. I know he’s supposed to make me uncomfortable, but that doesn’t equate to him being necessary. If half of his POVs were edited down, I probably would have enjoyed those passages more. It does shed light onto misogynistic entitlements that run rampant in people with power though, so it isn’t all nonsense. Kurt Kennedy’s chapters made me think. This guy was a repulsive stalker who had no respect of boundaries and was incredibly entitled to the thought of Romy (aka Vanessa). He shows up at her house in a completely different city after she tries to run away from him and confronts her with his son. Kurt is incredibly disable and can barely walk. He has two canes and to me, is obviously not a threat. However, to a mother, he poses a huge threat. Romy’s reaction is understandable of a woman who has been stalked and fears for the safety of her child.
Character Scale: 4
“That’s how dumpsters got their name. People dump bodies. The bodies of women and girls.”
The ending… what an ending. It was open-ended, but it hints at what probably occurred. I felt satisfied by it and I’m glad that Kushner ended it this way instead of some sappy or implausible happy ending. I do think that The Mars Room will be a favorite for a lot of people. It has a lot of wonderful qualities—the writing and characters. It also is hindered by unnecessary point of views that take away from the Romy’s story. I do recommend this one. I was so excited for this one when I heard about it before it was released and it did not disappoint.
Plotastic Scale: 3.75
Cover Thoughts: I like it. It’s depressing and bleak. Not a favorite of mine, but it has a certain thematic quality to it that represents The Mars Room well.
Thank you, Netgalley and Scribner, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read or plan on reading The Mars Room? What are some of your favorite books and movies that follow prisoners? Let me know down below in the comments!
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