The Past Is Red tells the story of a girl just trying to live her life on a giant pile of trash. Well, massive. No, Texas-sized would be more appropriate. She’s pretty hated…loathed…utterly despised to the point of random, but expected, violence from others…. for some reason, but it’s alright. Until it isn’t.
I was absolutely enamored by this book. On the surface, there’s a “haha! trash island, so quirky!” feel to it. But when you actually open up those trash bags and get a look at the contents inside, there’s a treasure trove of emotions waiting for you. The prose has a way of staying focused on the girl (well, she is the narrator after all) while still allowing us to see what the world is like. And it’s not pretty. Outside of the trash island, that is. That place is teeming with beauty; you’d think so if you grew up there. If you go down that street just over there, you’ll be greeted by the sounds of people screaming at and sometimes beating a girl who fucking ruined everything for everyone. Oh! And just around the corner, you’ll see two young people Romeo & Juliet-ing it up with their gas masks on. Don’t forget the loneliness of the girl a few blocks down! Actually, scratch that. She has a couple of animals and a plant. She’s fine. Probably.
If you want to drink some punch…wait, no, that doesn’t sound right. But now I’m wondering how Tropical and Kool-Aid are doing. (Okay I just made them up, but you know there’s someone on Garbagetown with one of those names.) Anyway, if you want a book that packs a punch (is Punch Pack Lane a nice region in Garbagetown?) in a small space of time, The Past Is Red is definitely for you. Seriously speaking (I can be! I promise!), though, this book was so so good.
