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<\/a><\/p>\nStatic by Eric Laster<\/h2>\n
Static puts a twist on death.<\/p>\n
Instead of seeing dead people, Curtis Brooks talks to them, or at least just his brother. After his brother, Wilt, dies in a suspicious car accident, Curt starts receiving calls from the afterlife. Contacting him from a Walmart of dead things (e.g. black and white televisions, pet rocks, chariots), Wilt plots a rebellion while Curt hunts for his brother\u2019s killer.<\/p>\n
The characters of Static can be frustrating. It sometimes felt like characters were being written as stereotypes because they didn\u2019t seem that realistic. With the exception of Curt (and somewhat Wilt), you never form a bond with any of them. Curt is the only character that you get to know. You are told to like or dislike characters, but you are never really shown why. But, while readers might not be able to empathize with Curt\u2019s situation, they will certainly become attached to him. Although he can be frustrating at times, his devotion to his brother and his determination are endearing. There are certain aspects of his story that I felt could have been explored more (e.g. his relationship with his father, how medicine and therapy has affected his life, what his relationship with Wilt was like before, etc.), but, for the most part, Curt is somebody that the reader will root for.<\/p>\n
The plot of Static was intriguing. The progression of the novel can seem slow at times because a lot of time is spent building up the suspense. Some of the situations that Curt finds himself in are pretty odd, but they only add to the overall feeling of absurdity (in a good way). While the big reveal at the end of the novel was not a surprise, it was well done. Although it was a somewhat predictable \u201cplot twist,\u201d it was believable. The novel is plotted out in such a way that it keeps you on your toes as it slowly leads you to the truth. Overall, Static is an alluring read that offers an interesting take on death. I give it 3.5\/5 stars.<\/p>\n
I recommend it for anyone who is even remotely interested in the premise, but not for anyone who is too impatient.<\/p>\n
YA Book Club recap<\/h2>\n
For our September, YA Book Club, we discussed\u00a0<\/span>Static <\/span><\/i>by Eric Laster. Most of Book Club were pretty excited about it (after reading its blurb), but were somewhat disappointed once we read it. Many felt that more could have been done with the Aftermart, since most of the blurb focused on it and since it just seemed really interesting (a Walmart of dead things?). We felt that the Aftermart was more interesting than Curtis\u2019s investigation, despite it only having a minor role. Curtis, the protagonist, also wasn\u2019t our favorite character, but YA Book Club liked all of the characters (except the villain(s)). Many wished to know more about Wilt and Curtis\u2019s relationship before Wilt\u2019s death. At times, <\/span>Static<\/span><\/i> didn\u2019t seem realistic. While that\u2019s normal for novels with ghosts, the way that Curtis went about his investigation could have been more cautious (although it was pretty entertaining). YA Book Club agreed that <\/span>Static<\/span><\/i> was an interesting book that kept readers engaged, but felt its ending was somewhat anticlimactic. YA Book Club gave <\/span>Static<\/span><\/i> an average of 3.2\/5 stars. <\/span><\/p>\n How did you come up with this idea of an Aftermart?<\/strong><\/p>\n When I started writing Static, I only knew that Curtis, the main character, was receiving What inspired you to write Static?<\/strong><\/p>\n Being an older brother.<\/p>\n I was visiting a certain city one time, on vacation, and had asked three friends for Would you have gone about this entire situation like Curtis did?<\/strong><\/p>\n Excellent question. I\u2019d like to think that I could be as resourceful and as persistent as Who was your favorite character to write besides Curt?<\/strong><\/p>\n Wilt. Even though he\u2019s not \u201conscreen\u201d as much as some of the other characters, he\u2019sInterview with the author<\/h2>\n
\ncalls from his dead brother Wilt; I had no idea where Wilt was. Still, I kept writing. I
\nreached the point in the story when Wilt tells Curtis where he\u2019s calling from, and a
\nquestion popped into my head. What if consumer products\u2014items discontinued for
\nwhatever reason\u2014\u201cdead\u201d products, obsolete or ill-conceived\u2014had an afterlife as it is
\nbelieved that people do? Where might such items go? I wondered. From there, it was
\n(for me) a logical progression to the idea of an ever-expanding superstore filled with
\nobsolete items and entertainments from yesteryear, where Wilt and all deceased persons
\nspent eternity browsing and shopping.<\/p>\n
\nsuggestions of places to eat the next morning. The friends were siblings, all of them in
\ntheir 30s. At every suggestion made by the younger two, the eldest sibling scoffed, called
\nthe suggestions no good, and acted as if her brothers couldn\u2019t have been dumber. I
\nthought the behavior was ugly, but I recognized it. I sometimes acted that way toward
\nmy younger brother, dismissing what he said or did as if it were lame\/stupid simply
\nbecause he was younger and had different ideas than I. Watching the eldest sibling that
\nday on my vacation, I determined to never again act as she did. We\u2019ll have to ask my
\nbrother if I\u2019ve succeeded (I feel pretty confident), but in Static I wanted to chart the
\ntransition that I consciously brought about in myself as an older brother. Like Wilt at
\nthe beginning of the book, I used to be unthinkingly dismissive of my younger brother;
\nlike Wilt at the end of the book, I now treat my younger brother with love and respect,
\nappreciating him on his terms. Thankfully, unlike Wilt, I\u2019m not dead.<\/p>\n
\nCurtis given similar circumstances, but I\u2019m not convinced that I would be. For me,
\nCurtis\u2019s courage is most evident in his agreeing to take over his brother\u2019s secret job, a
\ndecision that he believes might get him killed. I\u2019ve never been very good at courting
\ndanger, probably would have spied on the house where the character of Titus Yang lives,
\nand nothing more. If I got so far as to discover that my brother was, in fact, murdered,
\nI\u2019d then trust the police to pursue the killer.<\/p>\n
\nalways a presence with Curtis, and it was important to me to dramatize his transition\u2014
\nevolution\u2014from typical name-calling big brother to one who appreciates Curtis as a full-fledged\u00a0human with talents and thoughts that might differ from his but are no less valid
\nbecause of it.<\/p>\n