Intertwining stories form the core of this novel, which opens and closes with scenes that come close to uniting the divergent strands of the story. The book was easy enough to read, but I never felt truly invested in the story and I was deeply annoyed with one character in particular (Tony, because wanting to be a naked man running through L.A. traffic is just as ridiculous as the perfect family life his wife craves). Okay enough as a read, but I was happy to move on to other books. ( )

I’m of two very different minds about this book. The writing is fascinating and handles a wide range of emotions and situations very well, but my personal gut-reaction to its depiction of living on the streets of LA’s Skid Row was so desperately depressing, that it made me most uncomfortable about my future possibilities.

One of the characters goes searching for his mother who lives on these streets. After finding her, the nest egg hidden in his socks was lost when he was beaten and rolled, aka mugged. Granted, it was never a well-thought-out plan of redemption, especially when another flaw was exposed, she didn’t want to be “saved.” This situation also allows Pochoda to introduce a whole host of “colorful” characters living out there lives there, and she gives the reader a good feel for the streets.

But no matter where this book later takes its readers, its most memorable scene starts the book. Before we learn about the darker side of sunny affluent Southern California, Ivy Pochoda starts the book off brilliantly with one man running. The freeways are at a standstill with people all needing to be somewhere else, when a stark-naked man shows his independence, not just from clothing, but from all the rules and traffic by running freely by the trapped drivers. As angry and tense people sit steaming in their cars, he runs wherever he wants. He becomes a symbol of escaping not just our cars, but many of the problems of our modern culture. One commuter watched him run by, felt some tug of a kinship, climbed out, and ran after him in his business clothes. In the end, the clothed runner is busted by the police, and spends time in jail. Yeah, our author gave us this potential relief from the oppressive urban landscape, only to quickly crush it in a cell. The man may lose his job and wife over that sympathetic run. He was filmed by countless people on their phones, and his daughter shows him that he’s all over the news following the naked runner, the free runner who remained free from the police.

In an extremely well-done bit of writing, our author plays out a number of stories, with some very memorable characters, and then returns to that naked man running in traffic. We learn who he is, and why he ended up eventually running to the beach. This novel deserves to become a classic of LA noir.

I finished this novel on a patio under the northern California sun, with a lemon tree packed full of blossoms and buzzing bees, and some relaxing wind chimes playing in the distance. The ominous and threatening scenes in Skid Row overwhelmed some of my enjoyment of this powerful and curiously written book. Uncomfortable would be the key term in my mind, but anxious, unsettling, depressing, hopeless, deadly, and pathetic also come to mind. This book did what it did excellently, but I found much of what it did far too uncomfortable for me. Though the book ends on a sunny southern California beach, this book’s soul is dark and troubled. It’s a unique experience that will long be remembered. ( )

When I began to read I thought, oh great, here's a writer like T.C. Boyle, only female and young. Then it turned into a whole lotta blah-blah. Someone will like it though. ( )

Take the butterfly effect and apply it to gritty neighborhoods in L.A. Add drugs, long-held grievances, a commune in the desert and a nod to the Cain and Abel story; mix with guilt and chicken gore and you have this novel. Worth it for the ending which solves nothing but makes a profound statement on life ... especially when the desire to run from everything strikes. ( )

The hot, dry setting is palpable. I loved Wonder Valley from the opening scene where the traffic is driving everyone crazy. It brings back memories of the opening scene of LaLaLand - maybe the defining setting of modern day California - stuck in traffic... and what "being stuck" drives people to do.... Each of Pochoda's characters are driven to their personal edges, and then what happens when their lives intersect is even more charged. A great read, with edgy language and imagery, I recommend this book highly. ( )