false 4 0 false false Wed Nov 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 04:43:17 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 13:58:19 -0800 2009 Test Pattern. The catalyst is the shiny new television which arrives in the unsuspecting Palmer household. Television has always been a monster, it seems. The mother, Lorena, becomes obsessed with being famous. The depressed father retreats further into himself, escaping through the television. The daughter, Cassie, sees the future in the test pattern.

Test Pattern was warped enough to make me giggle. The fifties pop culture references are well done without being overbearing, and there are some really memorable scenes, like the funeral of the beauty parlor "mogul" Maybelle.

Lorena is incredibly unlikeable, but the ridiculous situations she gets herself into diffused the annoyance I usually feel about a character like her. I think there should have been some explanation about what the purpose of a test pattern was. I had to look it up. Also, I wish there had been some clear reason why Cassie was drawn to watch the test pattern and why she began to see future world events - as it is, just one vision served to help her situation personally in the end. But what about the others?

Overall, I was entertained by this weird little novel.]]>