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How To Fly with Rocks In Your Pocket
When a stagnant economy forces Addie to move back home following college, she is unwillingly immersed in the very traditions the surplus of the Clinton era might have allowed her to escape. Convinced that this pause in her life will lead to being stuck in a world of skirt suits, church services, and cutting children's sandwiches into adorable shapes, she struggles to redefine what she wants from life, all the while hating that she has to contemplate life at all. Everywhere she looks, it seems, those around her are ticking off marriage and babies as though on a neatly written to-do list, and she's still fighting with her mother about cleaning her room. As she struggles to assimilate to the community she hated as a child, she finds almost love (scourge of 20-somethings everywhere), employment (nothing to do with her degree), and a forgotten family secret that undermines the very foundation on which her life up to this point has been built.
220 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2014
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514 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 26, 2015
My sister called on a Wednesday to tell me that she had emailed a draft of her novel to me. The book is something she started while living at home with our parents after college, and finished this year at Central St. Martins, from whence she will return this December with an M.A. (provided that she survives her final project). During the writing process, she had repeatedly responded to my requests to view her novel with the sentiment that she did not want me to read it until it was completed; however, she neglected to inform me of the reason for her postponement: one final editing job before the manuscript was sent to the publisher. “So,” she said over the phone, “just plan on doing that this weekend.” And despite my well-honed instinct to turn down exhaustive favors for people that don’t even bother to ask for them, I did spend the weekend doing just that.
Reading the semi-autobiographical novel of a close family member (I assume generalities, here; I’ve only read the one) induces the kind of surreality normally reserved for dreams. Here is a house. You know it is your house, although the edifice is different from the one with which you are acquainted, and perhaps the rooms shift into and out of familiarity as you walk through them. And here is your mother. Although her face and hair have changed, she is speaking to you in her usual way. And even in scenes that at first seem entirely original, there is sometimes the disconcerting edge of an old piece of furniture or cherished family tradition peeking into frame.
On top of everything, there is the bizarre notion, in the back of your mind, that this thing you are reading was actually produced by your little sister, who couldn’t be more than twelve years old, and who—last time you checked—responded to the prospect of even the smallest household chore by lying down. Literally lying down, usually swathed in blankets or some type of blanket-y material to insulate her from the possibility of work.
I am immensely proud of her, of course. And I never had any doubt that the book would be a worthwhile read—she is, and always has been, a talented writer. But—being, I suppose, a naturally critical person—I found myself trying to gauge while reading just how good the book is. And, in doing so, trying to perform an impossible excision on myself: removing not just my love for Anna and my gratification in her accomplishment, but also the half-memories woven throughout her story, my fluency in her tones and attitudes, my easy laughter at her listless brand of humor.
And, although I have promised her a review (one that, I’m sure, was not meant to be taken this seriously), I have also decided that I cannot evaluate this book—not objectively, in the way that I would like to. I can only say that I loved it. That I laughed at it, cried at it, could not bear to put it down at three o’clock in the morning, even though I was simultaneously making grammatical corrections to it. That I found myself defending its gratuitous use of profanity to my mother even though said profanity is sure to offend many of the members of our church and former schoolteachers who so generously funded its Kickstarter publishing campaign. And although I can’t say I particularly connected to the level of Lena-Dunham-in-Tiny Furniture-post-collegiate depression experienced by its main character (law school is its own kind of depression, I suppose), its prose did ring profoundly true for me in many other ways.
The novel begins disjointedly—a nod to the mental state of the narrator, completely undone by her graduation from college and the excesses of its associated celebrations. Within a few pages, however, safely ensconced at home, the language settles into a more uniform tone inflected with equal parts scathing self-deprecation and churlish witticisms directed toward the outside world.
The structure of the novel is decidedly not modern, I suppose a bit of a given for a book whose narrator, on its second page, declares: “I have always felt as though I have been improperly expelled from some Victorian drama.” Victorian, it is not. But the emphasis on expression over plot, the frequent narrative asides for ruminations on love, life, and the “nature of things” are reminiscent of Tolstoy, Nabokov, or the latter half of Proust (are you feeling supported yet, Anna?). In this way, it is exactly the kind of novel I love: bombastic, rambling, unexplainable, true.
Of course, in another way, it is very much a romantic comedy of the modernish, Austen-inspired oeuvre (think Bridget Jones as a foul-mouthed, clinically depressed twenty-two year old)—one that definitely delivers in terms of vicarious body shame, mommy issues, and the romantic attentions of two diametrically opposed men. The resolution of all this angst in no way surprised me, but managed to make me weep nonetheless. And, like Anna, the book is very funny in a wordy, sardonic way—particularly (and much to my mother’s chagrin) in its interactions between the main character and her mother.
It is rare for a book that so clearly cares about language and ideas to revel in romantic tropes and casual vulgarity, but I think it may be this continuous juxtaposition of high and low culture, melancholy and humor, that makes the story so readable. I promise you will not be bored. And I hope you will purchase a copy because—and I think you’ll agree with me after reading the first ten pages or so—it’s probably not a great idea for Anna to move back in with our parents.
Reading the semi-autobiographical novel of a close family member (I assume generalities, here; I’ve only read the one) induces the kind of surreality normally reserved for dreams. Here is a house. You know it is your house, although the edifice is different from the one with which you are acquainted, and perhaps the rooms shift into and out of familiarity as you walk through them. And here is your mother. Although her face and hair have changed, she is speaking to you in her usual way. And even in scenes that at first seem entirely original, there is sometimes the disconcerting edge of an old piece of furniture or cherished family tradition peeking into frame.
On top of everything, there is the bizarre notion, in the back of your mind, that this thing you are reading was actually produced by your little sister, who couldn’t be more than twelve years old, and who—last time you checked—responded to the prospect of even the smallest household chore by lying down. Literally lying down, usually swathed in blankets or some type of blanket-y material to insulate her from the possibility of work.
I am immensely proud of her, of course. And I never had any doubt that the book would be a worthwhile read—she is, and always has been, a talented writer. But—being, I suppose, a naturally critical person—I found myself trying to gauge while reading just how good the book is. And, in doing so, trying to perform an impossible excision on myself: removing not just my love for Anna and my gratification in her accomplishment, but also the half-memories woven throughout her story, my fluency in her tones and attitudes, my easy laughter at her listless brand of humor.
And, although I have promised her a review (one that, I’m sure, was not meant to be taken this seriously), I have also decided that I cannot evaluate this book—not objectively, in the way that I would like to. I can only say that I loved it. That I laughed at it, cried at it, could not bear to put it down at three o’clock in the morning, even though I was simultaneously making grammatical corrections to it. That I found myself defending its gratuitous use of profanity to my mother even though said profanity is sure to offend many of the members of our church and former schoolteachers who so generously funded its Kickstarter publishing campaign. And although I can’t say I particularly connected to the level of Lena-Dunham-in-Tiny Furniture-post-collegiate depression experienced by its main character (law school is its own kind of depression, I suppose), its prose did ring profoundly true for me in many other ways.
The novel begins disjointedly—a nod to the mental state of the narrator, completely undone by her graduation from college and the excesses of its associated celebrations. Within a few pages, however, safely ensconced at home, the language settles into a more uniform tone inflected with equal parts scathing self-deprecation and churlish witticisms directed toward the outside world.
The structure of the novel is decidedly not modern, I suppose a bit of a given for a book whose narrator, on its second page, declares: “I have always felt as though I have been improperly expelled from some Victorian drama.” Victorian, it is not. But the emphasis on expression over plot, the frequent narrative asides for ruminations on love, life, and the “nature of things” are reminiscent of Tolstoy, Nabokov, or the latter half of Proust (are you feeling supported yet, Anna?). In this way, it is exactly the kind of novel I love: bombastic, rambling, unexplainable, true.
Of course, in another way, it is very much a romantic comedy of the modernish, Austen-inspired oeuvre (think Bridget Jones as a foul-mouthed, clinically depressed twenty-two year old)—one that definitely delivers in terms of vicarious body shame, mommy issues, and the romantic attentions of two diametrically opposed men. The resolution of all this angst in no way surprised me, but managed to make me weep nonetheless. And, like Anna, the book is very funny in a wordy, sardonic way—particularly (and much to my mother’s chagrin) in its interactions between the main character and her mother.
It is rare for a book that so clearly cares about language and ideas to revel in romantic tropes and casual vulgarity, but I think it may be this continuous juxtaposition of high and low culture, melancholy and humor, that makes the story so readable. I promise you will not be bored. And I hope you will purchase a copy because—and I think you’ll agree with me after reading the first ten pages or so—it’s probably not a great idea for Anna to move back in with our parents.
February 13, 2015
*Spoilers*
I received a copy of this novel from the author at the end of last year. Although it took me a couple of weeks to finish it, I can say in all on honesty that it was an excellent debut novel from an author whose writing style drags you into the characters life without you even realising it.
The book follows a young graduate as she moves home and deals with the same post college lethargy and depression that all graduates go through when their schooling ends. It follows Addie's evolution from cynical and bitter 'girl' to becoming a woman who suddenly realises that she doesn't need to settle for the same monotonous lifestyle as the people in her town. A woman, who despite having a less than perfect relationship with her family, appeared to want to 'please' them and model herself into the type of person they thought she needed to be.
The character of Addie is someone I feel a lot of young women will connect with. Her bitterness towards herself as a person is something that all women go through at some point in their life, some more prominent than others. Not your typical protagonist, she suffers greatly with body image issues and faces a constant uphill battle with her negative thoughts (always referring to how bad her school days were and what an awful effect it seemed to have on her as a person).
Her choices throughout the book seemed to be made with everyone else's opinions and feelings in mind and she never really though about herself first in that respect. This character flaw makes her appear more human and more believable to the reader.
She isn't perfect, but that's what makes her likeable!
Through the course of the story, you see Addie “uming and ahing” over the validity of her relationship with Tyler. In many ways, she still associated him with the boy she knew in school, but there were times when she saw him as an actual mature adult who she could possibly see herself having a future with. The relationship as a whole was actually quite sweet but I felt slightly dubious about it from the start. Like Addie, I found myself questioning how long term this relationship was and how it was going to end.
When it did end however I had very mixed emotions. Pride at having predicted this inevitable outcome, but also anger at the reasoning behind it. It was a very believable end to their coupling (and if I was to get a little bit personal here, she could do so much better!).
I found the relationship between Addie and Eduardo to be incredibly fascinating. You get a sense of her bitterness and utter dislike towards him right at the very beginning of the story when they first meet. But as the story goes on, you see them have more and more conversations and a grudging respect that grows between them. Their relationship is probably best described as a roller coaster as their emotions towards each other are constantly up and down (more Addie than Eduardo). Of course, by the end of the book we learn about Eduardo's true feelings towards Addie and her coming to the conclusion that she likes him a lot more than she originally thought (the final scenes made me smile like a crazy woman).
Completing this book gave me a full sense of accomplishment as I did struggle with it at the beginning (I was in a bit of a reading slump). That, and I couldn't help but feel an immediate connection with the protagonist- from the never ending monotonous job hunting to an utterly bitter self mental and body image, to the point where I am in desperate need to know what happened after she got off the plane on the other side.
Of course before we end this extremely long review I continue to have a very imposing question: Did Hestia's history and writings really help to enlighten Addie or was it really Addie's own experiences that lead her to this enlightenment? This is something that I will more than likely continue to reflect on.
4 out of 5 stars!
I received a copy of this novel from the author at the end of last year. Although it took me a couple of weeks to finish it, I can say in all on honesty that it was an excellent debut novel from an author whose writing style drags you into the characters life without you even realising it.
The book follows a young graduate as she moves home and deals with the same post college lethargy and depression that all graduates go through when their schooling ends. It follows Addie's evolution from cynical and bitter 'girl' to becoming a woman who suddenly realises that she doesn't need to settle for the same monotonous lifestyle as the people in her town. A woman, who despite having a less than perfect relationship with her family, appeared to want to 'please' them and model herself into the type of person they thought she needed to be.
The character of Addie is someone I feel a lot of young women will connect with. Her bitterness towards herself as a person is something that all women go through at some point in their life, some more prominent than others. Not your typical protagonist, she suffers greatly with body image issues and faces a constant uphill battle with her negative thoughts (always referring to how bad her school days were and what an awful effect it seemed to have on her as a person).
Her choices throughout the book seemed to be made with everyone else's opinions and feelings in mind and she never really though about herself first in that respect. This character flaw makes her appear more human and more believable to the reader.
She isn't perfect, but that's what makes her likeable!
Through the course of the story, you see Addie “uming and ahing” over the validity of her relationship with Tyler. In many ways, she still associated him with the boy she knew in school, but there were times when she saw him as an actual mature adult who she could possibly see herself having a future with. The relationship as a whole was actually quite sweet but I felt slightly dubious about it from the start. Like Addie, I found myself questioning how long term this relationship was and how it was going to end.
When it did end however I had very mixed emotions. Pride at having predicted this inevitable outcome, but also anger at the reasoning behind it. It was a very believable end to their coupling (and if I was to get a little bit personal here, she could do so much better!).
I found the relationship between Addie and Eduardo to be incredibly fascinating. You get a sense of her bitterness and utter dislike towards him right at the very beginning of the story when they first meet. But as the story goes on, you see them have more and more conversations and a grudging respect that grows between them. Their relationship is probably best described as a roller coaster as their emotions towards each other are constantly up and down (more Addie than Eduardo). Of course, by the end of the book we learn about Eduardo's true feelings towards Addie and her coming to the conclusion that she likes him a lot more than she originally thought (the final scenes made me smile like a crazy woman).
Completing this book gave me a full sense of accomplishment as I did struggle with it at the beginning (I was in a bit of a reading slump). That, and I couldn't help but feel an immediate connection with the protagonist- from the never ending monotonous job hunting to an utterly bitter self mental and body image, to the point where I am in desperate need to know what happened after she got off the plane on the other side.
Of course before we end this extremely long review I continue to have a very imposing question: Did Hestia's history and writings really help to enlighten Addie or was it really Addie's own experiences that lead her to this enlightenment? This is something that I will more than likely continue to reflect on.
4 out of 5 stars!
January 2, 2016
Published: 1/12/2014
Author: Anna Beach
Recommended for: students
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads competition
This is a great debut novel from the brilliant Anna Beach which follows the struggle of a graduated college student in post-recession America
I think this book would suit younger readers, and students aswell as people who enjoy contemporary fiction books. Students will enjoy it as they will be able to identify with the main character Addie, she is very easy to indentify with as alot of student will have gone through similar things that she does. The descriptions in the book are great and draw you in even more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would definately recommend it to other people. It was a pleasure to read
Author: Anna Beach
Recommended for: students
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads competition
This is a great debut novel from the brilliant Anna Beach which follows the struggle of a graduated college student in post-recession America
I think this book would suit younger readers, and students aswell as people who enjoy contemporary fiction books. Students will enjoy it as they will be able to identify with the main character Addie, she is very easy to indentify with as alot of student will have gone through similar things that she does. The descriptions in the book are great and draw you in even more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would definately recommend it to other people. It was a pleasure to read
May 27, 2015
I won this book via giveaway on Goodreads and I am really thankful for the opportunity to read a contemporary novel. I think Anna Beach is a really talented author, the language of the book is something that I really enjoyed, all those witty remarks and occasional sarcasm, and general richness of it. I wish I could say I liked the plot as much as I did the language.
The story just didn't click. the main character is a 22 year old girl fresh from college (for which her parents paid a lot apparently) and back in post - recession American not so big town. She sees that guy there who was a total jerk at school while she was a miserable kid. Okay, no spoilers here.
I am just an immigrant who doesn't know anything about apparently great sufferings of young people who graduated from college, so I didn't understand why the main character Addie was just too much miserable all the time. Her family is very prominent in the town, so I am surprised none of them came up with some job offer for her. Aren't connections supposed to be everything in a small town? Or maybe if she really wanted a job she could work somewhere less classy for some time? it would keep her mind occupied at least.
Besides, she was privileged enough to get a very good education for which she didn't have to pay. Which is a big thing these days, when not many people are this fortunate.
"Hell consisting of other people sounds like it pretty much sums up my experience." - she said. Does it mean that she blames everybody else in what was happening to her? I think she was not self-assured at all, with a bunch of complexes left from her school years - at 22, it's time to live a life of a young woman, not 16 - year old with teenage angst.
[minor spoilers ahead!!]
She enters so-called "relationship" as if hoping to prove the invisible audience that she, a former chubby girl, can show them all that she can be with a handsome guy. While he obviously just lets her "love" him, he probably needs her because she is just a girl of his age from the same town with whom he could spend some time with, that's why he doesn't want to label what they had. there was nothing really to label for him. While she, being a girl, created a picture of their perfect future together, where they go to another town etc. She probably fell in love with that image of a person rather than the real guy.
Anyway, being from another country with another culture and also being 26 years old influenced my perception of this book. Maybe I would type a different review if I were 22 now and/or was born in the USA. These are just my thoughts on the book, I admit that I might be wrong somewhere because I don't have a lot of information about how college system works and I have no friends fresh from college.
The story just didn't click. the main character is a 22 year old girl fresh from college (for which her parents paid a lot apparently) and back in post - recession American not so big town. She sees that guy there who was a total jerk at school while she was a miserable kid. Okay, no spoilers here.
I am just an immigrant who doesn't know anything about apparently great sufferings of young people who graduated from college, so I didn't understand why the main character Addie was just too much miserable all the time. Her family is very prominent in the town, so I am surprised none of them came up with some job offer for her. Aren't connections supposed to be everything in a small town? Or maybe if she really wanted a job she could work somewhere less classy for some time? it would keep her mind occupied at least.
Besides, she was privileged enough to get a very good education for which she didn't have to pay. Which is a big thing these days, when not many people are this fortunate.
"Hell consisting of other people sounds like it pretty much sums up my experience." - she said. Does it mean that she blames everybody else in what was happening to her? I think she was not self-assured at all, with a bunch of complexes left from her school years - at 22, it's time to live a life of a young woman, not 16 - year old with teenage angst.
[minor spoilers ahead!!]
She enters so-called "relationship" as if hoping to prove the invisible audience that she, a former chubby girl, can show them all that she can be with a handsome guy. While he obviously just lets her "love" him, he probably needs her because she is just a girl of his age from the same town with whom he could spend some time with, that's why he doesn't want to label what they had. there was nothing really to label for him. While she, being a girl, created a picture of their perfect future together, where they go to another town etc. She probably fell in love with that image of a person rather than the real guy.
Anyway, being from another country with another culture and also being 26 years old influenced my perception of this book. Maybe I would type a different review if I were 22 now and/or was born in the USA. These are just my thoughts on the book, I admit that I might be wrong somewhere because I don't have a lot of information about how college system works and I have no friends fresh from college.
December 14, 2014
This is a solid debut work from Anna Beach, following the struggles of a graduated college student in post-recession America. Addie deals with a judgemental family and the fact that it seems everyone is growing up and getting jobs, married, babies, etc. around her.
For the most part, this is well written, with vibrant characters and relatable complications. I particularly enjoyed reading about Addie's relationship with her mother and grandmother, and all the family drama. It's an easy read, close to novella in length. I would recommend this for readers of contemporary fiction or 'chick lit' (as much as I hate that term), particularly anyone who has recently graduated from college/university; the struggles will probably feel very relatable to you!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of 'How to fly with rocks in your pocket' from Anna for review.
For the most part, this is well written, with vibrant characters and relatable complications. I particularly enjoyed reading about Addie's relationship with her mother and grandmother, and all the family drama. It's an easy read, close to novella in length. I would recommend this for readers of contemporary fiction or 'chick lit' (as much as I hate that term), particularly anyone who has recently graduated from college/university; the struggles will probably feel very relatable to you!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of 'How to fly with rocks in your pocket' from Anna for review.
Want to read
March 23, 2015"A book about a girl who has recently graduated college, whose friends are off getting jobs, getting married, and having babies, while she's moved back in with her parents."
Aka Erin's biography. TBR.
Seriously read that synopsis this might be my life.
Aka Erin's biography. TBR.
Seriously read that synopsis this might be my life.
January 15, 2015
I'm not normally a reader of this type of story (i usually read horror and action/adventure novels) but i found this book to be a very engrossing read. A story of a young girl coming home from Graduation and her trials and tribulations along the way. Would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a great, fun and honest read. I actually received this copy through Goodreads First Reads in a Giveaway but i would have paid for this book and i urge you to too
May 24, 2015
I really enjoyed the debut book from Anna Beach! I remember feeling all of the feelings Addie felt right after graduation. I love the added mystery and love interest tucked in there. It is well written and I am glad I can add this book to my personal bookshelf! I cannot wait to see what Anna writes next, I will be first in line to get it!
February 23, 2015
Great debut, super interesting and relevant. Must read if you are young and having an existential crisis...
February 2, 2020
I enjoyed reading this again. I missed some of the sardonic humor first time around.
Fair warning, there is some offensive (to me anyway) language in the book.
Fair warning, there is some offensive (to me anyway) language in the book.
February 15, 2015
I recently won this book in the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
Although this book was a good read, I do think that this book would have been more suited to someone much younger than myself. I am passing this book on to my eldest granddaughter.
Although this book was a good read, I do think that this book would have been more suited to someone much younger than myself. I am passing this book on to my eldest granddaughter.
April 4, 2015
I won this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway. This book was a very easy read. The main character, Addie has to deal with a post college world and return to her home town. She re-evaluates her life and what is important to her and that sets her free
April 12, 2017
2.5/5 Stars
I found this too predictable and boring and it was way too rude and sexual for me!
Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QORV...
I found this too predictable and boring and it was way too rude and sexual for me!
Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QORV...
March 26, 2015
Found it pretty predictable but overall decent
Rating: 2.5-3/5
Rating: 2.5-3/5
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews