My Abandonment in What's the Name of That Book???

Oct 03, 2013 Marigold rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: set-in-portland, literary-fiction, coming-of-age, oregon-writers, child-main-character, gritty, fiction-2000-2010

A compelling and thought-provoking book. I live in Portland so I was familiar with the setting in Forest Park & the city. I was also familiar with the true story behind this novel. A father & daughter spent four years living in Forest Park in a shelter the father built. He home-schooled the daughter using his own knowledge & a set of encyclopedias. The father was a veteran & had a small military pension, so they were able to go into the city & buy groceries, clothing as needed, & go to the libra A compelling and thought-provoking book. I live in Portland so I was familiar with the setting in Forest Park & the city. I was also familiar with the true story behind this novel. A father & daughter spent four years living in Forest Park in a shelter the father built. He home-schooled the daughter using his own knowledge & a set of encyclopedias. The father was a veteran & had a small military pension, so they were able to go into the city & buy groceries, clothing as needed, & go to the library. They used a nearby creek for washing & grew vegetables. When they were found living there, the girl, age 12-13, tested far above average academically.Peter Rock’s book is based on their story & takes off from there.

Caroline is the narrator, & though I’ve read some criticism of Rock’s writing in this regard, I thought it was very well done. Her voice is simultaneously innocent and fierce; very detached yet filled with the ghost of hidden anger & sadness. Rock uses Caroline’s perspective & language ability – which is high but spare in its expression – throughout. It’s apparent that Father taught Caroline many things – but he never taught her much about feelings or how to express them. When he wants to talk to her about important things, he does so in a very factual way, or he quotes from his favorite writers. Caroline is never going to do “the reveal.” Her life is all about hiding. She is reporting what she wants us to know, & that’s all you’re going to get.

I enjoyed the spare, detached quality of the writing, which seemed sometimes elegiac & sometimes so brutally factual I could hardly breathe. I find my reaction to many books is that they need an editor. This is not one of those.

The first part of the book is almost idyllic as you learn about Father & Caroline’s lives in the park. The relationship between them seems sweet at first – but always has an edge that leaves you wondering. Of course, they are eventually found & the rest of the book focuses on their journey after that.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book was its very subtle creepiness. What sounds idyllic, isn’t. First & foremost, we’re not really sure about Caroline’s relationship with Father. We know that they care for one another as best they can in their own ways. But we know Caroline is in, or entering, puberty – and an unanswered question is how this might affect her relationship with Father. When they're not in the woods, things can be scary. Caroline talks about living in a hotel that’s about to be torn down, & how she has to negotiate through the partially ruined building, & stay locked up when Father isn’t there, to stay safe. Father negotiates with people who are stealing & transporting copper wire. There is some harrowing information about people who are tapping into electricity. Caroline finally reveals a little about her past, which brings up other questions about her relationship with Father. My heart stopped for a moment when she mentions – in passing – handcuffs.

Who is Father, really? Rock is genius at giving a mostly sympathetic portrayal of a man who was, at best, unconventional, caring, smart, & a victim of PTSD – or, at worst, a kidnapper, child molester, & high functioning mentally ill person. These glimpses of who Father is or might be, left me wondering, which was fine with me. I also thought Rock's handling of Father’s gradual deterioration was very well done. I thought Father, as a character, maintained his integrity throughout. Can a good man be misguided? Of course. Can an evil man be good in some ways? Who knows? Which kind of man was Father “really”? As a reader, you have to form your own conclusions.

In Caroline, we see that we all learn from our circumstances and upbringing, no matter what that is, & though we might be horrified by what’s happened to her, we also see that she’s strong, intelligent, resourceful – and detached. Another source of subtle creepiness comes when Caroline starts to wonder about having a companion that she can bring into her life. We are left wondering: Is she just lonely, at that point? Does she think of her father & think, I too can choose someone & make them mine? How will this play out for her? I think some reviewers felt confused by her actions toward the end. She seems to be reaching for what we might call “normal life” with one hand, & rejecting it with the other. I found this to be understandable within her character also. It’s pretty clear to me that she wants…both. How would you not?

I also loved the play on words & themes that comes from thinking about “abandonment” within the context of this book.

“Every problem I have comes from believing something to be true that is not true,” Caroline writes in her journal. This is a powerful statement that might apply to most of us. In Caroline’s case, particularly so.

This book brings up and leaves unanswered, many questions. If you need your books tied up with neat pretty little ribbons so that you “know” what happened & every character is typed and labeled, you won’t like it. If you like to think & draw your own conclusions, & you want a book with compelling characters, subtle creepiness, interesting setting (yay, Oregon!) & a story that will stick with you, this is for you.
...more

41 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2022 Shauna rated it really liked it

Shelves: oregon-based-stories

Trigger warning.

I’m pretty sure I watched the movie last year. Need to compare and contrast. The ending was not how I remembered it and I thought this was based on a true story. Now for the research.

So I’ve refreshed my memory and thought about it. I leave feeling the same feelings I felt after the movie. Incomplete… wondering.

This book left it a lot darker for me… the cuffs.

Also, the abduction.

And also… (the real life father and daughter were Frank and Ruth) did Frank have papers or DNA to p ...more

Like · see review