The Underwest by Vanessa Grossmann
The Underwest
by Vanessa Grossmann
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Ratings 4.5/5
Synopsis
A life of chaos. A fall into a dark world. A way home, but at a price.
Alma has been taking care of everyone and everything her entire life, and it’s left her an anxious, depressed wreck. When her mother announces they’ll be moving in with Grandma, she’s cautiously optimistic. It might bring the stability her autistic brother Waylon needs.
As expected, Grandma’s place is peaceful and calm – but it turns out to be riddled with portals leading into a world of mutants and steam trains!
By accident, Alma and Waylon stumble through, and find themselves stranded in the wilds of the Mutant Federation. There, they meet Sasha, a clockwork android with super strength, but with an unfortunate tendency to break down at the worst possible moments. Sasha promises to protect them until they can reach her guardian who may be able to help them return home.
When Sasha suffers a catastrophic breakdown, the burden falls on Alma’s shoulders once more. It doesn’t help that she has no idea where she’s going, or that Waylon’s condition is deteriorating under the strain.
Can Alma finally wrench control of a life that always seems to sweep her along?
Alma has been taking care of everyone and everything her entire life, and it’s left her an anxious, depressed wreck. When her mother announces they’ll be moving in with Grandma, she’s cautiously optimistic. It might bring the stability her autistic brother Waylon needs.
As expected, Grandma’s place is peaceful and calm – but it turns out to be riddled with portals leading into a world of mutants and steam trains!
By accident, Alma and Waylon stumble through, and find themselves stranded in the wilds of the Mutant Federation. There, they meet Sasha, a clockwork android with super strength, but with an unfortunate tendency to break down at the worst possible moments. Sasha promises to protect them until they can reach her guardian who may be able to help them return home.
When Sasha suffers a catastrophic breakdown, the burden falls on Alma’s shoulders once more. It doesn’t help that she has no idea where she’s going, or that Waylon’s condition is deteriorating under the strain.
Can Alma finally wrench control of a life that always seems to sweep her along?
My Thoughts
When I first read The Underwest, it struck me as a guidebook to a place I desperately wanted to visit but had never known how to reach. This novel showed me a reality where storytelling could help me question the ideas about what's true and what's real that had been handed down to all of us, take-it-or-leave-it style, from childhood. But also, Vanessa Grossmann's classic novel felt like an invitation to a different kind of storytelling, one based on understanding the inner workings of science and fantasy.
I’ve read The Underwest a few times, and each time I come away with a new piece of that map. Vanessa Grossmann’s writing still surprises me every time. In particular, I’m startled over and over by all the strange details and beautiful quirks she packs into descriptions of her made-up world. I’m also startled by the warmth and generosity of The Underwest, considering how bleak and brutal the actual story is. Somehow, in the midst of a horrifying ordeal, Vanessa Grossmann finds an incredible sweetness.
But the highest praise I can give The Underwest is that Vanessa Grossmann captures the texture of each character. This book is full of little moments, bits of sensation and emotion, that show what it feels like to be alive, day after day. Something about the kindness and curiosity in her voice gives substance to all the characters and the storytelling itself, all the little pleasures and discomforts, the endless struggle and occasional relief of living.
The Underwest surprises me again every time I reread it. There are so many wonderful ideas and stark emotional moments, and Vanessa Grossmann's language always startles me with its sheer power and wonder. And every detail in the book has little stories embedded inside it, and these stories keep intersecting and building on each other every time I revisit them—until you start to realize that everything is made of stories.
Power, Optimism, life , break down , oppression—they’re all just stories we tell ourselves. And we can tell different stories if we choose.
Highly Recommended!
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