Title: On Home
Author: Becca Spence Dobias
Rating: 2 ¾ stars
Favorite Quote: “What was the point, though, in recognizing the loveliness of an era just as it ended?” Dobias, Becca Spence. On Home. Kindle ed., Inkshares, 2021.
Review: I received a free ebook of On Home from the publisher, via the Edelweiss platform, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Inkshares and Edelweiss for this opportunity.
So, here’s the thing. I didn’t dislike this book. In fact there were parts of it that I really enjoyed. And what’s more, I really wanted to enjoy it. Strong female friendships. Queer romance. A journey towards finding oneself. Complicated mother/daughter dynamics. Split timelines. An in-depth exploration of sex work. This book literally has many, if not all, of my favorite topics all wrapped up into one.
Some of my favorite aspects were the writing, and especially the descriptions of the various settings of the novel. Dobias does an incredible job highlighting the differences between California, Prague, West Virginia, and Washington, DC. When the book shifts to those different places, the reader is brought along.
Dobias also is successful in showing the many facets of the strained mother/daughter relationship that is explored throughout the novel - especially later in the book, when Paloma’s complicated feelings about motherhood are explored - this is one of the most three-dimensional aspects of the book.
But, despite the premise being one that I thought I would whole-heartedly embrace, there were certain drawbacks for me as well. The biggest, I think, comes from the uneven pacing of the books. Where the sense of place in the novel is fully developed, the sense of time seems significantly less so. Especially after (SPOILER ALERT) Cassidy discovers she’s pregnant, certain parts of the book seem rushed, others too drawn out, and I was always scrambling to figure out how much time, if any, had passed between one section and the next.
I also wasn’t fully sold on the relationship between Cassidy and Noeli, even though I wanted to be. I think this probably had to do with pacing as well, because I don’t think the undercurrent of their feelings for one another was ever fully developed before they began their romantic relationship. It felt rushed - as if one moment they’re friends denying any and all rumors of a relationship between them, and then suddenly they’re in a relationship ready to raise a kid together, and then they’re broken up after a single argument, and then they’re back together again, all within what felt like the last half of a relatively short novel.
Finally, I also wasn’t fully sold on Cassidy’s role as a sex worker, even though, once again, I wanted to be. I would have liked to see this part of her character developed significantly more, because it felt like it was only ever included when the plot needed to be spurred along by some sense of action or conflict. For instance, there’s a moment where a fan of hers (read: stalker) shows up unexpectedly, but that’s not discussed again. And then it’s used as a source of conflict between Cassidy and Noeli, but again the conflict seems to be resolved with only the briefest mention of her work. Because I was initially drawn to this work because it highlighted the main character’s sex work, I had hoped her relationship to her work and the novel’s message about sex work would have been better developed. The sections with Jane were often centered around her relationship to her work, and it seemed as if that was lacking from Cassidy’s section.
About that Quote: It’s odd that this is my favorite quote because it’s from one of Paloma’s sections, and she was easily my least favorite of the women. But I think this really speaks to one of the central aspects of the novel - the characters each struggling to acknowledge and appreciate the positive aspects of their lives and surroundings as they exist, rather than as a memory.
On Home will be released August 31, 2021. If you've read it, share your thoughts below!
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