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Subdivision
A heady, inventive, fantastical novel about the nature of memory and the difficulty of confronting trauma
An unnamed woman checks into a guesthouse in a mysterious district known only as the Subdivision. The guesthouse’s owners, Clara and the Judge, are welcoming and helpful, if oddly preoccupied by the perpetually baffling jigsaw puzzle in the living room. With little more than a hand-drawn map and vague memories of her troubled past, the narrator ventures out in search of a job, an apartment, and a fresh start in life.
Accompanied by an unusually assertive digital assistant named Cylvia, the narrator is drawn deeper into an increasingly strange, surreal, and threatening world, which reveals itself to her through a series of darkly comic encounters reminiscent of Gulliver’s Travels. A lovelorn truck driver . . . a mysterious child . . . a watchful crow. A cryptic birthday party. A baffling physics experiment in a defunct office tower where some calamity once happened. Through it all, the narrator is tempted and manipulated by the bakemono, a shape-shifting demon who poses a distinctly terrifying danger.
Harrowing, meticulous, and deranged, Subdivision is a brilliant maze of a novel from the writer Kelly Link has called “a master of the dark arts.” With the narrative intensity and mordant humor familiar to readers of Broken River, J. Robert Lennon continues his exploration of the mysteries of perception and memory.
An unnamed woman checks into a guesthouse in a mysterious district known only as the Subdivision. The guesthouse’s owners, Clara and the Judge, are welcoming and helpful, if oddly preoccupied by the perpetually baffling jigsaw puzzle in the living room. With little more than a hand-drawn map and vague memories of her troubled past, the narrator ventures out in search of a job, an apartment, and a fresh start in life.
Accompanied by an unusually assertive digital assistant named Cylvia, the narrator is drawn deeper into an increasingly strange, surreal, and threatening world, which reveals itself to her through a series of darkly comic encounters reminiscent of Gulliver’s Travels. A lovelorn truck driver . . . a mysterious child . . . a watchful crow. A cryptic birthday party. A baffling physics experiment in a defunct office tower where some calamity once happened. Through it all, the narrator is tempted and manipulated by the bakemono, a shape-shifting demon who poses a distinctly terrifying danger.
Harrowing, meticulous, and deranged, Subdivision is a brilliant maze of a novel from the writer Kelly Link has called “a master of the dark arts.” With the narrative intensity and mordant humor familiar to readers of Broken River, J. Robert Lennon continues his exploration of the mysteries of perception and memory.
234 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2021
About the author
J. Robert Lennon
37 books273 followersJ. Robert Lennon is the author of three story collections and ten novels, and is co-editor of CRITICAL HITS, an anthology of writing on video games. He lives in Ithaca, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
July 23, 2021
Not Kansas; Not Even Scotland
I had hoped for more. Turns out the book is more or less The Wizard of Oz (1939) for the current generation - trauma-generated dreams placed in a leafy suburb rather than another-world paradise. Others have done it before, of course. Ian Banks’s The Bridge (1986) and William Golding’s Pincher Martin (1956) are but two examples of the genre. But The Wizard is also first class political satire; The Bridge contains an interesting love story; and Pincher Martin has a surprise ending. Subdivision on the other hand has no interesting external references, only hints at a possible background story, and proliferates characters who have no discernible part in the life of the protagonist. The unresolved symbolism used throughout - from quantum physics to vision distortions - can only be called trite. Whatever the quality of the author’s prose, I found the book derivative and tedious.
I had hoped for more. Turns out the book is more or less The Wizard of Oz (1939) for the current generation - trauma-generated dreams placed in a leafy suburb rather than another-world paradise. Others have done it before, of course. Ian Banks’s The Bridge (1986) and William Golding’s Pincher Martin (1956) are but two examples of the genre. But The Wizard is also first class political satire; The Bridge contains an interesting love story; and Pincher Martin has a surprise ending. Subdivision on the other hand has no interesting external references, only hints at a possible background story, and proliferates characters who have no discernible part in the life of the protagonist. The unresolved symbolism used throughout - from quantum physics to vision distortions - can only be called trite. Whatever the quality of the author’s prose, I found the book derivative and tedious.
April 9, 2021
You think you know what this book is, when you start reading it... and in the end, you might ultimately be correct, but the way Lennon takes us through it is never less than gripping. It's the lessons learned of LOST blended with Jesse Ball's A CURE FOR SUICIDE, and yet it's completely its own thing as well. It is suffused with dread and eerieness. It is funny, mind-bending, sad. And it settles itself on its own terms, refusing to give "what you want" and only, instead, delivering "what you need."
January 1, 2022
I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.
But I'm looking forwaard to the Tournament of Books discussion of this book.
Moments of pause:
Help.
But I'm looking forwaard to the Tournament of Books discussion of this book.
Moments of pause:
Help.
December 5, 2021
First, J. Robert Lennon has apparently been writing novels and short stories since before the turn of the century, and yet somehow this is the first of his books that I've ever read. I only became aware of it because it is set to compete in the 2022 Tournament of Books. But now that I've read it, my curiosity is more than a little piqued at what else Mr. Lennon has written. It took a little effort to find them, but his other works are winging their way to me.
Second, this novel is probably best described as other-worldly. An unnamed female narrator, of an uncertain age in an unclear location, arrives to stay at a guesthouse. She is in the midst of relocation and some other life changes and plans to stay at the guesthouse until she finds a job and more permanent housing. From the outset of the story, though, things are a little out of kilter, and they remain that way all through the book -- so if you need firm ground under your feet in your fiction, this may not be the book for you. I was charmed by it. While I never knew where the story was taking me from one moment to the next (and I was more perplexed than the narrator herself seemed to be), I was willing to keep riding along just to see what unexpected imaginative thing would pop up next, rooting for the narrator to "complete her work" all the way through.
Second, this novel is probably best described as other-worldly. An unnamed female narrator, of an uncertain age in an unclear location, arrives to stay at a guesthouse. She is in the midst of relocation and some other life changes and plans to stay at the guesthouse until she finds a job and more permanent housing. From the outset of the story, though, things are a little out of kilter, and they remain that way all through the book -- so if you need firm ground under your feet in your fiction, this may not be the book for you. I was charmed by it. While I never knew where the story was taking me from one moment to the next (and I was more perplexed than the narrator herself seemed to be), I was willing to keep riding along just to see what unexpected imaginative thing would pop up next, rooting for the narrator to "complete her work" all the way through.
March 14, 2022
A brainy puzzle of a book, wonderful if you like that sort of thing (I don’t). The Tournament of Books discussions helped me stick with it, and there was eventually enough clarity that I ended up satisfied. Definitely recommend this if you have a high tolerance for books where you’re not sure what’s going on most of the time. :-)
December 16, 2021
I’m still trying to decide how I feel about this, debating between 3 and 4 stars…For a 230 page novel, it took me forever to read, mainly because there was no real plot (although a lot happens) or narrative drive, so I kept putting it down to move on to something else. It was like listening to someone tell you about her bizarre dream, or reading about dreams in a novel, something to speed-read through to get to the point.
In that way it reminded me of Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled (which took me even longer to get through, although I much prefer Ishiguro’s use of language.) With books like these the randomness is the point, so I guess Lennon succeeded? This was so stream of consciousness, the author just letting himself take these flights of fancy, and half the time I was engaged with following the narrator, and the other half I just wanted her to get on with it.
Now that I’m done, I’m tempted to go back and figure out whether more of the randomness has meaning, I think that might help me appreciate it more. I did think the ending, while not surprising, was delightful, and there were times the journey to get there was as well, with its touches of humor (the muffin!), little turns of phrase, and underlying tone of foreboding.
Okay, I just convinced myself, while writing this review as rambling and stream of consciousness as the book itself, that this was worth 4 stars. It had none of the things I look for in novels, no character development, plot arc, suspense, poetic writing. I also feel like there must be several pieces that were random, not really part of the big picture at all, but in the end, I guess I did enjoy trying to piece together this story's "puzzle." I don't regret my time with it.
In that way it reminded me of Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled (which took me even longer to get through, although I much prefer Ishiguro’s use of language.) With books like these the randomness is the point, so I guess Lennon succeeded? This was so stream of consciousness, the author just letting himself take these flights of fancy, and half the time I was engaged with following the narrator, and the other half I just wanted her to get on with it.
Now that I’m done, I’m tempted to go back and figure out whether more of the randomness has meaning, I think that might help me appreciate it more. I did think the ending, while not surprising, was delightful, and there were times the journey to get there was as well, with its touches of humor (the muffin!), little turns of phrase, and underlying tone of foreboding.
Okay, I just convinced myself, while writing this review as rambling and stream of consciousness as the book itself, that this was worth 4 stars. It had none of the things I look for in novels, no character development, plot arc, suspense, poetic writing. I also feel like there must be several pieces that were random, not really part of the big picture at all, but in the end, I guess I did enjoy trying to piece together this story's "puzzle." I don't regret my time with it.
December 23, 2021
A woman arrives in a guest house in a subdivision not too far from a larger city. She is never named and she’s not sure why she is there. She is encouraged to solve a large jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table in the guest house. She wanders thought the subdivision. Strange things happen which she accepts without question.
I found this book to be wonderfully compelling and surreal. The dream logic in the book started to make sense to me about half way through. My take on it is not particularly deep but I really enjoyed the journey none the less. Somehow I felt that the story was very personal.
I found this book to be wonderfully compelling and surreal. The dream logic in the book started to make sense to me about half way through. My take on it is not particularly deep but I really enjoyed the journey none the less. Somehow I felt that the story was very personal.
May 5, 2021
Happy to report that I loved the book. I love literary nonsense.....love storms as major narrative devices.....love confusing transportation systems. Very pleased.
May 12, 2021
This book didn't make sense until 15 minutes after I finished it. It was still engaging, weird, and thoughtful though.
December 23, 2021
Kafkaesque and intriguing at points but probably wasn't what I was looking for at this time.
April 10, 2021
This is the first of Lennon's books I've read. It reminded me of Lost and Wandavision, where you're obviously in a foreign territory that's laced with hidden meanings, but it's up to you to decode what those meanings are. I'm looking forward to digging into Lennon's other works.
December 14, 2021
Format: audiobook.
Author: J. Robert Lennon ~ Title: Subdivision ~ Narrator: Nicole Poole
Content: 4.5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
This novel took me on a very unusual journey. It is a surreal literary fiction, so maybe you can imagine. Subdivision is an interesting story about an unnamed woman who can’t remember her past. She arrives in a place called Subdivision, where she stays at the guest house owned by two elderly ladies: Clara and the Judge. The first thing that they expect of her is that she solves a jigsaw puzzle.
Subdivision is a novel that consists of illogical events and characters. Quite a few events are confusing for the main character. And maybe even more for the reader. In the end, the author leaves a lot to the reader’s perception and interpretation. I want to write a spoiler-free review, so I will not go into more details.
Here we have an excellent story for those looking for something different to read. And, of course, like surreal stories where nothing is as it seems. This was my first novel by J. Robert Lennon, and I will definitely look for his other works.
The narration is perfect for this novel. The narrator’s voice and tone suit the main character.
Thanks to HighBridge Audio for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.
Author: J. Robert Lennon ~ Title: Subdivision ~ Narrator: Nicole Poole
Content: 4.5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
This novel took me on a very unusual journey. It is a surreal literary fiction, so maybe you can imagine. Subdivision is an interesting story about an unnamed woman who can’t remember her past. She arrives in a place called Subdivision, where she stays at the guest house owned by two elderly ladies: Clara and the Judge. The first thing that they expect of her is that she solves a jigsaw puzzle.
Subdivision is a novel that consists of illogical events and characters. Quite a few events are confusing for the main character. And maybe even more for the reader. In the end, the author leaves a lot to the reader’s perception and interpretation. I want to write a spoiler-free review, so I will not go into more details.
Here we have an excellent story for those looking for something different to read. And, of course, like surreal stories where nothing is as it seems. This was my first novel by J. Robert Lennon, and I will definitely look for his other works.
The narration is perfect for this novel. The narrator’s voice and tone suit the main character.
Thanks to HighBridge Audio for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.
Read
April 4, 2022Dnf 62% idk wtf is happening
June 15, 2022
“Do not touch the apple. Do not fornicate with the bakemono.” —the surreal moment that turned my world upside down. What a bonkers ride.
December 29, 2021
A very engaging literary enigma. This is my second Lennon after the wonderful Broken River and I enjoyed this just as much. Darkly funny, challenging, oddly eerie and written with a cinematic flair. There are more questions than answers here but the book manages to drop enough hints to maintain suspense without frustrating the reader.
April 22, 2021
I knew very little about this novel going into it, as there weren’t really any reviews yet on Goodreads or Amazon so I went ahead based on just the blurb. I recommend going in similarly blind if you can, and enjoying the gripping and cleverly humorous ride as you work out the confounding puzzle alongside the nameless narrator.
November 4, 2022
I'm not reviewing many books these days, but I wanted to give this one a shout-out for anyone who's looking for a recommendation, because it just blew me away.
I don't usually like surrealist writing, but in this case weirdness has a purpose. In some ways, this book is super easy to read, because everything that happens is in the present, in one viewpoint and in chronological order. Most fiction intended for adults is full of flashbacks, multiple points of view in, projections into the future, deep introspection on the part of the narrator, etc. Not much of that here. The interest lies in how all that comes to light in a roundabout way.
Serious spoiler:
I don't usually like surrealist writing, but in this case weirdness has a purpose. In some ways, this book is super easy to read, because everything that happens is in the present, in one viewpoint and in chronological order. Most fiction intended for adults is full of flashbacks, multiple points of view in, projections into the future, deep introspection on the part of the narrator, etc. Not much of that here. The interest lies in how all that comes to light in a roundabout way.
Serious spoiler:
May 26, 2021
The puzzle of this book isn't as puzzling as i was led to believe. Nor as mind-bending. İt's been done before and better. Another review mentioned Kafka. One also can look to C. S. Lewis or even J.J. Abrams for a better telling of the tale. This is not badly done, by any means; it's just lackluster.
April 12, 2021
This book is a puzzle box, or at times like a video game, its logic strange and confounding. Even when you figure out what's happening, it's never less than gripping. I'm not sure everything here fits neatly, but its also probable that I missed a lot.
January 7, 2022
There were aspects of this strange book that I liked. But I do not enjoy books that are as opaque as this one, that leave me in a confused place. While I was intrigued by the themes around trauma, it didn’t pay off for me.
April 17, 2021
Incredible. So funny and uncanny and poignant.
Read
December 27, 2021I found it frustrating, just not for me. I finished it for the Tournament of Books.
February 19, 2022
I think this is the second Lennon book I've read for The Tournament of Books. I can't tell exactly why I like them but I do. This book is dark. Something has happened to the main character but we don't know what. She enters the Subdivision and stays at the Guest House and finds a job. All kinds of mysterious things happen here. There is a malevolent man appearing now and then trying to seduce her. There is a weather catastrophe waiting to happen. She has an electronic pal who guides her through her stay who turns into a bird and flies away. There's a child who may or may not be hers.
The book is just so mysterious and weird I found it fascinating.
Actually, after looking around, I realized that I read Familiar, by Lennon, not because it was in The Tournament of Books, but because John Warner recommended it to either me or my friend Janet in his Biblioracle column and since he is part of The Tournament it’s kind of the same thing, right? :)
The book is just so mysterious and weird I found it fascinating.
Actually, after looking around, I realized that I read Familiar, by Lennon, not because it was in The Tournament of Books, but because John Warner recommended it to either me or my friend Janet in his Biblioracle column and since he is part of The Tournament it’s kind of the same thing, right? :)
March 18, 2022
Fascinating and odd puzzle of a story. An unnamed women arrives out of nowhere at a guesthouse in the subdivision. Though she is very tired, the expectation is clear that she is meant to solve the puzzle during her stay though the box and intended image is lost. The woman wonders around the subdivision looking for a job and possibly a permanent place to stay meeting those in the subdivision and having some very odd experiences. Occasionally her past peaks through when she is flustered and especially when encountering the evil bakemono.
The stories and attention to detail are impressive though also impressed how much I didn't quite understand. I still enjoyed the odd journey. I wish there had been a bit more resolution but appreciated the story and the manner in which it was told.
The stories and attention to detail are impressive though also impressed how much I didn't quite understand. I still enjoyed the odd journey. I wish there had been a bit more resolution but appreciated the story and the manner in which it was told.
September 5, 2021
SADNESS
Hmm. What a weird novel. (Nice weird, though.) SUBDIVISION is not a book for people who gorge on twenty-first century drivel.
There is an underlying, almost hidden, tenderness and sadness in the story.
"I understood that, while I could observe only two states of the crow, its presence or its absence, the crow could observe many states of this house, this room, this bath."
I was reminded of the works of Don DeLillo with regard to complexity, writing quality, and mystique.
SUBDIVISION lends itself to more than one reading and is a good choice for group discussion and analysis. (What is Lennon telling us? What does this mean? Why? Why? Why?)
Now it's time for me to throw tennis balls through a brick wall...
This review was written by Kevin Polman, author of LEMON SLICE MOON.
Hmm. What a weird novel. (Nice weird, though.) SUBDIVISION is not a book for people who gorge on twenty-first century drivel.
There is an underlying, almost hidden, tenderness and sadness in the story.
"I understood that, while I could observe only two states of the crow, its presence or its absence, the crow could observe many states of this house, this room, this bath."
I was reminded of the works of Don DeLillo with regard to complexity, writing quality, and mystique.
SUBDIVISION lends itself to more than one reading and is a good choice for group discussion and analysis. (What is Lennon telling us? What does this mean? Why? Why? Why?)
Now it's time for me to throw tennis balls through a brick wall...
This review was written by Kevin Polman, author of LEMON SLICE MOON.
December 18, 2022
Weird book, and I do like ’em weird.
It had shades of Alice in Wonderland, though the blurb mentions Gulliver’s Travels. I also see the Wizard of Oz comparisons, as well as Piranesi and any book or movie where a character is taken out of the real world and has to learn the rules of a new one.
I understood what was happening/had happened about half way through so I’m guessing there isn’t meant to be a twist factor. After I figured it out, the rest of the story was spent waiting for the narrator to do the same.
I might have liked it more if I had empathized with her. She was more likable when confused and I could root for her to figure out the puzzle, both external and internal. Moments when she would suddenly act out scenes from her past you see a neurotic person involved in a toxic relationship. This does help put together a story but it is so extreme that it feels like a cliche, maybe because it’s a one-sided view of the relationship.
There are certain elements to this that I still don’t get Perhaps that is the genius of the book, and I’ll just be walking along some day and suddenly the meaning will hit me.
It had shades of Alice in Wonderland, though the blurb mentions Gulliver’s Travels. I also see the Wizard of Oz comparisons, as well as Piranesi and any book or movie where a character is taken out of the real world and has to learn the rules of a new one.
I understood what was happening/had happened about half way through so I’m guessing there isn’t meant to be a twist factor. After I figured it out, the rest of the story was spent waiting for the narrator to do the same.
I might have liked it more if I had empathized with her. She was more likable when confused and I could root for her to figure out the puzzle, both external and internal. Moments when she would suddenly act out scenes from her past you see a neurotic person involved in a toxic relationship. This does help put together a story but it is so extreme that it feels like a cliche, maybe because it’s a one-sided view of the relationship.
There are certain elements to this that I still don’t get Perhaps that is the genius of the book, and I’ll just be walking along some day and suddenly the meaning will hit me.
June 11, 2021
I dont know how to rate this. The narrative felt unique. Part of me thinks it should come with trigger warnings, but those would actually be spoilers. Its not graphic, but there are many types of trauma introduced in subtle ways. The truth of the narrator’s past and present is slowly revealed through a complicated mental state. It’s not a happy book.
March 12, 2022
George Saunders meet Tim Burton. Bakemono, quantum entanglement, meatloaf brownie. Probability wells and the Dead Tower. Cylvia charging in the light before being born in your purse. We think we know what happened but we’re not entirely clear.
January 2, 2022
Tournament of Books 2022
February 23, 2022
This is a weird one. Set in a place called the subdivision, cut off from the city for unknown reasons, a woman arrives at a bed and breakfast sort of place with no idea of who she is, but she plans to find a place to live and a job. There's a puzzle, and an odd smart device and a little boy and a badger-monster-guy and some other weird people. For much of the book, it feels random and unstructured, like an extended dream sequence in an experimental film. And then all the pieces fall into place, sort of.
I dragged myself through this book but ended up delighted, but also not entirely sure what to think of it all. My least favorite kind of book is the ones were outside forces make random changes (not big on books that rely on magic or elves or powerful forces) so that the reader never has solid ground underfoot and this felt like that, until the moment when it didn't. I'm looking forward to getting to find out what other people think of this one.
I dragged myself through this book but ended up delighted, but also not entirely sure what to think of it all. My least favorite kind of book is the ones were outside forces make random changes (not big on books that rely on magic or elves or powerful forces) so that the reader never has solid ground underfoot and this felt like that, until the moment when it didn't. I'm looking forward to getting to find out what other people think of this one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews