Samuel Goff's Reviews > The Changeling

Attention. Lots of spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.......
My wonderful partner Daynee is a creative writing major at UNLV. I am a musician. One day we had an interesting discussion about editing. I asked her how she would feel about her first novel going through an intense editing process that seems inevitable. Would she allow invasive editing in order to get published? I told her my thoughts about how I felt about editing the actual music I make in order to get a release. This worried me about her future writing, that she would have to make some hard decisions as I pictured editors as if they were evil minions in a dark room grinning mischievously with knives out ready to cut. With the last couple of books I have read “The Changeling” included, Daynee you have nothing to worry about. To this casual reader the finished product appears to need some HEAVY EDITING. And that editing is just not happening.
This book was an absolute hot mess. Did no editor think to tell Mr. Lavalle that the whole “Witch Island” segment of the book could just be excised? It felt like a small novella just thrown in the middle of the book. I’m still trying to figure out what sense it had to the whole plot. Why did William Wheeler need to get Apollo out to Witch Island? It just doesn't make any sense in the end. It moves the plot along in no way whatsoever. And the bombs? What was that about? It appears with today's contemporary writers to explain an event that stretches believability, well that is just an option. And what was the whole point with the first major shocking action of the book? Okay we learn about the "not a baby" part. But why exactly does Emma have to break Apollo's face and knock his eye out with a hammer while he is chained to pipes in his apartment? No explanation. And is Emma a witch or not? No explanation. And there are several references to characters to seemingly need to be in a place that is extremely hot. Emma during the creepy, "chain Apollo up and knock him out" scene, the house in Little Norway. Again, no explanation. And seriously the middle "witch island" part is so weird and so out of place. What happens to Cal? Why is she even there? Who are these people? Characters actions also are questionable. Like when Apollo is on witch island and at this point in the book he believes that Emma has killed their six month old son and left him for dead and then vanished. And he meets William Wheeler (who yes, later on turns out to be villainous) who does nothing up to this point but try and help him (again it seems to ultimately help him get to witch island, but to what point. It seemingly is in no one in the book's interest to get Apollo to witch island, it's SOOOO frustrating why this part is even in the book) and all Cal, the No. 1 witch of witch island (whose minions just beat Apollo to within an inch of his life) has to say is "Ooooh, this is a bad guy, come with me Apollo" and Apollo is all of a sudden buddy buddy with Cal helping with the fucking chores and playing with the damned witch babies. I mean his whole viewpoint on life shifted in about .3 seconds.
I read a review on the back cover that compared this author favorably with Haruki Murakami and Ralph Ellison. The Murakami comparison is very apt since that is another author that feels no need to explain anything ever. A more appropriate comparison would be the combination of Stephen King's worst book and Murakami's worst book. And there you have it! "The Changeling by Victor Lavalle!!!!!!!! I read so many great reviews of this hot garbage on goodreads and was feeling good about this. When I realized around the halfway point of the book that certain ideas and details were just not going to be explained (and I was right) I started searching goodreads for BAD reviews to see if I was crazy and way off. They were few and far between but luckily I found a few. There is solace in knowing I am not the only one with MAJOR problems with this book. The first 40 or so pages were very promising. I was liking the style, tone and prose. And then things started to get a little boring until the Emma and hammer part. And that's where everything just fell apart. I mean the rest of the book was details that never get explained. I am so TIRED of lazy authors testing my patience. DO YOUR JOB. I get it, this is magic realism? Not everything is going to be explained. Okay. Sure, I understand and even think it is a good technique at times to have an open ending. I get that and support that. Some great books end that way. But 67 important details of your plot and story? No. I don't want to do that. I am the reader. And I bought YOUR book. And I have to do YOUR job for you and figure out how all this happens? No. Do better Victor LaValle. And Haruki Murakami. And other contemporary authors. Do better.