Skip to main content

Miss Subways by David Duchovny: book review



Miss Subways: A Novel (2018) is a book by American actor David Duchovny.

Emer Gunnels is a New Yorker taking the subway train to and from work. As she sits on the subway one evening, avoiding the gaze of other passengers, and without a book for company, she notices a poster about the Miss Subways beauty competition – a competition that began in 1941 and ended in 1976. To be eligible to enter the competition, a woman needed only to be a New Yorker and a frequent subway passenger. In 2017, the competition was making a comeback. 

Emer is living with Cuchulain Constance Powers (Con), who works on his writing project. Emer abandons her dreams of being a writer to work as his research assistant, in addition to her job as a primary school teacher and part-time job as tutor. ‘They were well suited. She wanted a victory for him and wanted to feel a part of this victory, part of him.’ But does Con want the same for her? Or is she being conned? Would he support her dreams? She wasn’t sure.

During the course of the novel, Emer takes a parallel journey – one from another time and space. Emer and Cuchulain are ancient Irish names, and Irish and global mythological figures emerge in this romantic fantasy. 

Yes, this is a fairy tale – as Emer fantasies about the perfect love. To create her ‘eternally happy ever after’ wish, what must be sacrificed? Is it only the woman who must sacrifice something to gain a man’s commitment? Or does Con feel the same way? This is HER fantasy, not her husband’s. This is HER inner turmoil. These are the voices in HER head. 

A decision must be made – to have Con and no life of her own – or to have a life of her own and no Con. The pain is hers. How can she have it all? The mythological figure givers her an answer.

Don’t worry readers – this is not a James Joyce’s Irish stream-of-consciousness fantasy. It is more rooted in reality. But a reality with inner demons and doubts.

This is about Emer, and her aspirations and her inner struggle for true long-lasting love, but it is also about the love of New York. It is interesting and an enjoyable read. The subtle music references are good too, and Duchovny proves himself to be a writer with a message. 








MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass
Post a Comment
Read more

The Beggars' Strike by Aminata Sow Fall: book review

The Beggar’sStrike (1979 in French and 1981 in English) is set in an unstated country in West Africa in a city known only as The Capital. Undoubtedly, Senegalese author Sow Fall writes of her own experiences. It was also encapsulated in the 2000 film, Battu , directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko from Mali. Mour Ndiaye is the Director of the Department of Public Health and Hygiene, with the opportunity of a distinguished and coveted promotion to Vice-President of the Republic. Tourism has declined and the government blames the local beggars in The Capital. Ndiaye must rid the streets of beggars, according to a decree from the Minister. Ndiaye instructs his department to carry out weekly raids. One of the raids leads to the death of lame beggar, Madiabel, who ran into an oncoming vehicle as he tried to escape, leaving two wives and eight children. Soon after, another raid resulted in the death of the old well-loved, comic beggar Papa Gorgui Diop. Enough is enou
8 comments
Read more