Mickey

Some background about me as a precursor for this review: I read MICKEY over the course of one night, and I recently graduated from university and up until recently was unemployed.MICKEY is Chelsea Martin's first full-fledged novel in that there is an overarching plot with established themes which permeate throughout the work, whereas her other titles consist of vignettes or poetry. That being said, those who have ever tried making relationships work while balancing their aspirations, especially in their twenties, may connect immensely with the struggles each character experiences.Though seemingly sardonic, narcissistic, and self-indulgent one may sympathize with the characters due to their complexity. The actions of one directly or indirectly affect the behavior of another in both short-term and long-term duration. The reader understands the narrator's psychological imbalances and only knows her input on the emotions of other characters, and yet Martin's meticulous attention to detail with body language strongly reinforces that no one in this story is truly okay.For the characters it is a constant struggle for identity, "love", catharsis through art, and staying connect with the world at large.To me it perfectly describes our current dependency on social media and technology to accentuate our human need not really for love, but validation. Throughout the novel the narrator incessantly tracks the lives of others through Facebook or other blogs and, in these moments, are the only times she gets remotely close to anyone. And this is because no matter how much she plans out conversations with these people, when the moment comes to finally connect with them she loses courage. Even more so, it shows the impossibility of maintaining emotional stability while striving for validation from others.It resonates well especially for those who find themselves pursing a career in the arts and laces together ruminations and fallacies on the purpose of suffering for art.Chelsea is considered one of the leading female writers in the aptly-named Alt-Lit movement which centers around terse, sardonic, and somewhat entropic writing styles--she's also very funny and self aware about her own apathetic behavior, or at least that of the narrator's.Overall, it's a strong debut and really this review cannot do it justice. It is one of the few novels I read which I had to set down at times because it felt too real. It is an honest, funny, heartbreaking work which I'd strongly recommend.

This is one of the best books I've read. I reread the whole book and will probably read it a third time some day in the future. I lent it to a friend recently, something I only do with books I really enjoy, because I want other people to try out good books.If you're looking for an action packed novel full of twists then, yeah, pass on this. If you want a really well thought out (and concise) story told in a series of tightly wound vignettes, you'll probably love this book. The characters are well thought out, even those utterly tertiary to the story, and the prose style is precise. Highly recommended.

Everyone could use some Chelsea Martin in their life!

another wonderful read from her. highly enjoyed it and had some great laughs throughout. one of my favorite authors.

This is my new fav Chelsea Martin, it's amazing.

I absolutely loved this book!!

This is a very interesting book. I read each page like three times each. When I got to the end, I wasn't even sure what I had just read. I'm still not sure. I just know that I like it. I think a lot of people would enjoy this book, if they knew it existed.