Read A Book, Repeat.

ctto https://twitter.com/langleav#timeline

I'm Finally done reading Lang Leav’s “Sad Girls” after ages and yeah t’was alright. First and foremost let me just say I am a big fan of Lang Leav, I adore her flair for writing (prose and poetry) which is the very reason why I got so damn curious when her first novel came out. However, my take on the book would be my honest to goodness opinion. Let me just also say that I purposely eluded any reviews prior to reading this book so my opinion won’t be based on other readers' judgements. So, here it goes. 

“Sad Girls” 

Author: Lang Leav

Setting: 

Australia

Characters:

• Audrey - person speaking in the book; a budding writer 
• Ana - one of Audrey’s friends; committed suicide
• Lucy - Audrey’s childhood friend
• Freddy - Lucy’s boyfriend
• Candela - also one of Audrey’s close friends; a wayward
• Dirk - Candela’s equally wayward boyfriend
• Duck - Audrey’s long time boyfriend
• Rad a.k.a Colorado Clark - Ana’s boyfriend; a budding writer as well; later on became Audrey’s love interest.

Ana's wake.
Ana is one of Audrey’s friends who’s death she felt responsible for because of a “lie” she fabricated. Ana was believed to have committed suicide after she was found in the bath tub with her slashed wrist. Rumor has it Ana had a sexual relation with her own father thus led to her suicide and the rumor eventually spread from an unknown source, and the unknown source was Audrey. Audrey is wallowing with guilt on the day of Ana’s funeral, she never told anyone about the veracity of Ana’s death, not even her close friends Lucy and Candela. The thing was, there’s no truth to the incestuous sexual relation between Ana and her father, it was all concocted probably out of Audrey’s secret hate for Ana. 

Audrey.

Let’s focus on Audrey’s life for a minute here: Audrey had a rough life as well and is seeing a shrink to address her panic attacks which emanated from issues she had in the past such as her mother leaving her father and them kids behind for another man just to come back again to patch things up as if her mistake was irrevocable. Her mother was a control freak as well and is intrusive with her relationship. Audrey’s mother is also responsible why she and Duck became a couple in the first place because her mother and Duck’s mom are good friends. She has not forgiven her mother neither for cheating on her father. Audrey was advised by her shrink to wear an elastic band in her wrist which she could use to snap back to reality when panic attack hits her. 

The third wheel.

Going back to the story, Audrey noticed Rad during Ana’s funeral and found he was her boyfriend. She was undeniably physically attracted to Rad the first time she’s laid her eyes on her. The two left together during Ana’s funeral which even led to further skirmishes. Audrey’s mom was furious with what happened because she felt ashamed for her since she and Duck’s mother are friends. Rad and Audrey on the other hand had a special thing going on which eventually caused a strain on Duck and Audrey’s relationship. Lucy, on the other hand was offered to house sit her kin’s house in Sydney and thought of Audrey since the latter is planning to take a writing job in Sydney plus the tension between Audrey and her mom is getting worse because of Rad. Audrey by the way parted ways with Rad prior to her leaving for Sydney. 

One day, the editor assigned Audrey to interview Colorado Clark regarding his new book. Audrey liked Clark’s book after reading it because she found one of the characters familiar. Little did Audrey know, Colorado is Rad’s real name because his mother wanted to go to Colorado while pregnant with him I think (as far as I can remember). This rekindled Rad and Audrey’s little love affair back home which however led to Audrey and Duck’s break up after the latter learned she’s seeing Rad in Sydney. On the other hand again, their friend Candela, another sad girl, became involved with drugs and took off with her equally addict boyfriend Dirk. 

Fast forward.

Things did not really work out between Audrey and Rad after she admitted she caused Ana’s death. Audrey did not expect Rad to forgive her and they parted ways without closure. Audrey left for Colorado (yes Australia to Colorado U.S) to write, reflect, and probably mend a broken heart. She changed her number and never heard from Rad since. Another little love affair though blossomed between her and a guy named Gabe in Colorado. The two was already planning to go on a road trip when Audrey got a call from Lucy, Candela and Dirk, who both finally got their acts together decided to tie the knot and the wedding is happening sooner than expected. Because of Candela’s wedding happening on a haste, Audrey had to postpone her road trip with Gabe and flew back to Australia. She’s still by the way in love with Rad and never ceased thinking about his whereabouts the whole time. 

Back for Good?

With Audrey’s return in Australia she asked about Rad’s whereabouts and Lucy told her he may not be ok. Audrey looked for Rad and found him working for a park and living in a trailer. She learned that Rad became miserable after a supposedly big writing break did not work out so he decided to live a life of a recluse and stopped writing. Fast forward again, Audrey and Rad are back again and she told him about her plan of writing a book which he of course supported. Rad started writing again and was offered a screenplay gig in L.A. until a startling news broke out. 

Weather the greatest storms..

Audrey got a call from Candela, Lucy’s boyfriend Freddy died from a car accident. Freddy was Audrey’s good friend as well, she always thought Lucy and Freddy are perfect for each other. Lucy told Audrey she already asked Freddy to move in with her before the accident and warned her to be careful with Rad.

Revelation.

Audrey found from Lucy that Freddy read Rad’s suicide note on the latter’s Mac book (he left the mac book to Freddy’s care before he went on hiatus) and was on his way to Lucy’s when the accident happened. Lucy told Audrey what Freddy read on Rad’s suicide letter which stated the whole truth about Ana’s death. Audrey learned from Rad’s suicide letter that Ana allegedly died and hit her head after her and Rad had a fight. Rad felt Ana’s pulse and found nothing so he dragged her to the tub and slit her wrists to stage a suicide. Audrey confronted Rad and he admitted everything. Audrey abhorred Rad for what he did because she carried this guilt with her for a long time.

The novel then ended with Audrey reading through Ana’s handwritten suicide note she accidentally fished through her coat’s pocket which will furthermore justify Ana’s suicide intent. So, should Audrey feel just as culpable as Rad for Ana’s death then if there was a real intent to commit suicide on Ana’s end? My answer is just read the book lol. 

Well, seriously they’re both accountable for Ana’s death in my opinion depending on the circumstance. If Ana committed suicide due to the emotional, social, mental, psychological damage the rumor may have caused (say the rumor served as an impetus for Ana to kill herself then if proven true) Audrey goes to jail. In Rad’s case, whichever way you put it, he goes to jail for staging Ana’s suicide: he moved Ana’s body what more slitting her wrist. If he called for help the medics could’ve revived Ana because in the real world murder is only murder if there is an intent to kill and in Ana’s case she tripped which might’ve caused her death which can be then ruled out as accident provided Rad did not purposely push her then he’s off the hook. Anyways, my love for suspense thrillers and Nancy Drew books as a kid drifts me away from time to time lol.

My Review.

Going back to “Sad Girls” which took me a long while to finish because I got to the point where I just wanted to find out if Audrey’s story has a climax at all since reading the novel felt as if I’m listening to a classical music and I’ve been waiting for the crescendo but it went melodiously on and on. Lang Leav’s impeccable choice of words was very romantic reminiscent to the sound of water lapping or waves crashing if that makes sense, very languorous, that serene vibe even if the novel is quite dark and rueful. The book is a myriad of beautiful words but did not have that many surprising revelations I was waiting for the whole time I was reading it. I have also reached the point wherein I thought the book's release was just overrated because of the success of her previous books (Love & Misadventure, The Universe of Us etc.) that I may have expected too much from the story until I read through the last chapter and thought yeah, it’s not so bad at all although honestly I was only able to appreciate the book when I was down to the last chapter. “Sad Girls” was alright, it's just too melancholic for me. It was beautifully written hands down it's just the lengthy poetic ramblings, they bored me like hell. There was a downpour of words almost half of the book, way too much until your anticipation is gone with the wind. 

On to my next read, Sophia Amoruso’s #GirlBoss. I’m hoping to finish it in less than a month’s time. I must, I will.