Review of Ironing

[sheisme]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Ironing" by Navajo.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Welcome aboard! In Ironing by Navajo, you're up for a humorous and meandering ride on a bus. The main plot tracks the lives of a college trio, Emma, Ginie, and Royanda, who are en route to a greyhound racing center in East London. Emma is a dog lover and determined to pet the greyhounds there. On the other hand, Ginie and Royanda do not think it is possible to pet race dogs.

Ironing has all sorts of knick-knacks to keep the reader entertained - a gossipy girl-gang, oldies' romance, heartbreaks, self-acceptances, college stories, and the like. At its heart, it is a collection of numerous subplots and themes. It also portrays the struggle of being in one's teens and living young - falling in and out of love, with oneself and others. Navajo also illustrates the hesitation of adults in pursuing what they truly want, just like the youngsters. (It reminded me of William Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' - where he draws similarities between old age and youth).

I love how the book unabashedly gives a reality check that life is messy and, more often than not, problematic. Ironically, that is exactly what makes life beautiful at the same time. The plot uses good humor and sarcasm. (I enjoyed knowing the character of Emma's Mom. She made me laugh and gave me the creeps simultaneously.) I appreciate the usage of colloquial language for conversation between characters. The chats penned down are engaging and make the reader feel like one of the characters present in the scene. On a personal note, I love that the bus driver's a female. A few instances draw a picture of the behavioral conditioning by society.

Reading the book, I realized that the author had a lot of ideas coming to his mind. The book has immense potential, but its execution made it a little dissatisfying.

Even though I related to the theme, studying it was extremely taxing. First of all, it doesn't seem professionally edited. The changes in the scenes were too many and too frequent. The disconnecting sub-plots needed bridging. So, I'd rate it a 2 out of 4.

The novel uses a lot of profanity. Hence, it isn't for children or readers who distaste such language. This book is for anyone who wants to understand life and still appreciate it. Hop on and take this ride with Emma and her girlfriends to find out what happens at the Greyhound racing center.

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Ironing
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