(Book Review: Mantra)
Mantra
By: Aliza Shvarts
Review by Sara
I was excited to receive Mantra by Aliza Shvarts to review for my next article on GNAR. In the synopsis that preceded the actual work it was described as an examination of the age of seventeen, a concept which, as a teenager myself, intrigued me. I was also really excited to read an “underground” novel, printed independently, as opposed to novels that have been chosen by a publisher as “marketable” to the mass media. Mantra, published by The Prodigal Press, “Los Angeles’s first underground literary press”, was real.
The style that it was written in took some getting used to. It is actually a series of essays, written in the first person and with very little dialogue, which all begin with the mantra, “All energy seeks the ground.” The writing style was poetic, and the use of wording was very well done, with great descriptive paragraphs that convey, quite well, everything from the physical setting to the thoughts and emotions that run through the narrator’s head. With all its glorious prose though, the narration tends to drag at times, and I actually found myself skipping lines in attempt to find a point buried under all the elaborate words.
I don’t think I ever did find a point. That isn’t to say, of course, that I didn’t enjoy the novel. Some of the essays, in particular one about sleeping and another about feet (sounds strange, I know!), I actually found to be very fun to read. Shvarts examined the topics with stunning incisiveness up to the final conclusion, when the topic was closed and left up to the reader to ponder in his or her own mind. The novel was thought-provoking and its descriptions of pure, unaltered life, from the worldview of an insightful, passionate teenage were fascinating.
Toward the end of the book I found my attention severely wandering. The prose seemed repetitive and the message of the novel was ambiguous at best. Mantra’s best quality was its astute observations on life, but it also lacked an overall theme. The original concept that was being explored, that of seventeen being the ideal age, was never mentioned, as far as I could tell. The experiences and feelings could have belonged to teenagers or adults of any age.
Ok, let’s sum that up. Mantra was wordy, but interesting (in a plot-less sort of way. Actually, it reminded me of reading a blog.) It was unlike anything I’ve ever read, really encouraging me to ponder some very “out there” topics. I’d give it 5 stars out of 10.