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MY AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
“Grief
is an individual journey; everyone navigates it differently.”
To
be able to feel grief means to have loved and cared about someone or something.
THE POPPY FIELDS touches the surface in exploring how far we are willing to go
to relieve heartache. In our society, we can pop a pill or take an injection
for all kinds of physical ailments, and of course, there are drugs for plenty
of psychological issues as well that numb pain, guilt, anxiety, and grief. But
going completely comatose for a month? Two months? Waking up with time lost
that can't be recovered and having those -- and potentially other feelings – muted
or even wiped out permanently? Worth it? Worth the risk?
I
had hoped and expected the book to be about The Poppy Fields (The Fields) facility,
but the novel is actually more about how the existence of the facility affects
people. We share in four strangers' journeys as they travel there together, and
we share in the founder's journey of establishing and continuing to run the
facility on her terms as long as she can. Additionally, there are a bunch of
pop-in perspectives from podcasters, influencer, news and science papers,
candidate interviews, and more. These give readers insight into wider views of
The Fields, but these journeys and perspectives are full of grief and pain, and
that made reading THE POPPY FIELDS heavy.
Throughout
THE POPPY FIELDS, readers feel they are building to something big. While there
are two surprises, there’s no big climax or full resolution – the stories of
our five characters kind of just fade out, with a small epilogue-type
conclusion -- courtesy of a character who really seems unnecessary other than
for the purpose of one, last bring-to-date. While I feel empathy and sympathy
for what the characters are feeling, I can't connect with them more deeply,
despite sharing common experiences. That may have been the author's intent in
not fully fleshing out each of them: she wants readers to connect with the
shared experience of grief, regardless of who is carrying it.
ABOUT
THE NARRATION: There are ten narrators listed, but I didn't really notice
changes from the primary narrator except when the pop-in perspectives happened.
Those narrators are more expressive and some even lively, depending on context.
It's well-done, and the voicings are natural and seamless from voice to voice.
I was never startled by a new voice, the narrators' pacings were perfect for
listening at regular speed, and the files were glitch-free. This was the first
and probably last time I'll listen to an ARC audiobook from Edelweiss, though.
It required me to download sixty-three individual MP3 files, and I couldn't figure
out how to get them to auto play one behind the other. Cumbersome, and probably
added an hour to this nearly ten-hour listen.
“Ellis
felt something stir…the sparking of an idea – an illuminated fuse at the very
start of its crackling journey, still in search of its destination.”
THE
POPPY FIELDS is somber reading and forces contemplation; honestly, it really
holds too much grief for me to read without a balance of more lightness. I
realized that the book was affecting me outside of its pages: I was crabby and
felt overwhelmed until I finished, then it was like a weight lifted. This is a
nod to Erlick's writing ability that she could evoke such feelings.
I think there are plenty of readers who will enjoy THE POPPY FIELDS, and it does have staying power after the last page is read. However, for me, it pulls too hard on my heart that’s suffering grief of its own. I crave and need hopeful, happy stories that have nice, neat conclusions that leave me feeling uplifted.
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