Review: Kevin Brooks- Naked

So, I’ve finally finished Naked.  Gosh, it was a bit of a challenge. But, I think my age and the fact that I’ve been studying English Literature for so long that I am now programmed to analyse every detail of a novel are factors that have worked against me in this instance.

I posted a review to my Goodreads page, so I’ll share it here too
 

Naked is the story of Lilibet (Lili) Garcia, and her coming of age during the beginnings of the Punk scene in London. Lili- the classical pianist- falls for sexy cool-kid Curtis, and is invited to play bass in his band, Naked. What follows is the progression of the band and its members, all told from Lili's point of view.

I really struggled to get into this book, and was distracted throughout by issues such as the reliability of the narrator: at times the narration sounded phoney, and I found it difficult to believe that she could remember such details from 34 years ago.

Some elements of the storyline seemed a bit far-fetched and the ending a bit rushed and convenient. There was a very strong sense of the author tying up the loose ends, rather than bringing the book to its natural end. It just felt forced.

There were moments when the writing was effective, really drawing me into the storyline, but they were few and far between.

Not being alive at the start of the punk scene, I can only experience it through Brooks' description which created a believable enough, if repetitive, picture of that environment. The constant name dropping, however, began to get annoying. I could totally understand it, had Curtis been the narrator, but telling the story from Lili's perspective didn't sit well with me. Curtis is the one with the dreams and the desire to make the contacts and know all the movers and shakers of the industry, not Lili.

The involvement of William was an interesting development in the story, and I think some of the interactions between Lili and William, and Lili and William's family are the highlights of the book. Although, at times, I think Brooks was trying too hard to include far too many of the issues: social, political, of the 1970s. Perhaps he should've just focussed on the punk movement.

On a plus side, I think the characters that Brooks does choose to develop are given interesting and maintained traits and personalities.

This book was recommended to me as an example of gritty, teenage fiction. I think if you are a teenager, especially one who's interested in the punk scene, then this book will be right up your street. Or, if you're a teenager looking for something a bit different: a bit of old-school, teenage rebelliousness, then you'll also enjoy it.

 

So there we have it. I’m pleased I’ve finally made it to the end, and I think I would recommend it to a teenager, but I can’t see me volunteering to read much more of Kevin Brooks’ work. Next up is John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars, which I’m very excited to read.

I think, at the moment, this blog is becoming a bit of a book review blog, but it is all related to the PGCE- this is preparation, afterall.