I'm pretty sure there's no way I can explain this book better than the synopsis on the inside cover, so I'm going to put that here just so you can get a feel for what the book is actually about. However, this book is actually based on a popular podcast about a strange town called Night Vale, created by the glorious minds of Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, who also wrote the book. Below is the synopsis given by the authors.
"The Man in the Tan Jacket is back in Night Vale and he has been leaving strange pieces of paper with people, all of which say "King City". While Night Vale is used to the strange and bizarre, the Man in the Tan Jacket's arrival puts the town at odds. Jackie Fierro, the owner of the town pawn shop, is determined to figure out the mystery behind both the man and the paper. Meanwhile, Diane Crayton has her own issues: her son has been changing and while this is average for most teenage boys, her son is literally a shape shifter and looks different each time she sees him. When she begins to see her son's father around town and Josh begins to show new interest in the man, Diane knows that this cannot end well."
As you can tell, this book seems strange and odd and completely radical. I was very excited to read it. My favorite part of the book was the satire used throughout, or maybe it would be better explained as symbolism. For example, the "city council" of Night Vale is a group of terrifying, hideous creatures that eat anyone who appears before them. I think this is a nod to the power and attitude of many in the real world that hold a position of authority. Another symbol is the helicopters that fly over Night Vale day and night, and the "vague yet menacing government agencies (Welcome to Night Vale p. 37)" that are always around, always watching the towns' citizens. This, to me, seemed like another nod to the omnipresent "big brother" ideology we as Americans have towards organizations like the NSA.
Another extremely powerful point in this novel was the idea of interconnecting lives. I know you've read stories before where the characters throughout all end up being connected in some way, but Welcome to Night Vale does an excellent job connecting its characters without being too abrupt or in-your-face. The subtleties of the connections are so light and transparent that unless you're paying attention, you might miss them.
The only problem that I had with this book was some of the dialogue choices. While Fink and Cranor aren't renowned authors, the dialogue still could have been written in a more fluid, cohesive way. Instead, many times it was jumbled, forced, and didn't fit with the flow of the other narratives (which were very well written, so I was surprised..)
All in all, this book is extremely interesting, funny to those who have a dry, strange sense of humor, and a great debut novel for Fink and Cranor. I'm definitely going to be giving their podcast a listen, because the way they created an entire place that holds so much weirdness and oddities really intrigues me.
I recommend 9.5/10! (only because of the dialogue)
P.S. I am posting here the link to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast site. It is updated twice monthly, and is complete fantasy. I will be giving it a listen ASAP, and you should, too!
Welcome To Night Vale Podcast Main Site
Edit: not sure why all of this text is highlighted in white, but I'm on a Mac that doesn't belong to me, so fixing it at this time isn't an option.. sorry for any inconvenience or displeasing aesthetic energy! :)
