Response to New Times, SLO Article
By Kyrstin Pull
Usually, when a reviewer interviews someone about a novel
you can assume he or she will have read the book. Who would have thought, right? Well, I am pretty confident that Jessica Pena
did not read Unrequited — One Girl, Thirteen Boyfriends, and Vodka by Christy
Heron before she wrote a recent New Times article, “Central Coast Native, Christy Heron, Pens Novel."
Pena writes, “There are moments of genuine emotion in Unrequited. Granted, that emotion is, if any, tragic.”
Pena writes, “There are moments of genuine emotion in Unrequited. Granted, that emotion is, if any, tragic.”
In contest with Pena’s opinion, had she actually read the book, Unrequited is completely based around “genuine emotion”. The main character, January Estlin, battles not only a personality disorder but also the unpredictable roller coaster of her unattainable lover, Jack/A.K.A. Short Fat Fuck.
The trials and tribulations she endures are nothing short of emotional. Pena claims tragic? Yes, to some degree, but whose life doesn’t involve a bit of tragedy? Isn’t that how most stories become worth telling? Without spoiling the end readers will see that this book is romantic, maybe not your traditional Fabio making love to a foreign supermodel kind of romance, but a real life, relatable, adult romance.
So many people, especially young women, have all been through the same experiences as January, making this book genuine.
Ms. Heron quotes the famous poet, Pablo Neruda:
I am not jealous of what came before me.
Come with a hundred men in your hair,
Come with a thousand men between your breasts...
bring them all to where i am waiting for you.
Unique, raw and nontraditional,
Unrequited is a beautiful novel.
Unrequited is a beautiful novel.
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