Danah's Reviews > State of Paradise

I loved Laura van den Berg’s fever dream of a novel, State of Paradise. At one point, the unnamed narrator’s father says of her writing, “This is some weird shit, but I think you should keep going.” I cackled because it is exactly how I felt while reading this book. I did not want to put it down. I was so caught up in the beauty of van den Berg’s language and in the astuteness of her observations, I did not even notice the fact that none of the main characters are ever named until I began writing this review. As a Florida native, I particularly enjoyed van den Berg’s characterization of my home state (and the state does indeed loom large enough to feel like an actual character in the novel): from the sinkholes, manatees, and Nextdoor messages to the Cro-Magnon governor and Extreme Weather Events, it is both surreal and spot on. I am excited to check out more of van den Berg’s work!