Review: Nostalgia by Cori H. Spenzich
Nostalgia by Cori H. Spenzich, out May 24th from Story Influx Press, tells the chaotic tale of Ted Bundy (not the one you have in mind) after a bizarre car accident allows him to travel through time during each bout of his newly-gained narcolepsy.
Wearing the influences of Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick proudly on its sleeves, Nostalgia satirizes a somewhat familiar world of 2016, framing the year as if it were a long lost relic, and our intrepid Narrator is filling us in on what we missed. 2016 references, like the first crypto boom, play with a "nostalgia" that doesn't yet exist, making the novel a pre-mature time capsule. Maybe some day.
The Narrator is our constant guide, as reliable as we could hope for, filling in details about the times and places Ted sleeps and bumbles his way through, Minnesota Vikings helmet firmly on his head. Omniscient would be an understatement. The Narrator's jokes have approximately a 10% hit rate, but when those few land, they are good. The rest are usually pretty crass just for the sake of being crass. There are a lot of dick jokes.
There's a "throw everything at the wall, and then keep throwing" approach to the humor in the novel, when in actuality, the comedy is already there. Ted's encounters with cults and vampire self-help is hilarious on its own. The Narrator undermines what is working in the narrative, through dialogue, and through character. Explaining jokes ruins jokes.
Under the surface, there is an inkling in Nostalgia of commentary about the absurdities of the medical system, about living with mental or neurological issues, how downright comical everyone treats you that you might as well be walking around with a football helmet on. These moments are Nostalgia at its best.
The humor and how the novel plays with form might be off-putting to some readers, but the sporadic illustrations after certain chapters (like a light novel) do wonders to flesh out this world. The plot doesn't get going until the halfway mark. The villain and his coterie aren't properly explained.
All of that said, there's something to Nostalgia that draws you to it. Whether its the shrink haunted by demons, the MMO gold-farming roommate, the reference to Sephiroth, the heart at the center of a normal guy cursed with an insane situation after insane situation, for some reason you keep on reading.
An ARC (advanced reader copy) was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.
