TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2009, Los Angeles Mystery Bookstore
TOP 50 BOOKS OF THE DECADE, BSC Review
“It has a quality very rare in literature: a subtle, dark humor that’s only perceivable when one goes deep into the heart of this world’s absurd tragedy, or tragic absurdity.”
“This book bleeds truth—after you finish it, the blood will be on your hands.”
“Well-written, without a superfluous word, it’s a big chase, practically a movie on the page.”
“Anya is a wonderful, believable heroine, her tragic tale told from the inside out, without a shred of sentimental pity, which makes it all the stronger.”
“I’m in awe. I-5 moves so fast you can barely catch your breath. It’s as tough as tires, as real and nasty as road rage, and best of all, it careens at breakneck speed over as many twists and turns as you’ll find on The Grapevine…. [A] hardboiled standout.”
“[A] grim and gripping noir novel…. Brenner writes boldly and with seething clarity.”
”[A] hairy and perfect novel….It does not hurt that Anya is the heroine to end all heroines. Brenner’s book is an antidote for a wide range of complaints.”
“[A] very smart and conscientious book. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t also an immensely enjoyable book. Brenner is an elegant writer, with an ear for the kind of startling turn of phrase that catches the reader off-guard and reawakens them to the force of her story.”
“A novel that will beat you up—chances are you deserve it. I-5 cuts through layers of flesh to reveal the true heart of noir: that for every American dream there are a thousand nightmares. I have read no better novel in the genre. Roll over Willeford, tell Goodis the news.”
“We learn Anya’s story in layers, and we learn her character in actions that are never quite what we expect them to be. She kept me guessing all the way through this hallucinatory shadow-world tour.”
“Steeped in tension and biting black humor, this noir road-novel-cum-character-study is an impressive debut by a promising new voice.”
“Brenner did not set out to update Ivan Denisovich [by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn], but the similarities are unmistakable. In both novels, the main characters are snatched from their families and delivered to remote places that function by a harsh new set of rules….[B]oth characters also exhibit a sense of agency that helps them retain their humanity in brutish surroundings….Amidst all the difficult questions, the lively depiction of villains and antiheroes in I-5 make Brenner’s novel a thrill to read.”
”Having now read—and completely enjoyed I-5—I still think Summer Brenner is a poet, but one with notable narrative skills and a deep commitment both to her characters and to justice…. I-5 is in this sense a political novel, though Brenner never lets this obstruct our view of her character. Anya is someone you will never forget.”
“Wholly original piece of dark fiction that never goes where you expect it to and ventures into uncharted waters. It’s uncompromising in ways that should be exceptionally appealing to readers of dark fiction, I-5 is as tough a crime tale as you’re likely to find anywhere.”
“Summer Brenner provides an insider’s look at the seedy world of sexual slavery…. Nothing gets sugar-coated, yet Brenner shows sincere sympathy and warmth for her characters. I found it hard to stop turning the pages.”
“[A] journey marred with sex and crimes that exposes the harsh reality of the invisibility of women, immigrants, and the marginalized, struggling to survive.”
“Inspired by the events of 1999 in Berkeley when a 17-year-old Indian girl died of carbon monoxide poisoning….Brenner took the incident many steps further, a tribute to her social conscience, especially her identification with immigrants and other marginalized groups, her feminism, and her considerable writing skills.”
“Her prose style is a mirror reflection of the interstate: parched, fast, and tense, with an emotional timbre that matches the velocity of the plot.”