Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt: A Video Review with Shaina Reads!

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Jan 2015.
Pages: 336
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: Library



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Ruth and Nat are orphans, packed into a house full of abandoned children run by a religious fanatic. To entertain their siblings, they channel the dead. Decades later, Ruth’s niece, Cora, finds herself accidentally pregnant. After years of absence, Aunt Ruth appears, mute and full of intention. She is on a mysterious mission, leading Cora on an odyssey across the entire state of New York on foot. Where is Ruth taking them? Where has she been? And who — or what — has she hidden in the woods at the end of the road?

In an ingeniously structured dual narrative, two separate timelines move toward the same point of crisis. Their merging will upend and reinvent the whole. A subversive ghost story that is carefully plotted and elegantly constructed, Mr. Splitfoot will set your heart racing and your brain churning. Mysteries abound, criminals roam free, utopian communities show their age, the mundane world intrudes on the supernatural and vice versa.- Goodreads

Get pumped, book individuals. Shaina and I did a buddy read of Mr. Splitfoot and this time we RECORDED it. What we have here for you is a half hour discussion of what we loved about this book, and what confounded us. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you read the blurb above because Shaina and I do NOT do a good job of summarizing this book succinctly. After around 9 minutes in it treads into spoiler territory. So those of you who haven't read it are advised to turn it off there! (Don't worry, there will be a fancy graphic to guide you).

We ask important questions such as: "what was this guy's deal?" or "what was this other guy's deal?"

"Was Ruth going straight to the place or was she taking Cora to all of the meteorite places?"

And how do we feel about pregnant protagonists?

Don't got time for our video? Here are the non-spoiler-y highlights:

Shaina: There’s a cult. There’s some weird magical realism. And it’s a love story.
Julianne: Sort of.
Shaina: Sort of. And there’s like weird sci-fi elements.


Julianne: I don’t even know how to begin explaining why this book is good. Like it seems impossible to put into words.
Shaina: I mean it’s impossible to put into words partially I think because a lot of the words we use would be very big spoilers.
Julianne: Yeah.
Shaina: But it just draws you in and you’re really - I mean you don’t know what’s going on but you’re kind of happy to not know what’s going on. You’re happy to like go along for the ride.
Julianne: You know that it will be revealed. You know you’re not going to be let down, because there’s too much random weird shit going on. You’re like ok this is going to connect in some way and I really want to see what she’s going to do with it. Ya gotta have faith.


Shaina: I really liked the orphan who had the word “fuck” tattooed to her face but had spelled it wrong.

Why do the living assume the dead know better than we do? Like they gained some knowledge by dying, but why wouldn't they just be the same confused people they were before they died?

Mr. Splitfoot was an incredible read that kept delivering beautifully thought out strangeness. This is a perfect book for #weirdathon in March, if you're looking for potential reads. If you dig cults or Carl Sagan at all, read this. I continue to think about this wildly original story, and I'm now kind of obsessed with Samantha Hunt.


Tell us what you think of Mr. Splitfoot! Do you have any answers for the questions that stuck with us?

A Bookish Chat & Review: The Lathe of Heaven

Here you will find a very unconventional/candid review of The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin in two parts. Shaina of Shaina Reads and I did a buddy read of this sci-fi classic that has been on our TBRs for far too long!

The Lathe of Heaven is an exciting, original science fiction novel starring average dude, George Orr, in the near (but pretty dismal) future. George has a problem. His dreams change reality. Retroactively. And he's the only one who can recall both the old timeline and the new altered timeline. That is, until he is required to seek the help of psychologist, Dr. Haber. Will he help George or does he have a plan? What happens when somebody has the ability to play God?

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Read on to find out what we thought of it and check out Part 2 here.

Sections with minor spoilers marked with a *

What We Thought:

 

Julianne:  wow

  I don't even know where to begin

Shaina:  I know! 
Julianne:  I guess, first of all, how many stars?

  as basic as it gets

Shaina:  hm

  currently flipping through my copy to get my bearings again

Julianne:  well did you love it or really like it?

  without thinking

  gut reaction
Shaina:  I would say a really like it

  definitely a 4, trying to determine if it's 4.5

  ^ courtesy of my guts

Julianne:  haha

Shaina:  it was one of the most original stories I've read

Julianne:  agreed

  it felt so fresh despite being from the 70s

  or 60s? I think 70s
Shaina:  I'm having a hard time thinking of another to compare it to

Our Le Guin Experiences:

Julianne: was this your first Le Guin?

Shaina:  yes!

  I've been told I should read her by a few people, especially the Oregonians in my life

  (my boyfriend is from there)

Julianne:  haha of course

Shaina:  you?

Julianne:  It was my first novel of hers. I read one short story, though.

  I had many people telling me to read this book, though

  and this was infinitely better than the short story I read
Shaina: I'm glad this one was better

  it definitely made me want to read more by her

  especially The Left Hand of Darkness
Julianne: what's that about?

Shaina:  that's a fantastic question, I'm not sure

  but it's been recommended to me a lot

Julianne:  haha that's how I felt about this book

Shaina:  yeah, I feel like I remember reading you say you'd been gifted multiple copies?

Julianne: haha yeah

  one from my grandpa when I was like 13, one from my friend who killed it on Jeopardy like last  year

  as a birthday present, I believe

  and I trust every recommendation of his

  so I was like ok it's probably time...in a year

Shaina:  I would too, if he's a jeopardy master

On Le Guin's Predictions Of The Future:

Shaina: I was actually really surprised by how spot-on some of Ursula's predictions were.

  obviously earth hasn't been wrecked by climate change, but we're definitely starting to feel its effects
Julianne:  yeah, she pinpointed the problems that have definitely become bigger issues

  but she still didn't predict cell phones

  it seems like the little things are hard for sci fi writers to get right

Shaina:  hahaha, yes 
Julianne:  they're either way overblown chip-in-head technologies

  or like way too similar to how things were

Shaina:  yeah, I couldn't help but thinking of the Augmentor as this like

  super 70s/80s gargantuan computer

  or like something very advanced but dated-looking, like in old sci-fi TV
Julianne:  Oh my god the parking ramp converted buildings are too funny.
Shaina:  I really really want to know what pseudobooze is like.

*On Controlled Violence:

Julianne: the controlled violence was very scary

  the palace of sport?? the citizens arrest/eugenics/WHAT

Shaina:  YEAH

  like, how is this improvement

Shaina:  interesting that they eradicated cancer through eugenics

  like, pretty sure that's not how that works

  but ok

Julianne:  did they not just kill everyone with cancer once they found out?

  like it sounded like they were still eradicatING cancer
Shaina:  hmm, ok, that might make more sense

Julianne:  like that murder he witnessed
  they were like THIS DUDE HAS CANCER AND HE'S HIDING IT, WHO IS MY WITNESS

Shaina:  I feel like I remember a line where Haber said they'd eradicated the most common disease or something

Shaina:  of course I have no notes

Julianne:  they'd definitely eradicated some stuff

  idk it was a mess

  Haber fucked it

Shaina:  "Eliminated cancer as a major killer."

  yes, because you replaced it with HOMICIDE

Julianne:  hahaha yeah

  implemented PEOPLE as major killers

*On The Aliens:

 

Shaina:  I gotta admit, though, I'm still a little fuzzy on the aliens

  like, what was with their language and the words that helped George overcome Haber's hypnosis? why were they big turtles??

Julianne:  oh. oh yeah. the ending/the turtles is where I think maybe I'd veer 4.5 instead of 5 stars

  like it just seemed like maybe Ursula was trying to be funny?

  but then it got very serious with their language and how they understand the "effective dream" situation
Shaina:  right, I never fully digested that, the last bit

Julianne:  I don't know. I never really understood what they were trying to communicate even when George seemed to glean a lot

  it just felt a little rushed by the end

Shaina:  yeah, agreed. I liked them, and I think if we'd had a little more time/interaction with them, it would have made more sense

  but as is I just didn't get a good sense for them as characters

  I really enjoyed the alien shop proprietors, though

Julianne:  yesss. and after a while, I really liked the idea of them. I mean obviously them coming to earth was the shit. I definitely gasped.

Shaina:  like, "Do you wish an object." "Thanks, I was just looking." "Please continue this activity."

Julianne:  and they didn't know what they look like?

Shaina:  made me giggle

Julianne:  hahaha yes the interactions were great

  funny without making the story much less serious
  but I was also into how the turtle exterior was a suit
Shaina:  oh, yes! I forgot that they wore suits and that we don't actually know what they look like

Julianne:  and they talk out of their elbows?

Shaina:  yeah, man. I have no idea about that

  it was also interesting (and somewhat typical, I felt) that the humans were the ones to attack the aliens first, rather than try to communicate with them. Ursula's def down on humanity
Julianne:  well, in one reality that was the case

  do we know who attacked first when the aliens were aggressive for half a minute?

  it seemed like they were just smashing shit

  (I mean I still agree with you)

Shaina:  oh true! all these realities are tough to keep track of
Julianne:  also, SIDE QUESTION:

  if they were into the dream stuff, wouldn't they be able to not become a part of George's effective dreaming?

Julianne:  like if they're aware he created it

Shaina:  hmmmm

Julianne:  wouldn't they be like fuck this

  we've got shit to do that isn't running a thrift store?

  I don't know

Shaina:  right, and they've got that funky phrase that lets them peace out of it

Julianne:  it was all so vague with them that there are numerous questions

Shaina:  we should ask 85-yr-old Ursula to write us a book about the turtle aliens 

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I hope you enjoyed reading that as much as we enjoyed talking about it! Check out part 2 of our conversation at Shaina Reads.