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The Shining Girls A Novel Lauren Beukes Books

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The Shining Girls A Novel Lauren Beukes Books

My introduction to Lauren Beukes came in the form of BROKEN MONSTERS, an ARC of which I had the pleasure of reviewing last month. Though I fell in love with Beukes’ writing style – the playful use of pop culture references, the skillful interweaving of multiple narratives and POVs, the casual interrogation of racism and sexism – the particular blend of fantasy/SF and crime fiction found in BROKEN MONSTERS didn’t quite do it for me. Thinking that it might work better in THE SHINING GIRLS, I bumped it up to the top of my TBR pile. I know it’s a little tired to say that this book shines, but. Yeah, it kind of does.

Harper is a psychopath living in a Chicago Hooverville circa 1931 when he robs a blind woman of her coat – in the pocket of which he finds a key, which leads him to the House. His House. By all appearances a dilapidated shack, once Harper steps through the front door, it magically transforms itself a mansion - shiny, new, and opulent - just for him. And when he passes through the front door again, he can step out onto any time he can imagine…just so long as the day falls somewhere between 1931 and 1993.

On the wall of the upstairs bedroom thrums a constellation, the stars of which are names of women (scrawled and scratched in Harper’s own handwriting, natch) and their associated objects. Harper instinctively knows what he must do: find the women – these glowing stars – whenever they exist, and snuff out their lights. Redistribute these anachronistic objects. Close the loop.

A prolific time-traveling serial killer, Harper meets his match in Kirby, the only one of his victims to escape alive (thanks in no small part to her heroic dog Tokyo Speedracer Mazrachi; I’ve earmarked the name for my next rescue pup!). When the police’s investigation stalls out, she secures a spot as an intern at THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES so that she can work alongside veteran crime reporter Dan Velasquez, who covered her case several years earlier – even though he’s since moved on to the sports beat. As Harper steps in and out of historic Chicago, his and Kirby’s paths converge, with all roads leading to the House.

THE SHINING GIRLS reminded me of Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 in the best way possible. Like THE SHINING GIRLS, NOS4A2 features a psychopath serial killer who, aided by a magical object (in this case, a 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith) travels the ‘verse (innerscapes) in search of young victims (whose psychic energy he drains to power his ride). Aided by her Raleigh Tuff Burner, Victoria McQueen is the only one of Manx’s victims to escape – and, as a young woman, she will prove his undoing. The parallels are many, yet each story is its own, beautiful beast.

I especially love how the House’s doors offer a glimpse into seminal moments in American history: the Chicago World Fair, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, WWII, Jim Crow segregation, McCarthyism. Harper’s victims come from all walks of life and defy easy categorization: Zora Ellis Jordan is a young mother and war widow working at the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, “weld[ing] the gun turrets that will tear those Nazi s****s into mincemeat.” One of the company’s only African American employees (in truth, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company had no black welders in 1943), she and her four children are barred from staying in on-site employee housing; instead, she’s forced to rent a house in nearby Seneca, a one-hour+ trip by foot. Willie is an architect – a female architect being a rarity in 1954 – who is terrified of being labeled a “Communist” due to her sexual preferences and liberal leanings. Alice is a trans woman recently fired from the carnival when she meets Harper for the first time – and mistakes him for the man of her dreams.

There’s a wonderful breadth of diversity here that’s both appropriate and refreshing. As she did in BROKEN MONSTERS, Beukes examines the history and dynamics of racism and sexism (not to mention homophobia and transphobia) without being heavy-handed. The interrogation is simply part of the story, and blends seamlessly with the fictional elements and larger plot.

After finishing THE SHINING GIRLS, I went out and snatched up the rest of Beuke’s oeuvre. She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. Whether you’re drawn to the science fiction/time travel, crime fiction, historical fiction, or social justice elements of the story (or e) all of the above), I cannot recommend THE SHINING GIRLS highly enough!


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The Shining Girls A Novel Lauren Beukes Books Reviews

I was recommended this book, with an indication that I shouldn't look into what it's about too much, I should just read it and enjoy it. I love the 1930s, and the concept of the time travelling killer driven by a strange force to kill the 'shining girls' seemed dark and interesting.

I think, with the time travel element, and the sentient house element, I mistook it for a work of speculative fiction. It's not. It's a crime a book. And apart from the time travel, there are no mystical elements, it's just one awful man doing awful, awful things. As revolting as he was, the murderer was probably the most interesting character, because Kirby and Dan felt like tired stereotypes. I didn't like anyone in this book, everyone was damaged and uninviting. I think I felt a lot of revulsion and pity while reading this book. One of the other reviews commented that the other Shining Girls were more interesting, and I'm inclined to agree. Margot was fascinating, for the half chapter we got to spend with her.

The worst thing about this book was the feeling of there being no point to my reading it. I persevered because I wanted to know if there was some twist. Some revelation. Something to pull it all together and make me go "Oh yes! I see! How poetic! How incredible!". Something to explain what time travel had to do with anything in this crime novel. But...there wasn't. It was brutal, gory, and a harrowing read, but at the end of it, I didn't get any emotional pay off. There was no reward, or resolution, or anything that justified the emotional energy that this book took from me. I was just glad it was over.

As a crime novel, it's most likely what the fans of the genre expect. For anyone else, I'd recommend caution. It's an intense read for a not-very-satisfying (or even interesting) resolution at the end.
I read this book as part of the book club I run for fans of the My Favorite Murder podcast. This was our non-fiction selection for the month of January. Some people who started reading the book before me complained that book jumping around in time made for a confusing read. Perhaps the advance warning helped because I did not find the time jumps confusing at all. I was also concerned that the premise of a time traveling serial killer would wind up being silly but Lauren Beukes book is a gripping, fast paced read that never feels ridiculous despite its far fetched plot.

Harper Curtis is a serial killer who stumbles onto an abandoned house that opens into other times. Using clues from the house, Harper insinuates himself into the lives of pre-selected girls who "shine" at different periods in modern history. He visits them in their childhood, promising he will visit them later. When he does visit them in adulthood, he murders them brutally. Unbeknownst to him, Kirby Mizrachi, one of his "Shining Girls" survives and is determined to find the man who nearly killed her. Kirby teams up with former Homicide reporter Dan Valesquez to solve the case that has left police baffled.

One thing I really appreciated about this book is that (Possible spoiler?) at no point were there any great leaps of logic on the part of the investigators. Even when the evidence starts to mount, the theory seems fantastical. Additionally, Kirby has done her homework on serial killers. Watching her try to apply clinical criteria that won't fit together is equal parts satisfying and frustrating (satisfyingly frustrating?) because she's smart and she *should* be right but she isn't because the reality is so unreal. The only reason I can't give it a full five stars is that I'm not entirely sure if I like the ending. However, The Shining Girls is a nice addition to serial killer crime fiction that never feels stale or tired.
My introduction to Lauren Beukes came in the form of BROKEN MONSTERS, an ARC of which I had the pleasure of reviewing last month. Though I fell in love with Beukes’ writing style – the playful use of pop culture references, the skillful interweaving of multiple narratives and POVs, the casual interrogation of racism and sexism – the particular blend of fantasy/SF and crime fiction found in BROKEN MONSTERS didn’t quite do it for me. Thinking that it might work better in THE SHINING GIRLS, I bumped it up to the top of my TBR pile. I know it’s a little tired to say that this book shines, but. Yeah, it kind of does.

Harper is a psychopath living in a Chicago Hooverville circa 1931 when he robs a blind woman of her coat – in the pocket of which he finds a key, which leads him to the House. His House. By all appearances a dilapidated shack, once Harper steps through the front door, it magically transforms itself a mansion - shiny, new, and opulent - just for him. And when he passes through the front door again, he can step out onto any time he can imagine…just so long as the day falls somewhere between 1931 and 1993.

On the wall of the upstairs bedroom thrums a constellation, the stars of which are names of women (scrawled and scratched in Harper’s own handwriting, natch) and their associated objects. Harper instinctively knows what he must do find the women – these glowing stars – whenever they exist, and snuff out their lights. Redistribute these anachronistic objects. Close the loop.

A prolific time-traveling serial killer, Harper meets his match in Kirby, the only one of his victims to escape alive (thanks in no small part to her heroic dog Tokyo Speedracer Mazrachi; I’ve earmarked the name for my next rescue pup!). When the police’s investigation stalls out, she secures a spot as an intern at THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES so that she can work alongside veteran crime reporter Dan Velasquez, who covered her case several years earlier – even though he’s since moved on to the sports beat. As Harper steps in and out of historic Chicago, his and Kirby’s paths converge, with all roads leading to the House.

THE SHINING GIRLS reminded me of Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 in the best way possible. Like THE SHINING GIRLS, NOS4A2 features a psychopath serial killer who, aided by a magical object (in this case, a 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith) travels the ‘verse (innerscapes) in search of young victims (whose psychic energy he drains to power his ride). Aided by her Raleigh Tuff Burner, Victoria McQueen is the only one of Manx’s victims to escape – and, as a young woman, she will prove his undoing. The parallels are many, yet each story is its own, beautiful beast.

I especially love how the House’s doors offer a glimpse into seminal moments in American history the Chicago World Fair, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, WWII, Jim Crow segregation, McCarthyism. Harper’s victims come from all walks of life and defy easy categorization Zora Ellis Jordan is a young mother and war widow working at the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, “weld[ing] the gun turrets that will tear those Nazi s****s into mincemeat.” One of the company’s only African American employees (in truth, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company had no black welders in 1943), she and her four children are barred from staying in on-site employee housing; instead, she’s forced to rent a house in nearby Seneca, a one-hour+ trip by foot. Willie is an architect – a female architect being a rarity in 1954 – who is terrified of being labeled a “Communist” due to her sexual preferences and liberal leanings. Alice is a trans woman recently fired from the carnival when she meets Harper for the first time – and mistakes him for the man of her dreams.

There’s a wonderful breadth of diversity here that’s both appropriate and refreshing. As she did in BROKEN MONSTERS, Beukes examines the history and dynamics of racism and sexism (not to mention homophobia and transphobia) without being heavy-handed. The interrogation is simply part of the story, and blends seamlessly with the fictional elements and larger plot.

After finishing THE SHINING GIRLS, I went out and snatched up the rest of Beuke’s oeuvre. She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. Whether you’re drawn to the science fiction/time travel, crime fiction, historical fiction, or social justice elements of the story (or e) all of the above), I cannot recommend THE SHINING GIRLS highly enough!