Thank you Netgalley for this advanced audio edition of State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg.

This book started out very interesting, but with the dystopian twist it took, ended up completely losing me. I always want to be really fair when reviewing books like this (one of the reasons I hate simplifying my reviews to a star rating) I just wasn't the right audience for this book. I'm not great with sci-fi, and someone who loves it would probably be way more into this read. So please take my rating with a grain of salt.

This unfortunately was a DNR for me. I really tried but couldn't get into the characters or story line. I also found it a bit hard to follow on audio book when I only had a few minutes to listen here or there. I suspect that reading this on my Kindle would have been a better experience for me.

Wow this one was a trip. Van den Berg packed a lot into these 224 pages. Her humorous tone, super evocative descriptive writing combined with the uncanny to make this one an absolute trip. It’s litfic questioning what separates fact from fiction, with a side of speculative fiction rooted in the weird mindset of the pandemic days questioning society and humanity with all the fun themes of dependency on technology, late stage capitalism, climate change and more! The book takes a while to set up but I definitely recommend sticking with it.

The audiobook for this one is narrated by Megan Tusing and she does a great job with the tone and delivery of this strange story. I appreciated that the narration stayed calm even when things were getting chaotic, I think it added a layer to the story but I do wonder how my experience would have differed had the delivery been in a different tone.

I don’t think this will be for everyone but if you like “weird lit”, don’t mind not knowing where a book is going or would enjoy an incredibly well written mix of Mona Awad, Ling Ma, Melissa Broader and Jenny Offill, I think this will be for you.

After first listening to State of Paradise I wasn't really sure what I had just listened to. The narrator was absolutely fantastic but the story line was wild and all over the place. In the last hour of the book however, I feel like the story finally really connected all the dots and came to a complete narrative. In the end this book was a wild mix of Florida lore, pandemic phobias, and worries over the future of AI and what companies are really doing to us. The characters were beautifully imperfect and fascinating. This is a book that perfectly fits one of my favorite genres of literature, weird girl literature and I will definitely be checking out more of Laura van den Bergs work.

Laura van den Berg’s sixth novel, STATE OF PARADISE, is a fascinating blend of speculative fiction and autofiction, set in the uniquely strange and entertaining backdrop of Florida.

About...

The protagonist, a 36-year-old ghostwriter, and her husband, also a writer, embark on a journey back to her roots in central Florida. They return to her mother’s house, which holds memories of her childhood after her father's death.

The sister lives next door, and a tech company has distributed a virtual reality device called Mind’s Eye to locals to help them meditate.

The novel delves into Florida’s erratic weather, dystopian politics, and intrusive technology, painting a vivid and thought-provoking picture of the state’s peculiarities and challenges.

Then, through meanderings in and out of reality, there is bad weather (this is Florida), and she calls up memories of her deceased father and her time as a patient in a mental facility. These memories are accompanied by strange, inexplicable body changes, adding a layer of mystery to the narrative.

Everything is not as it seems...

From a pandemic, trauma, mental illness, loss, grief, loss, and memories—from speculative and autofiction to mystery and thriller.

My thoughts...

The storytelling is MIND-BENDING!

With all the interviews I have read about this book, Van den Berg’s STATE OF PARADISE seems to be personal and intimate. Many of the events she experienced when staying at her family home during the pandemic are chronicled in her Florida Diary. This diary, which she initially intended as a personal reflection and mediation, turned into the basis for STATE OF PARADISE.

STATE OF PARADISE is deep, twisty, witty, mysterious, eccentric, weird, atmospheric, and thought-provoking. It is a story far stranger than either reality or fiction. STATE OF PARADISE resonates deeper as a metaphorical examination of post-pandemic existence.

As a Floridian for over 20 years— we all know how weird and crazy this state is. I had to laugh at the dark stories of sinkholes, swamps, floods, iguanas, alligators, snakes, hurricanes, missing people, supernatural, portals, canals, ghosts, humans, nature, bomb shelters, cults, climate, canals, bacteria, humidity, the crazy weather, politics, technology, memories, pandemic, and all the wildness and weirdness of this state.

Audiobook...

I listened to the audiobook by a favorite narrator, Megan Tusing. Fabulously talented, she delivered an outstanding performance as she brought the setting and the characters to life!

Thanks to Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy for an honest opinion.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: July 9, 2024
July 2024 Must-Read Books
July Newsletter

On a personal note...

I have lived and worked from north Ponte Vedra Beach, Ormond Peach, Palm Beach, W Palm Beach, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, to the furthest south, the Florida Keys (east coast). I have also had offices in Tampa, Sarasota, and Naples along the Gulf Coast, so I enjoyed all the landmarks and familiar spots. I loved the wink to Palm Beach and, of course, the favorite quaint town of Mount Dora (bomb shelter).

I have been trying to leave Florida for years (was relocated here from Atlanta for a job years ago). I am currently on a five-year waiting list for a senior living to relocate to Asheville, NC to retire (my home state). I am ready to return closer to family, to seasons and mountains—(minus no pesky iguanas, alligators, hurricanes, or hot, humid weather.) This state will surely be under water or dissolved soon.

The novel is very realistic and insightful in many ways, and if you are a resident, you will appreciate both the humor and the insanity.

Thank you #NetGalley and #MacmillanPublishers for the opportunity to re-tour the truly trippy State of Paradise on #audiobook. It's a short, surreal and eerie novel that made for a perfect audiobook == narrated perfectly by @megantusing.

"Things are not what they seem..." State of Paradise (reviewed at length in Surreal, compelling, and unique!!

The novel follows a ghost writer and her professor husband, living in Florida -- first temporarily and then longer term. Family events drew them south from NY. Florida and its terrain, weather, and inhabitants are all characters in themselves.. The themes hit squarely on the essence of pandemic living within an increasingly unpredictable world of wacky politics and crazy climate events. Significant, deadly climate events take place within the novel, people go missing, and a diabolical tech device - Mind's Eye - gets into the hands and minds of many residents and strange things ensue.

This book was a sensory extravaganza. I loved the narrator/protagonist and her vivid recollections of institutional trauma, her fears, family relationships, and sometimes tenuous grip on reality. The novel, throughout, felt very unreal and haunted (including a very well-described and highly believable VR headset that takes on fantastic and dangerous properties). And, as mentioned, the state of Florida (flora, fauna, summer heat, swampy, sinkhole-ridden -- a feeling of ever-present danger lurking about) made the book truly come to life. The Cro-Magnon leader, the disappeared, things emerging and vanishing. I'm looking forward to listening to this on audiobook. It was a quick, addictive read and I can't wait to dive deeper into Laura van den Berg's past books. This one is absolutely solid!!!! Out July 9th!! 🔥

Sharply written and a bit feverish, State of Paradise is bizarre and enveloping. I had trouble getting into this one – the story is swelteringly abstract and was at times difficult to follow, especially when the narration deviates into tangents and asides. Haunting imagery bolsters this novel but left me wanting a little more stability in the plot to grab hold of. I think this book will find its right audience (FSG never misses), but I probably wasn't in the right headspace for this.

I really liked this strange book! I can't say that I understood the purpose or how it all came together in a way that I could explain, but I found its quirky nature and bizarre occurrences to be fascinating and funny and thoroughly enjoyable. The narration was perfectly suited to the voice of the novel and added a depth of engagement for me. It's inexplicable and human and unusual and was really entertaining. Once I started it I could not wait to see what would come next - because it could have been, literally, anything!

I can't really describe it - it's an unusual tale that revolves around family and loving yourself and your life, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Laura van den Berg is definitely on my watch list now!

"State of Paradise" by Laura van den Berg is a genre-blending novel (contemporary fiction —> science fiction) set in the sweltering, surreal environment of a Florida town during the pandemic. The protagonist, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author, returns with her husband to her childhood home, where she confronts family secrets, her sister's obsession with a virtual reality device, and the mysterious disappearance and return of townspeople.

The transition from contemporary fiction to science fiction took me a second to get used to as I was listening. But in particular, it was the style and organization of the book that made it difficult for me to fully engage with the story in audio form. Otherwise, I think the plot was intriguing and writing very strong. Specifically, the main character’s apathetic yet factual recounting of traumatic events is both a realistic portrayal of a trauma response and a deeply disturbing element that underscores the novel’s darker themes well.

I really wanted to like this one, but it’s a huge flop for me. Firstly, the audiobook reader did a great job, so this is entirely not their fault. This sci-fi literary fiction novel throws Covid, Florida, and virtual reality into a blender and tries to make a statement. It felt like eight ideas unnaturally woven into one, without any semblance of a clear plot. It was muddy, and even when it was following a plot line (the Mc’s sister goes missing for a while, the headsets are abducting people into another reality, there’s a biker who loses his dog, the Mc’s mother is becoming a cult leader, the Mc is a ghost writer who discovers the popular author she’s aping is cryogenically frozen), it was boring. Maybe that was the point, but as a reader, I failed to digest anything that will stick with me beyond the final page. Except, of course, the MC’s stupid belly button, which transforms throughout the novel from a vast concave hole she carries chapstick inside, to disappearing altogether. And if that sounds weird for the sake of being weird, then you’ve reached my stance on this book.

The title, State of Paradise, refers not to Florida (I've lived there and it is no paradise), but to the state of being one enters when using Minds Eye, a meditation device. Yet it is not a panacea for surviving the pandemic, the rising oceans, the increasingly frequent storm surges. The protagonist of the story eschews such devices yet her mercurial sister is sucked into its vortex while their mother joins a cult. In other words, if you enjoy a bit of crazy, you might just like this messy novel about family. My favorite bit was the cataloging of small changes happening to their bodies that only the narrator notices.
But it didn't go far enough to be science fiction or even climate fiction, just hovering on the edge of these genres to entice but not fully satisfy. 3.5 rounded up.
My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy for review purposes. Publication date is July 9, 2024.

This slim novel packs worlds into its 5-1/2 hours. It begins in a familiar fashion. Our narrator is a ghost writer (for a "very famous thriller author"), she and her husband come south to Florida to help her mother out during an unnamed pandemic. Her sister lives over the fence. There's history between them. There are tornadoes.

There's a ton of atmosphere - the storms, the grasshoppers, cats, a wolf. More than a few times I was reminded of Lauren Groff's short story collection Florida. There is even a "Florida Man" anecdote.

Our narrator frequently alludes to falling back on the quote "Everything is not as it seems" in her writing. This is the title of the second part of the novel. Enough said.

A unique story that dances with both horror and sci-fi, State of Paradise subverts expectations and takes the reader on a wild ride.

Megan Tusing does a commendable job narrating the audiobook, guiding us smoothly along the surreal journey.

My thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for the digital ALC.

This is exactly the kind of surreal writing I absolutely love!

Melting realistic and bizarre, Laura van den Berg brings us a sweltering and vivid story about our ghost writer protagonist who, along with her husband, has moved back in with her mother in her Florida hometown. Post pandemic, with her sister as a neighbor, she spirals into this strange sense of consciousness. Mixing past experiences with present bizarro events, this book transported me to the strange gauzy dreamlike state.

As she discovers family secrets, battles her past demons and watches her sister grapple with her sensational virtual reality addiction, I found myself completely enamored with this story.

The narration of this book was perfect. I found the voice soothing, which was a fun parallel to the story.

State of Paradise, by Laura van den Berg is a witty deeply personal micro memoir. I found myself laughing out loud more times than I can count. I think a lot of women will identify with the author, and the narration was perfect.

The only way for me to describe this is interesting. I think if you liked My Year of Rest and Relaxation then you would like this as well if you’re looking for a similar vibe but a book about nothing. I didn’t finish this but made it to 40% and nothing had happened. There’s a lot of things that are dropped but not expanded on further and I’m just not sure where this was going at all. I stopped and then didn’t feel drawn to go back to it

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
•
When I read the synopsis of State of Paradise I was intrigued and figured it would be a quick listen that I would really enjoy. It however was a bit of a mishmash of a bunch of different concepts that sort of worked but also didn’t?
•
First, let me get my rambling out of the way…. I cannot express enough how tired I am of hearing about COVID. The amount of times this book mentioned the pandemic or during quarantine… lets just say I was ready to toss my air pods across the room. Again, I sound like a broken record, but can we just not please?
•
Second, this is the second book this year that I read that none of the characters have names. That drives me absolutely bonkers. Why doesn’t anyone have a name? I like names.
•
Third, this was such an interesting concept with bringing in virtual reality with world hopping. I thought it was such a unique idea and I was really vibing with it, I just felt that the execution was a bit choppy. There are a lot of different things that happen within this story that it kind of seemed like someone mashed together a bunch of thoughts. But, it still worked? If that even makes sense..
•
I listened to this one via audiobook and Megan Tusing was a phenomenal narrator. I really like what she did with this story.
•
Overall, this had a great premise, cool concept, interesting jumble of thoughts, but the execution was lacking, I am tired AF of COVID and I need my characters to have names. This one was both a hit and miss. I have seen rave reviews – take mine with a grain of salt.
•
State of Paradise releases on 7/9 be sure to check this one out. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Laura van den Berg and Spotify Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

DNF at 52%, so I’ll consider it read.

It’s hard to say what this one is about. The narrator is a ghostwriter who is reflecting on life in Florida, her past, family relationships, etc. It’s a fragmentary, meandering first person narration that is definitely more about *vibes*.

I quit the book before the fictional tech became the focus, but my sense is that things get weird. I just was not enjoying the narration style, so I decided to accept that and stop reading.

I’m definitely an outlier so far on this one - so perhaps if the premise appeals, give it a go. But know that the first half is very plotless and more about the narrator’s thoughts on a range of things. I assumed that the narration style wasn’t going to make a 180 before the end, and I was not getting along with it, so that’s that!

I’ve read Laura van den Berg before and had mixed success, so I think she’s just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a very interesting book. The writing was very well done and kept me in the story and also kept me guessing on what was going to happen next. Definitely recommend this book.

Set in a slightly alternate version of post pandemic Florida, this follows a ghostwriter for a famous novelist. When her sister disappears during a violent rainstorm, she must investigate how it may be connected to the rise of a new virtual reality device that seems to be infiltrating all aspects of her life. This plays with reality in really interesting ways. It manages to be fantastically weird yet still rooted in reality. It’s the perfect hybrid of sci-fi and literary fiction that I can’t get enough of lately.

This book is so weird! The narration is perfect for the story and the book is weird. I could not predict a single thing. The writing is interesting. The author does use names and that makes it sound even more like a diary or a long email from your distant friend. It just feels more real! But bizarre things are happening.
This is dystopian and lovely at the same time. I love it so much!