Review: Bruised, Sarah Skilton
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Bruised reads like a flowing poomse – a weaving, dancing combination of compelling prose and a troupe of characters each as distinct as the last. Author Sarah Skilton wields her words in a way that effortlessly conveys the turbulent journey of sixteen year-old Imogen Malley after she is involved in a holdup at a diner. Grappling with issues that have exploded into her consciousness, black belt Imogen faces a future with no self-forgiveness in sight and where Tae Kwon Do seems to be only a charade.
The obvious thing that drew me to this book, considering the underpinning of this blog, was the Martial Arts element in the storyline. I was gratified to uncover a perfect amount of TKD/self-defense information within the novel – perfect because it wasn’t overwhelming, instead enticing me to want to conduct more research into the subject.
From the moment I read the blurb, I was endeared (read: biased) towards the protagonist. Her TKD experience was enviable, and I could connect with her motivations (“I want to teach girls to spar without gear. I want to teach them to react quickly, think on their feet, and take a punch, so if someone ever hits them or gets in their face, they won’t go into shock.”) and her doubts (“I wish I could say… I couldn’t imagine my life without martial arts.”).
That’s not to say that Imogen is the typified-YA-genre reborn-from-the-ashes teenager, though. Skilton veers the plot from moments of ululating victory where you want to become Imogen’s best friend (her demo leading to school fame), to those of mortifying disaster where she simmers with poisonous frustration and confusion at herself and those around her (for instance, being an absolute bitch to Shelly). Not only does the riverbend-curved plot slap you in the face with the volatility of human existence from time to time, I feel that Skilton has also rather successfully conveyed the endless depths of the human psyche. I could identify with the emptiness-that-was-Imogen post-trauma as well as her almost suicidal impetus to prove herself in a real street fight.
One element that testifies to Bruised’s irresistibility is the sparseness of the narrative. It is my opinion that Skilton wanted Imogen to be infused in her actions and turbulent introspection, rather than describing every nuance of her character. I felt this quite strongly, though there are definitely nuggets of literary worth which lend the novel poetic overtones. On my part, I occasionally got sentimental.
As a final tidbit, I would like to share with you one of my favourite lessons from this exemplary novel: the most important thing is the essence of the white belt. Knowing nothing, there is no ego, no conceit.
I’ve probably haven't conveyed the triumph that is Bruised because, much of the time, a (quasi-)review cannot do that. If you are interested, get your hands on that book! Let Sarah Skilton sweep you to a world where people hurt, people die, but where people also gradually learn accept their bloody ruptures and choose to continue fighting.
Author's website (where you get to read more professionally-worded appraisals, and more): http://www.sarahskilton.com/