Life as a scrapbook

Nicole Markotic draws you in to turn the page in her compelling novel

By Cassandra Rivas
Published: April 25th, 2009 | 11:35am

Just as the title promises, this novel is a collection of experiences, as if life were a scrapbook. Taking place mostly in Western Canada, this is the story of a misunderstood young woman desperately struggling with the ideas and rules that come with belonging to a certain family, group of friends, or religion.

The protagonist, the youngest of three, spends most of her childhood trying to empathize with her immigrant parents, relate to her older sisters, and survive being a teenager, all while questioning her beliefs in the Mormon Church and Christianity. While the novel starts out a bit slower than most readers would like, by the middle, you'll find yourself completely attached to the quirky characters who shape and haunt the unconventional life of the protagonist.

Markotic holds nothing back as we enter the lives of the rigid, set-in-his-ways, pre-med boyfriend, Darius; the loud-mouthed, tell-it-like-it-is, lesbian, handicapped best friend, Gabrielle; and the prim and proper, straight-edge, Mormon-to-the-core, judgmental childhood friend, Vera.

Complete with odd road trips, exhausting jobs at a teen delinquent center, and a Nazi uncle, this is essentially a novel about coming of age in a modern world while attempting to hold on to one's not-as-modern morals and values, and learning the difference between the two. It’s about understanding why breaking the "rules" is sometimes necessary in creating one's own unique story along the confusing and bumpy path to self-discovery.

Just as we think the main character is ready to let go of the past, old friends and old flames pop up out of nowhere, and she learns of a horrific occurrence her mother went through during the war she never talks about, causing our protagonist to realize our pasts have more importance than we'd like to acknowledge. Past, present, or future,

Markotic does a nice job of telling her story with fascinating, heartfelt, raw details that leave the reader wanting more after each page of her scrapbook.

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Scrapbook of My Years as a Zealot
by Nicole Markotic
Arsenal Pulp Press, $18.95, 336 pages

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DanZine (over 2 years)
What an AWESOME review - Can't read the book in its entirety - Thanks Cassandra Rivas, and please keep us posted with more reviews!

DanZine (over 2 years)
What an AWESOME review - Can't wait to read the book in its entirety - Thanks Cassandra Rivas, and please keep us posted with more reviews!