As I was perusing through my old website, it came to my attention that I haven’t given one of my favourite books a review—shame on me, indeed. However, it wasn’t all that bad considering I am now given the reason to reread said book.
There’s always a hint of dubiety towards a literary work that you’ve read at a different age of your life. A certain level of dread that perhaps you might not like it as much as you did the first time you’ve experienced it.
Lucky for me, Fly on the Wall was as much fun as it was the first time I read it. It has been 2 years already, I believe, and I’ve gone into reading quite a number of books that I don’t particularly remember this one aside from the main point of the story.
“When you see men’s booties in the movies, I think they must be waxing because so many of these boys have hair back in there or roundabout.”
E. Lockhart‘s writing style is something that I have always been impressed with. She enjoys lacing her novels in poetic symphony and integrates it well within her stories. It was fascinating to see that sort of writing style within this novel. And, to be honest, I did not notice it in my first reading despite its prevalence here.
As much as I was impressed with her poetic manner of writing, I find it weirdly out of place within this novel. It was pure and charming; however, I didn’t see the reason and tonal connection of this method towards the creation of the character—as that could have been the only reason why she did it, to create an atmosphere that gives depth to the character.
“When they are peeing they all stare straight ahead like there’s something fascinating on the wall.”
Gretchen Yee, the main character of the story, was an interesting young woman who struggles to identify the complexity of men—in addition to her already existing personal troubles. One day, she decided to wish for herself to be turned into a fly on the wall (yes, rather specific) so that she’ll get the chance to observe the nuances and personality of men. To her surprise, she woke up and was now a fly on the wall.
The curiosity and placement of the story was truly charming in this story. It gave room to the development of Gretchen’s character but at the same time it gave the readers a glimpse of who she was outside the scope of what she’s already shown.
It was a creative tactic in trying to manipulate a story while also providing a foundation for character development. Although, to be fair, it isn’t the most creative tactic as the story is highly inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Still, it didn’t take anything from the quality of Lockhart’s writing.
What I enjoyed most about this book is the quick pacing and its comic personality. It was (and still is) a perfect pick to read when you just want a good laugh without the concern of going through something exorbitantly thick. Despite being one of my favourites, this is one of those exceptions where I can confidently say that the book is definitely not perfect; yet it worked well with what it wanted to do. That effective output pressed me into a corner and I had no other choice but to say that I really like it.
Funny, charming, and honest, Fly on the Wall is a book that you should read whenever you feel sad or if you just want something quick and easy to read.
“And the moral is: you never know what’s going on underneath someone’s pants until you see it for yourself.”
About the Author
E. Lockhart is the author of Again Again, Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and several other books. Whistle: A New Gotham CIty Hero is a graphic novel.
