Parkour Girl and Yellow Fish Car [Kindle Edition]

_Parkour Girl and Yellow Fish Car_, by Andy Best, keeps making these strange moves, yet I kept reading. It starts out like an ex-pat's diary in China - an ex-pat with extraordinarily good Chinese but no friends except other ex-pat roommates. Odd snapshots, I am a camera descriptions -- you can get a taste for that section from the Kindle sample.

But beyond that, it becomes something else again, and something else again. Is it a diary? a graphic-less comic book? an action movie script? At times the transitions are lumpy, other times smooth. The author calls it "A new novel about costumed vigilantes in modern Shanghai" but I don't know that really covers it. Well, there are costumes and modern Shanghai and at least one character believes himself to be a vigilante. Once it starts moving, it stays in motion. A strange, engaging mix of whatever happens. Not all of it is comfortable; the violence is up there and the motivations a little shaky at times.

If you like perfectly crafted stories with no holes and a linear progression, _Parkour Girl..._ is sure to drive you batty. If you're willing to trade off a more formal structure for creativity and sheer energy, you'll likely find it enjoyable.

For $3, I thought it was great, but your appreciation may vary. I hope there's more, anyway.

I've never read a superhero novel before, and didn't know what to expect outside of the graphic novel/comic book world, but Parkour Girl and Yellow Fish Car was pretty f'ing fun to read. For your money, you get a perspective of Shanghai that you don't normally see in the media, tied together with vigilantes, supervillain expats, and a thick serving of violence.