ARC Review: "Blue Graffiti" by Calahan Skogman ★★★★

ARC Review: Blue Graffiti by Calahan Skogman

This literary fiction debut by Calahan Skogman is a beautifully poetic and touching tribute to small towns full of both mundane and extraordinary things. With so many deep elements discussed, expect to embark on a journey exploring love, loss, hate, pain, hope, nostalgia, forgiveness, friendship, faith, self-discovery… and shrooms! It tugs at your heartstrings and pulls them back together, it has you coming away from it appreciating life and loving the colour blue. The style was not fully for me but everyone needs to read this – at least, once.

I thought about our lives, and the graffiti of our town. We each left our mark. We are cracks in sidewalks, bent street signs, rusted gutters and train tracks. We are nails in wooden boards, handprints in cement. We are creaks in the doors of diners, stains from cigarettes. We are streaks of graffiti, blue as the sky.

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
Cash describes himself as “drinking and careening through time” – that sums up most of the book, to be honest. If you want a very short plot summary, that’s it haha! But here is my longer one:

29-year-old Cash has resided in Johnston, Wisconsin all his life working as a painter and construction worker, doing odd jobs really. He is usually found in Jimmy’s Place, the local pub, with his best friends Prince (a very philosophical and rich man) and Leon (a very caring genius of a man, and construction worker).

Cash often considers spreading his wings and leaving the place but feels there is always something about his hometown he is tethered to. His mother died 5 years ago, and his father abandoned him at the same time (from the way he sees it, his father might as well be dead). He and his mates also wonder about buying Jimmy’s Place from Jimmy’s son, Saul.

Most of the time it’s same old, man, same old. That is, until one day a woman shows up at the bar. Rose. A name as gorgeous as she is. Saul’s sister. All at once, Cash is drawn to her. And nothing is ever the same again. Through the combination of flashbacks and present-day events, Cash tells the story of his life these past few decades.

This is told from the first-person present-tense POV of Cash, with various moments in past-tense as he reminisces old times.

OVERALL OPINIONS
ㅤ literary fiction vs the fiction genre
When I first read the blurb, I didn’t initially know this was a literary fiction story. By chapter 2, I thought to myself that this story, and the manner of writing is the sort of thing my English teacher would have picked for us to read in high school (probably omitting its swear words) – and that is when I realised why: because they often pick literary fiction.

Rose is Saul’s sister so I honestly wondered for a moment if we were going to have one of those keep-away-from-my-sis forbidden romance things – but we get none of that. Why? Because this is a trope and you do not get tropes here. So, if you are here to read a contemporary romance or rom-com, you have taken a wrong turn. While there is romance between Cash and Rose, unfortunately, this is secondary to the story’s overall concept.

I have read a few literary fiction stories and their style is often very different from a fictional one.
Literary Fiction: is character-driven, uncategorised (no genres), realistic, does not contain tropes
Fiction Genre: is plot-driven, categorised sub-genres, may have some realistic elements, and contains tropes
Both can have messages and deep aspects to them, and use similar elements of fiction (characters, plot, themes, points of view).
Here, this story does feel very realistic. Cash is an ordinary man, we all know someone like him, he could be a friend or family in real life. There are things he goes through that I think a lot of us can relate to. The conversations do not constantly have “he says” or “she says” or “I say” which flows more like how a discussion in real life would go.

ㅤ Skogman & his style
Now the book’s style has been covered, I would like to focus now on the author and his style.
I loved Calahan Skogman in the Shadow & Bone show as Matthias, his acting was phenomenal so I was very excited to be reading his debut novel! And wow, what an incredible journey this was. This story really helps you get to know the man behind it all. You can tell Skogman has scattered parts of himself into Cash (from his age to him saying “man” to enjoying walking out in nature to his own Christian beliefs).

Wisconsin is Calahan’s own hometown, so it is no wonder this is where his story is set as it has an impact on him. In an interview with Sam Cohen for UpNorthNews, a digital news source based in Wisconsin, he says [on the matter of the town]:

I spent so much of my life observing and noticing what made everybody different, and beautiful, and the nuances of what would appear to be a not-so-complicated life are actually incredibly complicated and incredibly deep. It was a place where I could foster a lot of the things I hold dear to me now as far as ideals of love and loyalty and faith, and honor and hard work and honesty, and showing up for one another and family, and the things that keep me rooted to the ground when life wants to smash me up and throw me in different directions. I’m profoundly thankful I grew up there because it’s a very nice center. My life has changed so much since those years that it’s been something I can always return to and I can always resonate with.

About a third of the story was written in Wisconsin and most of the rest in Vancouver during COVID-19, a time where people both had to be and felt isolated. This is conveyed through hearing Cash’s thoughts as he reflects on there being times where he felt “dramatically alone…for weeks I could pretend as if the world had abandoned me and it would continue to do so from there on out”. Ah, all the highs and lows in life are covered so well!

Skogman has previously published poetry and there is so much of his skill and magnificence with words apparent in this work here. Why, even on the first page from this description alone, I could tell this was going to be very poetic and expressive: “She turns her glass slowly, like the universe in orbit”. Another lovely moment I like is when Cash is setting off from town in September and “The leaves on trees are beginning to die in their wondrous display of color. Ready to bid me farewell” – it is September, autumn, and the leaves leaving the tree as he is literally leaving is so poetically fitting!

Indeed, for the majority of the story, it is not about what Skogman says but how he says it. The words are used to illustrate points and set scenes effectively. I will give some examples. Straight off the bat you really get the small-town vibe and tight-knit community, of everyone knowing everyone else, solely from the omission of surnames. First-name terms mean more proximity, being made to feel like you as a reader actually know them. Another very interesting and clever thing is the way Cash refers to his parents, “Ma” (close, endearing) as opposed to “my father” (distant, formal).

And let’s not forget the colour blue. It is everywhere in this story – mentioned a whopping 71 times! Most prominently, Cash’s eyes are blue interestingly like his father, there are mentions of blue jeans, tears, skin, socks, cushions (this is significant as it is at the hospital as he waits for the news of his mother), flowers (this one in particular is interesting because there is a list of colours and blue is at the start showing its priority). There are many ways in which the colour can be interpreted: it can mean loyalty, confidence, freedom, creativity, depth and depression. Here, Cash believes it is “the color of hope in the heart”.

Overall, this was a breathtaking read and I really enjoyed it. I would rate this 4.5 stars if I could! Unfortunately, it was missing some emotional depth from side characters and some of the conversations felt repetitive and boring. This made the story lose some of its charm. A debut novel is not easy to do, however, and I heartily commend Skogman for his efforts.

My favourite moment is when Cash and Rose write their names in the sky. It is so romantic:

She points her finger about an inch from the moon and traces my name in the sky. She whispers to herself as she does it, “Cash.” And I’ve never been so moved in my life. With her hand silhouetted by thousands of stars, I join her in that painting, and I write her name as she did mine. “Rose,” I say softly. She touches my finger with hers, for only a moment, and smiles. “Now, we live forever.” And I believe her.

<< Positives >>
🠚The cover is symbolic, having a cream wall and blue paint. Cash is a painter and blue is a prominent colour throughout the book, but also it almost looks like the ocean/sea, and Cash mentions this a lot too when he feels uncertain or distant: “I knew my mind was out to sea again, wandering somewhere foreign, perhaps never to return.”
🠚I love the rose as a sort of frontispiece at the start of the book. A literal rose to symbolise Cash’s Rose, her impact on his life. The opening sentence for chapter 1 starts with her “You see it, or you don’t, and from the back of the bar, I see her drinking alone”, so you know she is important, and also indicates he is observant. There is also a quote elsewhere “Rose. There is nothing else” that perfectly reflects how much she means to him.
🠚Skogman captures a lot of relatable things: the loss of a loved one, toxic families, healthy families, found family, the feeling of falling in love with someone and knowing they are the one, feeling alone and down, feeling on top of the world, getting high, having a purpose, finding a purpose, inspired by the stories of other people, thinking the grass is greener on the other side (someone else’s life being better) but it isn’t
🠚Even if the character was not introduced for long, or had passed away off-page, the way it was written had you feeling they usually had an impact no matter how small. I loved Nancy the most, she was so lovely!
🠚There are only a few women in his life, and they are all quite different: Mo (Leon’s wife, very compassionate), Rose (becomes part of Cash’s life so easily), Mrs Miller (the mother of late schoolfriend Tommy, very kind), Alexa (hairdresser, only mentioned, innocent and trusted the wrong man), Nancy (neighbour in Cambridge, helps him see a purpose), Kassy (beautiful but insecure), and Cash’s late mother (loving, religious, always tried to teach Cash to be forgiving).
🠚The relationship between Rose and Cash, though bumpy to begin with, is so nice by the end of the novel. I like that they communicate effectively. I like that the first time he talks to her he collapses haha! I was hoping more would have been done with that, that she would have been there when he woke up.
🠚I especially liked the father-and-son dynamic. While it would be very difficult to forgive someone like him, I liked the way this was handled. We have a very powerful parallel where as a kid Cash “looked up to my father like a Greek God or hero, he looked down at me, ant-like, small.” and then later the roles have reversed, his father is frail and “looks up to me. The son, taller than the father”.
🠚Most of the flashbacks from his younger days provide a purpose: one example is when he used to go to the theatre with his mother and all is dark for a moment before the spotlight shines on the main character – this is how he feels in the present moment when he looks at Rosie again.
🠚The story ends on a hopeful note as he moves to Arizona with Rose and Prince.
🠚Cash has great character development.

<< Negatives >>
🠚Some of the backstory felt unnecessary as it did nothing to the character development or overall plot. For example, the nasty twins that are mentioned: I did not need a whole story about what they were like in school because we never meet them.
🠚That one backstory about the Boxer just…why? I get the imagery but of all things it was so unnecessary.
🠚The way the novel is set up, focusing so much on Cash noticing Rose, I assumed she would be in the story far more than she actually was.
🠚I actually thought Cash getting with Kassy was random, too random. I really wanted the first steamy scene in this story to be him with Rose.
🠚It is ashame that Cash never got to properly talk to his father about his father’s past as I too wanted hear where he had been (his mistake was thinking they had time). I also would have wanted his dad to give him a proper apology rather than an indirect one. At the end of the day, it does not matter where he has been but who he is: trying to fix the past, wishing he had been a better father.
🠚Some of the conversations were confusing actually because of the omission of “he says”/“she says”/“I say”. There were certainly moments where I had to jump back to the beginning of the convo just to remember/work out who was talking.
🠚Cash gets drunk quite a lot in this story, was hoping he would change his ways.
🠚I think they should have played pool more often! It is a missed opportunity because he was good at it, and it was something his dad taught him.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Cash꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ He has been through a lot. I like that he goes from someone who loathes his dad and any time he is mentioned to being at peace with and understanding him, that he did actually love him but did not show it too well. That parallel when he held his hand in church as a boy to his dad holding his hand and face as an adult was really something.
🠚When he said “sometimes I forget that I am one body, one story, one self. When I look back at my life I can forget that it was me all along” – I felt that in my soul! Sometimes you forget things you did as a child, what you have been through, and then one day someone mentions something and it instantly unlocks a memory.
🠚He overthinks moments and I am the same: “I can’t help but feel I could have said that all a bit better but my mind’s running crazy now.”
🠚I like the part where Rose says to him “But everyone loves you.” And he corrects her with “Everyone knows me.” – he was only really loved by his mother and believes he is not worthy of love.
🠚A little inconsistent as he gets offended and is like “I can’t let it slide” but then a page later… you guessed it, lets it slide?

That’s a thing people so often misunderstood, silence. All my life I’ve watched the quiet and the loud, and let me tell you something real that you can trust - the quiet ones are more interesting, complex, and unpredictable... I always thought they knew some profound truth about life that all those circus folks with loose mouths…would never understand. What a drag, that bunch. Give me the quiet, the listening folk every time.

-ˋˏ ꒰ Other characters꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ Rose was a character I did not warm to, actually, until way later. Probably the moment where she admits she noticed him too. I hated her audacity of leaving and not leaving a note or anything. But I sure did I love his descriptions of her, with universe analogies “constellation of freckles on her cheeks”.
🠚Prince and Leon are sweet, though I could not relate to them much. I loved that one conversation where Leon says she saw Rose while Cash was away and he wants details but he hasn’t much to say. It is such a typical guy thing haha! I also love that description about Prince that “It was nearly impossible to be absolutely certain whether he was high or not. It just sorta matched his personality, ya know? His sensibility. You really had to know him to tell” – you know the sorts of people just like that.
🠚Nancy though she was not in it loads really captured my heart, the way she essentially adopts Cash when he comes to help her and all she just wants is company. Bless her!

FAV QUOTES
• She gave me the warm hug of forgiveness, and it washed over me like a cleansing ocean wave, moved by centuries of love. Her arms were a blanket stitched together by every patient mother, everywhere.
• Rose Rose Rose... Do stay. I want to take your hand in mine. I want to kiss your red lips and see through your eyes. I want to look through your greens, and you can look through my blues. We could be the same, in the end, me and you.
• It was the closest I ever felt to him, and I was a million miles away.
• Winter makes the spring and the summers what they are. Just as dark defines light and pain defines joy. They need one another.
• We are all born into this big mess with a purity, with a goodness. No hate, no anger. It’s only over time, with the pain that comes through the course of life that we get strapped with all the unfortunate things that happen to us. What a shame. We grow older and more careful, hardened and quieter. But every once in a while, you’ll catch a glimpse of yourself in another and maybe you’ll feel like you’re flying. You’ll find a good swing and be reminded that when we strip ourselves down, away from all those things we carry, we are free. We are free as we were at the start.
• We kiss. We are stars in the sky, like far away lamps, in a blues dipped, infinite world.
• I had painted a magnificent mural of abstract cuts and swoops, splashed and chaotic but somehow specific, right on the money. The wall looked like it was crying, like it was hemorrhaging blue. I had covered the entire wall of my basement in blue graffiti.
• “Do you want to tell me about it?” And for the first time in years I feel willing. Her kindness, her honesty. Her vulnerability. Here she is, in my home, with enough courage to come back. To see. For the first time in years I want to tell someone everything.
• “You’re so beautiful,” I say quietly, and I know I’ll say it a thousand more times if she’ll let me.
• There’s enough heartbreak in the room to kill a man and enough love to keep him living.

══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Calahan Skogman, Unnamed Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“Blue Graffiti” is out August 13th