Review of the Day: Porcupines

Porcupines tells the story of a Hungarian woman named Szonja (Sonia in later chapters) who has moved to Los Angeles. The narrative switches back and forth between about 1990 and about 2001 when she is a single mother with a daughter named Mila. I will admit to occasionally being a bit confused about which timeline I was in but I did not really read the book for plot. In my opinion, the best thing about the book is the language and the rather subtle sense of humor. The sentences are often outstanding and they are the thing that made me say Porcupines is a book worth reading.

Some examples:

As the dial tone gasped and spluttered in its effort to connect their desktop computer with the World Wide Web, Mila absently munched on a tuna sandwich—not the most auspicious moment to begin with, but you never know what kind of sandwich you’ll be holding when life decides to take a turn, and something had to fill the interminable waiting time (loc 233).

Dave spoke with continual reference to his own digestive system and its various thoughts and feelings. It was clear that he was the kind of father whose entire life revolves around his child’s various sporting achievements, to which he contributes little but takes much credit for. Unfortunately for Dave, though, his son was not interested in sports. Unfortunately for everyone else, this didn’t seem to give Dave pause (loc 1401).

(And here’s a fun fact: Fun facts are never, in fact, fun. But calling them a spontaneous overflow of information without context doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.) loc 1488

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing a copy; all opinions are my own.

epub. 320 pgs. 20 April 2026