It is extremely difficult to summarize a book like Joe Barrett’s SEMI-GLOSS, which purports to be about a murder, a runaway, and a house painting company run by a group of friends, but ends up being full of questions about art, love, found family, wealth and its temptations and traps, and other potent topics. The characters are intriguing, three-dimensional, and thoughtfully developed, from Sammy’s rather cool but oddly intense view of life, to Penny’s urgent need to keep a part of her twin’s lively personality alive in herself by running away and living the bold adventurous life that came more naturally to Catelyn. Their backstories emerge in bits and pieces, shown rather than explained to us in moments both humorous and heartbreaking like the imagined conversations between Penny and Catelyn and the chaos that sometimes ensues when she tries to do what she thinks her sister would have done, and the pricklier but no less intense interactions between Sammy and his wealthy but despised father, and his sessions with his bemused court-appointed therapist.
Sammy starts out the novel appearing to be almost psychopathic in his cold indifference to the girl who is literally dead in his bed, but his instinctive protective attitude towards the vulnerable and lonely Penny helps bring out the more human parts of his personality, and shows that his coldness is not all that defines him. It helps that we see him not only through his own eyes but through hers, and thus get to experience the way her friendship with him helps change her perspectives and his. The found family that makes up the painting company – Beer, Mealy, Roofie, and the new and still-under-hazing Jeff – are a charming and imaginative bunch who give Penny the support she needs to start dealing with her loss in a productive manner, and the “brainjobs” they assign themselves to help cope with the mind-numbing work of housepainting are clever, fun, and mischievous, even if sometimes rather hard on local fast-food workers. Penny’s resolution, brought about by her own courage and intelligence, is heartwarming and well-earned. Meanwhile, Sammy’s bullying of Jeff, who reminds him a bit too much of his domineering father, leads to unexpected consequences and gives Sammy another chance to think about who he is and who he wants to be – though it’s not exactly clear whether he’s going to take that entirely to heart. The ending, however, drops a delightfully amusing cliffhanger bomb on the reader, which promises some more trials and tribulations for Sammy in sequels before his growth process is complete.
Joe Barrett’s SEMI-GLOSS is a lively, warmhearted, intelligent book that will reward the thoughtful reader with new perspectives and a great deal of entertainment in a warm, thought-provoking, even tender story about unexpected connections, found family, and new beginnings after loss.
~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader