Book Review: The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships by Ali Bryan

The name of the book may be a mouthful, but The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships by Ali Bryan is well worth the effort. I’ve spoken of my love of Ali Bryan books on this blog before, and lucky for me, she published two different books with two different publishers this year. Like her other books, this one is full of humour and madcap adventure, but as Naomi pointed out in her review of this book a few weeks ago, it also has an element of sadness to it. It’s not enough sadness to make the humour awkward, but it’s always there, lingering in the words of each character and their individual narratives.

Plot Summary

Crow Valley is a small mountain town, and this book takes place over one very pivotal night for its citizens; the Karaoke Championships, held in their community hall. This is an even more important night because the winner of the competition will go straight to Nationals. Only a year after a major fire burnt the town, including killing one of its well-loved citizens, Dale, this kind of community-building event is what everyone needs. But when a young kid scales the prison fence while he’s there with his Dad, (an RCMP officer) it creates enough distraction that allows for a prison inmate to escape, and everyone is forced to barricade themselves inside the competition hall for safety. Alternating perspectives between some in the hall, and some outside the hall, five different characters experience this night differently, each having a connection to Dale and Crow Valley itself that informs their actions that night.

My Thoughts

There’s a surprising number of first person narratives in this book, but the characters all have such different lives and perspectives that they are easy to tell apart, even if you couldn’t always remember their names (I couldn’t). There is an element of defeat in many of Bryan’s characters, shrugging their way through impossible situations without a choice in the matter. But what ties together the citizens of Crow Valley is their ability and desire to cling to something; in Roxanne’s case, it’s the ashes of her dead husband Dale. Molly desperately wishes to become a karaoke star and dresses for the part she wants, while Brett wishes he was Dale, or the handsome refugee firefighter Kabir. Marcel, the escaped convict clings to the idea of fatherhood, which drives him to escape prison, but surprisingly, also prevents him from outrunning authorities as soon as possible. As I mentioned above, sadness also permeates the text and the characters’ lives, but it’s their coping mechanisms that add to the humour of it all.

I love Bryan’s writing because it’s so funny. It’s not necessarily absurd, but so many of her characters, especially parents, have given up. They’ve either given up on keeping their house clean, or dressing to impress, or forcing their kids to eat healthy food, and this list goes on. Gary (the RCMP officer whose kid scaled the prison fence) is a minor character, but a charming one nonetheless, especially with his maritime accent. In the quote below, he is relaying their son Malcolm’s health status while simultaneously trying to keep him out of trouble in the hospital room:

” ‘Malcolm,’ Gary shouted. ‘Don’t put that in your mouth, b’y.’

‘How’s he doing?’

‘Lard Jaysus, he damn near ate the ultrasound gel. Put that down b’y. The boy don’t listen.’

…’Sweet Jesus, he just asked someone if he could have a turn with his walker. Hurry up, would ya?'”

-p.150-151 of The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships by Ali Bryan

Gary’s at his wits end with his kid, but it’s hard not to laugh at the situation, even though as a parent, I can relate. For many of Bryan’s characters, they are either on the verge of crying or laughing, so sometimes choosing to laugh as the best option is the only hope they have to get through the day. This resignation is something that’s not only relatable, but impactful, because we’ve all been there, and can immediately place ourselves at the center of this story, even if the situations themselves are new to us.

Yet another must-read novel by Ali Bryan! I can’t recommend this author enough, and I’d love to hear in the comments if you’ve read any of her books yet.