The Final [Corpse] Revival of Opal and Nev

Here we are again for another review, friends. This week, the only thing to report is that I am still on track for reading one book a week! I truly don’t know how I’m making it work, but at least I am. Getting back to the good stuff, I’ll be reviewing Dawnie Walton’s debut novel, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev this week. And, my drink of the week is a classic—a Corpse Reviver (or Revival for my title). Enjoy!

Corpse Reviver No. 2 Recipe

0.75oz Gin

0.75oz Triple Sec

0.5oz Golden Pear Liqueur*

0.75oz Lillet Blanc

0.75oz Lemon Juice

1 dash of Simple Syrup

1 dash of Absinthe

*Golden Pear Liqueur is an optional ingredient.

In a coupe glass, pour Absinthe, swirl for a couple seconds, and empty. In a cocktail shaker with ice, add all other ingredients and shake for approximately 10 seconds. Strain into coupe glass and garnish with a twist of lemon. (I sadly forgot lemon in mine, but what can you do!)

My special ingredient this week is Golden Pear Liqueur. I chose this ingredient mainly because of the golden aspect. There are a lot of songs in this novel, but the one that stood out to me was “Girl in Gold” as it’s essentially the song that starts it all for Opal and Nev. So, I knew I wanted to make my special ingredient connect with that. The problem was the only thing I could think of was Goldschläger and I don’t like cinnamon, so I wasn’t too keen on using it. But then I found the Golden Pear Liqueur and my ingredient dreams were realized!

I’ll be honest, I was worried about how this one would taste since I’m not a fan of Absinthe, but I was pleasantly surprised. The original Corpse Reviver was a nice, nuanced drink, but a bit too lemon-y for Tom. My version was, in my (and Tom’s) opinion, even better. The pear paired (ha) really nicely with the flavours of the original drink. It also added a bit more depth and a bit of sweetness. All in all, I would recommend this drink, in its original form or my version, to anyone looking for something a little out of their comfort zone!

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev Synopsis

(from book cover)

Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, a Black punk artist before her time. Coming of age in Detroit, she can’t imagine settling for a comfortable job. Despite her unconventional looks, Opal believes she can be a star, so when British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her at a bar’s amateur night, she takes him on his offer to make rock music together for the fledgling Rivington Records.

In early-seventies New York City, just as she’s finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal’s bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially Black women, who dare to speak their truth.

Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols. Sunny thought she knew most of the stories leading up to the cult duo’s most politicized chapter. But as her interviews dig deeper, a nasty new allegation from an unexpected source threatens to blow up everything.

Review

“There was no escape to be had, anywhere, by being so damn regular.”

Big news people, this may be my favourite book I’ve reviewed so far this year! I really liked this one. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev wasn’t perfect, but I don’t have any huge flaws with it either. The writing was fantastic and fun. The story was amazing. And the characters completely drew me in. A true standout debut novel from Walton, and I am really excited to get into the review.

Let’s start with the big one—the format of the book. I have never read another book like this before. The oral history aspect of the novel was new to me and I loved it. Although I will mention that it may not appeal to everyone who reads it. I’ve seen A LOT of people saying that Daisy Jones and the Six is written in this same oral history, fake biographical way, but I haven’t read that one yet. And the main thing I’ve read is that, despite the similar format, the stories are completely unique from each other. But, after reading The Final Revival of Opal and Nev I think I’m going to buy Daisy Jones ASAP.

And, this is all coming from someone who’s never been interested in reading biographies about real people. But, this book totally hooked me! It wasn’t an overly surprising or shocking novel, even the reveal of what truly happened that night was a bit obvious, but it wasn’t meant to be some big twisty book anyways. So, no real complaint there just an observation that even without twists and turns and suspense it was a gripping read.

I think what really gripped me was the characters. I felt like I could actually picture and remember Opal even though she’s not real. But Walton really brought the characters to life and made them believable. I felt this the most in how they connected with the novel’s timeline. Opal on a stage in 1973? Easily pictured and perfectly described. Opal at home struggling to use an iPhone in 2016? Again, totally realistic.

All the perspectives in the novel were interesting, as well. I especially liked seeing what happened when Nev, a white guy, wrote a song from the Black perspective. It was an astute and interesting look at cultural appropriation. It also felt natural and real, and not like a forced lesson like some other books I’ve read. All the different characters added a lot to the novel. With the oral history format, having so many characters didn’t feel like too many or like the main characters got lost either. However, I did sometimes have to take a second to remember a couple people, but only once or twice.

All these characters would be nowhere without the writing, though. I loved the writing in The Final Revival of Opal and Nev. It wasn’t overly lyrical or poetic as I tend to enjoy, but it worked for the format of the novel. It was smart, contemporary, and descriptive. Seriously, the descriptions, especially in regard to fashion, were great. But, I sometimes wished that the novel included pictures. I know that’s impossible since the pictures and characters mentioned in the book aren’t real, but the descriptions of Opal’s outfits had me dying to see them!

Beyond the descriptive aspect of the novel, I think the writing was perfect for the type of novel this is. And, unfortunately, that makes it a bit hard to describe and go into detail about. Maybe if I’d also read Daisy Jones I’d be able to go into more depth about this unique writing format and style, but alas I haven’t. So, all I’ll say is that I loved how the story developed. And, I think a large part of the unique way it did is because of the oral history narrative.

Not only did The Final Revival of Opal and Nev have great writing and characters, and a memorable storyline, it’s also topical. Set largely in 2016 on the brink of Trump’s inauguration, this novel depicts the real racial dynamics at play in the states. And, more importantly, shows that racism and the racial tension and activism seen so strongly today are anything but new. I loved how Walton incorporated actual history in the novel and how she used Opal, Sunny, and Nev to shed light on these real life racial injustices. But, the saddest part of this story is that, even though it’s fiction, it’s definitely not far from reality and events like those that take place in the novel happen practically everyday in real life.

Despite this important discussion that the novel brings up, I did have some downsides with this book. First, is that the side characters felt a bit one-dimensional. For the most part, you could tell them apart without the name tags, but sometimes I thought a few characters didn’t sound all that unique. I think this could be chalked up to the oral history format of the book as the characters definitely weren’t lacking depth in a larger sense. So, not a massive complaint just another observation.

Next, and I am going to preface this paragraph with a very minor SPOILER WARNING, I felt that more should’ve been done with Beau Bond. He’s mentioned in a few chapters and is a large part of what took place in 1973. But then he disappears for 45 years. Not only disappears, but he has a key piece of information about that night too. This leads the reader to think maybe Sunny will find him and it’ll be a big bombshell reveal of where he’s been all this time. But instead, nothing happened with it. And, I ended up feeling like if you aren’t going to do anything with the mysterious disappearance thing, why mention it at all? Why not just say he died?

Final minor complaint, is that Virgil being gay was a bit token-y. I wish his husband or other members of the LGBTQ+ community that support Opal and Nev had made an appearance. But, despite that being a bit disappointing, Virgil wasn’t an overly stereotypical character, in my opinion. So, the tokenship of his character isn’t a huge complaint for me since it at least isn’t stereotypical. I just wish there could’ve been more representation on that front. There was, however, a lot of representation and recognition of other minority groups, for instance homelessness, alopecia, drug abuse, and mental health are all discussed in the novel. So, this complaint may just be me being a bit nit-picky.

Overall, I really loved this novel. The oral history format has struck me and now I need more. And, this is coming from a girl who hasn’t even seen Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman. So, you’d think I wouldn’t get this wrapped up in a fake music history, but here we are. I do kind of wish I’d read Daisy Jones and the Six first so I could give some sort of comparative feedback, but maybe I’ll just add it to my list and read it later in the year. Let me know in the comments if you’d be interested in me reviewing that and doing a little compare/contrast!

Finally, I love that The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is an accessible novel that has a heavy and important message at its core. I hope people read this and understand that this book is so realistic because we know these things happen everyday, not just because it’s a fantastically written work of fiction (though it is also that). In the end, despite some small criticisms, I definitely recommend reading this novel if it sounds like something you’d be interested in. And, as always, even if you don’t want to read the book I still recommend the cocktail if you want to embrace a little Opal Jewel in your life and push yourself out of your comfort zone!

My Rating:

Thanks for reading! And, if you read the book or try the cocktail let me know in a comment or on Instagram. Also, if you haven’t yet read my previous reviews, I recommend reading Where the Crawdads Sing-ria and How the One-Armed Sister Clean Sweeps Her House if you liked this one!

Teghann

If you enjoyed this review please like or comment. Also, if you’d like to be notified of new posts subscribe below. Or, to be a bigger part of the community head to @bartenderwithabook on Instagram!