“I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own.”
This is a spoiler-free review of OUT OF THE EASY by RUTA SEPETYS, here I am just talking about the plot and pace of the book.
Out of the Easy is set against the vivid backdrop of 1950s New Orleans. Written by New York Times bestselling author Ruta Sepetys, this novel has something for everyone: love, mystery, murder, blackmail and warmth.
Josie Moraine wants out of The Big Easy – she needs more than New Orleans can offer. Known locally as a brothel prostitute’s daughter, she dreams of life at an elite college, far away from here.
But then a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie caught between her ambition and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans is luring Josie deeper in as she searches for the truth, and temptation beckons at every turn
I’ve read and adored her previous 2 novels. As of now, Ruta has released three books. Ruta’s métier is HISTORICAL FICTION, which she always executes in the most compelling way there is. I can praise Ruta all day long, so we might as well pick up the book and dissect it for a review. Ruta’s ability to write character traits that are complex in nature yet equally riveting on the page really does amaze me, any reader can instantly hook to a character and you can’t help but support that character all through the book. The book is empowering, inspiring and explores the concept of righteousness. Josie’s mother is a brothel prostitute which shoves her into a category of scowling gazes and judgments.
Josie’s day moves back and forth between the bookstore and the brothel. In the book, there are an incredible set of characters touching Josie’s life, some of them are lively, sanguine and supportive and the other half is straight up atrocious, so much so that it frustrates you rather than angering you whilst reading about them. ‘Out of the easy’ is a character-driven book, the plot moves slowly alongside the development of the character in this book. The book divulges the inner conflict of Josie as she navigates her true-self, where she fits in and where she truly belongs. In the backdrop of Josie’s struggle to lose free of the twisted and racketeering world, she lives in, a murder of someone Josie might have known pulls her strings in New Orleans only even tho Josie longs to escape New Orleans. The Brothel prostitutes have all dynamic personality, they all are dignified women with character flows, they never really chose to become a prostitute it was the economic situation that they were in that made them walk the dark path. I will talk about this segment in my ‘character category’. The book holds a mirror to the fact prostitutes are a human being like us and have emotions.
“Decisions, they shape our destiny.”
The plot of the book is entirely character driven. The book explores the concept of love and its various forms. The relationship Josie has with different characters in the book is something Ruta has written quite eloquently. Nothing overly extravagant happens in the book yet it manages to keep the reader hooked and guessing what’s to come, with heaps of anticipation. I would say, I wasn’t bawling the way I did whilst reading her other works, that is to say, the ending wasn’t quite as brutal I thought it’d be. Although, to be honest, I never really expected ‘OUT OF THE EASY’ to rip my heart apart into a million pieces. We learn something. Out of The easy wasn’t just a temporal feeling, It was a life-long lesson in Philosophy, social ostracization and the value of independence, and also to an extent, feminism. Josie aspires to take a flight with her broken wings by enrolling in a college far from New Orleans but a series of events she has to face makes it hard for her to think a life outside NEW ORLEANS. The book’s name is “out of the easy’ because New Orleans’ nickname is THE BIG EASY, hence out of the easy.
The book is a breezy yet bulky read, whilst reading it you will be able to confront all sorts of different personality there is, the good and the bad. Josie is a resilient and determined woman, I could say her character spoke to me, I could relate and understand the reasons behind her actions, to me Josie is a mature and quirky character with a heart of gold. Despite going through so much and getting crap from her mother and meeting frowning eyes on every corner, she is sanguine, she believes the other half of her that is her dad must be a good person, someone who is compassionate and caring. Let me mention Patrick, no doubt that he is a complex fellow, but for some reason, Patrick’s character is very well written, he is suave.
“Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin’ we’re goin’ one place and we end up another. But that’s okay. The important thing is to start.”
“We all laced together—a brothel madam, an English professor, a mute cook, a quadroon cabbie, and me, the girl carrying a bucket of lies and throwing them like confetti.”
The writing style of this book is delicate and meticulously written. The dialogue exchanges are lucid. I have always been a fan of Ruta’s writing, she writes exquisitely. The ability to say something meaningful and deep just by using such simple sentences makes her stand out to me. Ruta’s writing style is coherent and to the point.
It is very descriptive but again she never babbles on for a page describing the color of the curtains in someone’s room, she describes everything effortlessly and creates a clear picture of the scene in your head. The ability to make you feel the emotions as her characters are feeling is commendable and I do long to write like her.
If you are reading a Ruta Sepetys book then you can’t help but notice that her prime plot revolves around the diverse set of characters in her books. The journey of the character. In this book as well, the beauty of OUT OF THE EASY lies in the character development. You meet characters like Louise, Evangeline, lockwell, and cincinati that will make you see the viler side of the human being whereas characters like cokie, sweety, Sadie, Charlie, Patrick, Jesse, Willie, Charlotte will establish the humanity and love. I can’t even properly articulate how much I loved them all, they all have a piece of my heart. The journey of each and every character felt like mine as if I was walking beside them.
“Writers of historical fiction would be lost without libraries and archives.”
Also, I cant wrap up this review without mentioning the love triangle between Patrick, Josie, and Jesse. Now, I am certainly not a fan of this love triangle trope or say literary device, I always roll my eyes whenever I spot a love triangle but kudos to Ruta, she managed to pull the love-triangle trope impeccably, it didn’t seem forced, the relationship brewed slowly between the three of them, the way Josie reacted to each relationship is relatable. The hesitation to be in a relationship because of Josie’s traumatizing childhood can be seen in her relationship with Jesse and Patrick.
“I wasn’t certain of anything anymore, except that New Orleans was a faithless friend and I wanted to leave her.”
There’s a lot to talk about this book and I’d be glad to write a thesis on OUT OF THE EASY but this is a spoiler-free review and I can only reveal so much so.
This book deserves 4/5 stars, I told you so that I loved this book. You should definitely put this book high on your TBR pile.
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