Beginning
Lakewood is not a typical novel. It has an uncanny way of dealing with a serious theme. The novel is set in the US, and it is told from the point of view of Lena. a young woman who is struggling not only to care for her mother but also to pay off her student loan. Lena shows interest in the Lakewood project, which is looking for test subjects for some kind of experiment, but the compensation provided by the project is enormous. The rest of the story is about the consequences of the projects, as the projects are not what everybody thinks. It is more sinister in nature.
Narration
The narrative voice of Lena is that of a typical college student. The voice keeps the tension high throughout the story. Sometimes there is a feeling of not knowing what has really happened, but it is not that straightforward.
Characters
The grandmother, mother, and Lena characters are well-developed. The mother’s dementia gives clues about the plot, but Dr. Lisa, involved in the project, comes out like an artificial character. Literariness Except for a few, Lakewood does not have a high literacy rate. There is not much going on with the writing. The high ideals of great fiction are missing in this work.
Critical Observation
Humans have always been involved in testing, but only humans who are considered inferior to the patriarchal hegemony have been considered for human trials. It is sad and painful to see governments conduct tests on black people for such a long time. The novel tries to deal with this issue. The death of black people in testing is not even regretted; they are nothing more than lab mice. Such unlawful testing might be happening even today. If they are, then they must be stopped!
Final Verdict: I would give it around 3.5/5. The theme is interesting, but the story could have been better.