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sandygx260's review
5.0
This is my first Ben H. Winters novel. After reading this, I dumped his other novels into my library's to read next list. Good thing someone at my county library appreciates his novels.
As some many other reviewers have noted, this story is many things: at times a comedy, a family tragedy, a legal drama, a love story (on many levels), overlaid with science fiction. It's a novel that will make the reader cringe, gasp and want to punch someone, namely Jay Shenk, the ambulance chaser lawyer with a heart of gold, especially when it comes to his adopted son.
Unfortunately Shenk is also a greedy SoB, which leads to a gigantic "are you fucking kidding me?" moment. Your fists will clench.
The sci-fi fantasy angle is bizarre and left unexplained, although the suggestion of a cult based around the event is fascinating. Winters leaves it to the reader to interpret.
Quite a unique novel. I look forward to diving into the rest of the Winters' novels.
As some many other reviewers have noted, this story is many things: at times a comedy, a family tragedy, a legal drama, a love story (on many levels), overlaid with science fiction. It's a novel that will make the reader cringe, gasp and want to punch someone, namely Jay Shenk, the ambulance chaser lawyer with a heart of gold, especially when it comes to his adopted son.
Unfortunately Shenk is also a greedy SoB, which leads to a gigantic "are you fucking kidding me?" moment. Your fists will clench.
The sci-fi fantasy angle is bizarre and left unexplained, although the suggestion of a cult based around the event is fascinating. Winters leaves it to the reader to interpret.
Quite a unique novel. I look forward to diving into the rest of the Winters' novels.
jimhart3000's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mementomoriiv's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Murder
rkmelcher's review
4.0
Liked it more and more as it went on. Overall better than Golden State--I liked the idea and premise of Golden State more, but it got weird after the first part. TQB had a bit of a surprise ending, but it wasn't a complete twist and change like GS. The characters had real life, and the legal drama(s) element drew me in (I'm hesitant to admit). Still some unanswered questions (How did Theresa figure out what she did about Wesley/Dennis? How did Dennis just get hollow? Was Dennis actually the night man/does the night man exist at all?). But certainly enjoyable and written in Winters's customary excellent pacing technique.
lisawreading's review
3.0
This legal/medical thriller kept me turning the pages, but now that I’m done, I feel like I have more questions than answers.
In The Quiet Boy, we follow two timelines: In 2008, a high school boy named Wesley comes out of brain surgery in an unheard-of state: He walks endlessly around his hospital room, eyes open but unseeing, appearing to be “hollowed out”, no one home, no ability to interact or change. In 2019, Wesley’s father has just been arrested for the murder of the expert witness in the family’s medical malpractice lawsuit.
Linking the timelines together is Jay Shenk, an ambulance-chasing lawyer who in 2008 is at his peak of success, well-connected, perfectly attuned to the needs of his client, and able to pull off victory after victory against the deep-pockets hospital corporations who’ll always choose settlement to make their problems go away. But in 2019, we see a very different Jay, one who’s weaker, less robust physically, and clearly a man whose best years personally and professionally are behind him. To add to the confusion, we know that in 2008, his son Ruben was the center of his life and Ruben, in turn, was devoted to his father — but in 2019, the two are estranged and barely communicate or see each other.
When Jay first hears about Wesley’s strange condition, he sees dollar signs. Leaving aside the fact that it’s unclear what happened or why Wesley is the way he is, Jay is certain that he can negotiate a quick payout for the distraught family. But Wesley’s situation is unprecedented, and Jay ignores the warning signs that his case may be slipping away from him.
Meanwhile, in 2019, the family demands that Jay defend Wesley’s father in his murder trial, despite the fact that Jay is not a criminal lawyer. Not that it matters — Richard is determined to plead guilty and wants to move to sentencing as quickly as possible.
As the two timelines weave back and forth, we learn a lot more about Wesley, Jay, Jay’s son Ruben, and the strange man who seems obsessed with Wesley’s case. There’s a mystery here: Is Wesley the victim of a never before seen medical condition, or is there something else going on, a sort of otherworldly entity waiting to break through?
I was weirdly fascinated by this book, but also incredibly frustrated. By the end, there aren’t any good answers about Wesley, although we do finally understand how the first trial went so very wrong and why Ruben and Jay’s relationship fell apart.
The book feels overly long, and while there’s a lot of ground to cover related to the trials, scenes of depositions and testimony and coaching the expert witness make the books feel bloated at times. I had issues with certain details, such as how Ruben was able to track the whereabouts of the witness — there seem to be some pieces missing, and certain conclusions seem jumped to rather than figured out.
Some lingering questions:
- How did Ruben know to go to Alaska?
- How did Ruben explain to the two men who helped him why he wanted to board up with ranger station with someone inside it? Why did they go along with it?
- Why did Ruben see Dennis when his mother died?
- What really happened to Wesley? Is there really a syndrome that could keep the body from needing to eat, sleep, grow? Why did he glow?
- Whatever Dennis said to Theresa basically destroyed her mind... what was the riddle?
- Are we meant to believe that the hollowed people could destroy the world, or is it all a case of cult personality and madness?
- How did Ruben know where to go to find Evie's wings?
- Why not just report the attack and self-defense to the police, instead of having Richard plead guilty?
- Jay makes a stupid, prideful decision not to consider the settlement offer, dooming the Keeners and his own family to financial ruin. But is this really enough to cause a complete disintegration of his relationship with Ruben?
A minor nitpick, but one that irritated me, is that Ruben is often referred to as the Rabbi, which is a nickname given to him by a coworker after he requests a day off for a Jewish holiday. It has no relevance to the story, but in various chapters, we hear about what “the Rabbi” is doing rather than having him be referred to by his name, and it feels a little pointless.
I did enjoy The Quiet Boy as a whole, but with so many open questions and a few plot holes, I wouldn’t list it as a top read for this year.
In The Quiet Boy, we follow two timelines: In 2008, a high school boy named Wesley comes out of brain surgery in an unheard-of state: He walks endlessly around his hospital room, eyes open but unseeing, appearing to be “hollowed out”, no one home, no ability to interact or change. In 2019, Wesley’s father has just been arrested for the murder of the expert witness in the family’s medical malpractice lawsuit.
Linking the timelines together is Jay Shenk, an ambulance-chasing lawyer who in 2008 is at his peak of success, well-connected, perfectly attuned to the needs of his client, and able to pull off victory after victory against the deep-pockets hospital corporations who’ll always choose settlement to make their problems go away. But in 2019, we see a very different Jay, one who’s weaker, less robust physically, and clearly a man whose best years personally and professionally are behind him. To add to the confusion, we know that in 2008, his son Ruben was the center of his life and Ruben, in turn, was devoted to his father — but in 2019, the two are estranged and barely communicate or see each other.
When Jay first hears about Wesley’s strange condition, he sees dollar signs. Leaving aside the fact that it’s unclear what happened or why Wesley is the way he is, Jay is certain that he can negotiate a quick payout for the distraught family. But Wesley’s situation is unprecedented, and Jay ignores the warning signs that his case may be slipping away from him.
Meanwhile, in 2019, the family demands that Jay defend Wesley’s father in his murder trial, despite the fact that Jay is not a criminal lawyer. Not that it matters — Richard is determined to plead guilty and wants to move to sentencing as quickly as possible.
As the two timelines weave back and forth, we learn a lot more about Wesley, Jay, Jay’s son Ruben, and the strange man who seems obsessed with Wesley’s case. There’s a mystery here: Is Wesley the victim of a never before seen medical condition, or is there something else going on, a sort of otherworldly entity waiting to break through?
I was weirdly fascinated by this book, but also incredibly frustrated. By the end, there aren’t any good answers about Wesley, although we do finally understand how the first trial went so very wrong and why Ruben and Jay’s relationship fell apart.
The book feels overly long, and while there’s a lot of ground to cover related to the trials, scenes of depositions and testimony and coaching the expert witness make the books feel bloated at times. I had issues with certain details, such as how Ruben was able to track the whereabouts of the witness — there seem to be some pieces missing, and certain conclusions seem jumped to rather than figured out.
Spoiler
Some lingering questions:
- How did Ruben know to go to Alaska?
- How did Ruben explain to the two men who helped him why he wanted to board up with ranger station with someone inside it? Why did they go along with it?
- Why did Ruben see Dennis when his mother died?
- What really happened to Wesley? Is there really a syndrome that could keep the body from needing to eat, sleep, grow? Why did he glow?
- Whatever Dennis said to Theresa basically destroyed her mind... what was the riddle?
- Are we meant to believe that the hollowed people could destroy the world, or is it all a case of cult personality and madness?
- How did Ruben know where to go to find Evie's wings?
- Why not just report the attack and self-defense to the police, instead of having Richard plead guilty?
- Jay makes a stupid, prideful decision not to consider the settlement offer, dooming the Keeners and his own family to financial ruin. But is this really enough to cause a complete disintegration of his relationship with Ruben?
A minor nitpick, but one that irritated me, is that Ruben is often referred to as the Rabbi, which is a nickname given to him by a coworker after he requests a day off for a Jewish holiday. It has no relevance to the story, but in various chapters, we hear about what “the Rabbi” is doing rather than having him be referred to by his name, and it feels a little pointless.
I did enjoy The Quiet Boy as a whole, but with so many open questions and a few plot holes, I wouldn’t list it as a top read for this year.
crimsonsparrow's review
4.0
Ben H. Winters is a phenomenal writer. Phenomenal. And I still want to scream at him over his endings: The loose ends, the broken world-building, the unanswered questions, the abandonment of the plot for the sake of some philosophical point...
Yet you'd think that this kind of failure would drive me away, would force me to adjust my assessment of Winters' skill. But he's. So. Good. He's just so good. I can't not read his stories, misfit endings pending, frustrated promises and all.
Yet you'd think that this kind of failure would drive me away, would force me to adjust my assessment of Winters' skill. But he's. So. Good. He's just so good. I can't not read his stories, misfit endings pending, frustrated promises and all.
bmg20's review
3.0
In 2008, a boy named Wesley Keener suffered a traumatic head injury at school. Following his brain surgery, he begins pacing the small confines of his hospital room without reprieve. He doesn’t stop to eat or sleep. And as time unfolds, the careful observations of the boy reveal that his hair doesn’t ever seem to get any longer and he never seems to get any older. Personal injury attorney Jay Shenk rushes to the hospital after getting word about this case, intending on trying to pick up a medical malpractice case that seems like a slam dunk but he ends up with something far more on his hands.
This is my fifth book by Winters and I’m pretty sure if it was my first it would’ve been a DNF. The Quiet Boy is a very slow-to-build story and at first glance, it’s a bit deceiving. It comes across as nothing more than a courtroom legal thriller but it’s definitely more than meets the eye and deserves a little patience. It’s a dense yet captivating story that will keep you guessing till the very ambiguous ending where you’ll have to just keep on guessing. I appreciated the subtle hint at answers, the suggestion that nothing is ever just black and white, that nothing has just a single interpretation, that it’s all based on your own perception… but I wanted (or needed) less ambiguity and more transparency.
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This is my fifth book by Winters and I’m pretty sure if it was my first it would’ve been a DNF. The Quiet Boy is a very slow-to-build story and at first glance, it’s a bit deceiving. It comes across as nothing more than a courtroom legal thriller but it’s definitely more than meets the eye and deserves a little patience. It’s a dense yet captivating story that will keep you guessing till the very ambiguous ending where you’ll have to just keep on guessing. I appreciated the subtle hint at answers, the suggestion that nothing is ever just black and white, that nothing has just a single interpretation, that it’s all based on your own perception… but I wanted (or needed) less ambiguity and more transparency.
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
zimb0's review
4.0
It keeps you on the edge of whether it is fiction of science-fiction the entire time.
mikehex's review
3.0
What a strange book. Not a medical thriller or a court room thriller or even just straight horror, but it has elements of each. I'm not sure it sticks the landing of all that.
It did have me turning pages but really the lack of real explantation for the transformation of one character was disappointing.
It did have me turning pages but really the lack of real explantation for the transformation of one character was disappointing.
d_sebek's review
3.0
3.5
Wish it had delved more into the darker mystery aspects. Loved the premise and the characters were okay…wished we could have spent more time with Rabbi and his time
In Alaska.
Wish it had delved more into the darker mystery aspects. Loved the premise and the characters were okay…wished we could have spent more time with Rabbi and his time
In Alaska.