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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Heartbreaking, that is really the word I have to use to describe this book. While that seems like a simple way of stating how I feel about it, for a writer to truly create something heartbreaking takes a lot. You have to bring your readers into the world that your character inhabit but keep them at enough of a distance so that they can view the actions of the characters in a greater context and I think that Heim does that amazingly well with this novel.
I saw the film adaptation of this (years ago now) and loved that (can you really say “love” when it comes to subject matter like this?). The book though, adds so much more richness to the story, so much more confusion and uncomfortable-ness. There is this rawness to the writing but at the same time it’s lyrical, especially in the last part of the story, as a reader you are engrossed with this helpless feeling of only being able to be a fly on the wall of this personal moment that these two young men share, unable to understand completely, only able to grasp at the words of what they are saying.
It is haunting and heartbreaking and there is no closure and as much as you want there to be, as much as you want to believe that things will turn out fine for Neil and Brian you feel trapped in those final two sentences of the book. And perhaps that is the only way to understand any of it, to realize how trapped you are in a single moment.
I saw the film adaptation of this (years ago now) and loved that (can you really say “love” when it comes to subject matter like this?). The book though, adds so much more richness to the story, so much more confusion and uncomfortable-ness. There is this rawness to the writing but at the same time it’s lyrical, especially in the last part of the story, as a reader you are engrossed with this helpless feeling of only being able to be a fly on the wall of this personal moment that these two young men share, unable to understand completely, only able to grasp at the words of what they are saying.
It is haunting and heartbreaking and there is no closure and as much as you want there to be, as much as you want to believe that things will turn out fine for Neil and Brian you feel trapped in those final two sentences of the book. And perhaps that is the only way to understand any of it, to realize how trapped you are in a single moment.
Certainly thought-provoking. The story moves at a good clip, with a cast of simultaneously fascinating and frustrating characters - Neil McCormick is a thing of genius.
That being said, there are moments when characters come to realizations that seem painfully obvious to the reader.
At any rate, an interesting examination of some tough issues and a fascinating psychological perspective on child abuse and its lasting effects.
For: People who like the gritty and the slightly twisted.
Not for: The faint of heart, or those who are squeamish about sex.
That being said, there are moments when characters come to realizations that seem painfully obvious to the reader.
At any rate, an interesting examination of some tough issues and a fascinating psychological perspective on child abuse and its lasting effects.
For: People who like the gritty and the slightly twisted.
Not for: The faint of heart, or those who are squeamish about sex.
I reckon I've had this book for the best part of ten years, just sitting there unread waiting for the day when I felt like reading the original novel of a powerful and truly memorable film, perhaps even the finest work by one of my favourite directors. I nearly gave it away several times, sure that it was just taking up unnecessary space in my overburdened shelves, I mean, what more could it offer me that the movie hadn't already given in spades?
And now? I'm relieved that it is over, there's a chapter describing the grooming of a young boy by a middle aged man told from the perspective of the young boy who apparently knew he was gay and desperately wanted what was happening. That was one of the more creepy and disturbing reading moments of my life that's for certain, but it's done so well, the alternating first person narratives providing not just different perspectives as a release but also serving to make the personal revelations that the two major characters experience all the more powerful.
There's a whole bunch of the mundane and everday about the lives of the narrators that ordinarily I would love but as I already knew the major plot beats from the film (which it turns out was a pared down and to the point adaptation that still manages to keep the same atmosphere and emotional arc of the source material) I found myself often getting impatient over rather than simply enjoying the journey Heim was taking me on. But come the end I was still sufficiently gripped and moved by the emotional content that I felt compelled to order Heim's two other novels to continue experiencing such skilled writing that resonates with me so fully.
Quite remarkable, and I'm fully delighted that I eventually took the plunge to engage with this story as it was conceived by a talented young writer.
And now? I'm relieved that it is over, there's a chapter describing the grooming of a young boy by a middle aged man told from the perspective of the young boy who apparently knew he was gay and desperately wanted what was happening. That was one of the more creepy and disturbing reading moments of my life that's for certain, but it's done so well, the alternating first person narratives providing not just different perspectives as a release but also serving to make the personal revelations that the two major characters experience all the more powerful.
There's a whole bunch of the mundane and everday about the lives of the narrators that ordinarily I would love but as I already knew the major plot beats from the film (which it turns out was a pared down and to the point adaptation that still manages to keep the same atmosphere and emotional arc of the source material) I found myself often getting impatient over rather than simply enjoying the journey Heim was taking me on. But come the end I was still sufficiently gripped and moved by the emotional content that I felt compelled to order Heim's two other novels to continue experiencing such skilled writing that resonates with me so fully.
Quite remarkable, and I'm fully delighted that I eventually took the plunge to engage with this story as it was conceived by a talented young writer.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this after I watched the movie.
Really hard subject matter, but a captivating story of how two people can handle a horrific experience in two completely different ways.
One mind can try to erase an experience while the other festers and lets it seep into every aspect of life.
Really hard subject matter, but a captivating story of how two people can handle a horrific experience in two completely different ways.
One mind can try to erase an experience while the other festers and lets it seep into every aspect of life.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
CBA TO WRITE MY REVIEW AGAIN
idek wanted to go cry facedown in a wheat field after finishing it. guts turned to mush. i have yet to see the movie. mature characterization of abuse that few bother to tangle with in any genuine way
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes