Scan barcode
A review by beth_zovko
The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue
2.0
Really interesting premise, but very poorly executed. Tension was minimal, the characters were hollow, and the plot glacially paced. Even at 276 pages, it still felt too long.
Most of all, the writing was just plain terrible. Clumsy, CLUNKY 'dialogue' consisted of characters speaking in entire paragraphs, or using airy metaphors, and even (unintentionally) rhyming! You get the impression that passages originally meant for the 3rd-person narrative were simply cut and pasted as 'conversation.'
In some books a gripping plot and compelling characters can compensate for awkward dialogue, but not the case here. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the house comes through well, but it's not enough to hold the story by itself. Page long descriptions of a child's toys, but comparatively little on what the child is thinking. Repetitive flashbacks from the parents on life before and after their child's diagnosis with Asperger's. Characters range from unlikable, selfish adults to impossibly stoic ten year-olds.
In all, this was a fantasy book: is this boy able to conjure monsters simply by drawing them? But this central question is relegated to the background for most of the book, only to be quickly 'answered' at the end. The real fantasy here is that anyone can stay interested with the author's bland and bloviating characters and plot.
Most of all, the writing was just plain terrible. Clumsy, CLUNKY 'dialogue' consisted of characters speaking in entire paragraphs, or using airy metaphors, and even (unintentionally) rhyming! You get the impression that passages originally meant for the 3rd-person narrative were simply cut and pasted as 'conversation.'
In some books a gripping plot and compelling characters can compensate for awkward dialogue, but not the case here. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the house comes through well, but it's not enough to hold the story by itself. Page long descriptions of a child's toys, but comparatively little on what the child is thinking. Repetitive flashbacks from the parents on life before and after their child's diagnosis with Asperger's. Characters range from unlikable, selfish adults to impossibly stoic ten year-olds.
In all, this was a fantasy book: is this boy able to conjure monsters simply by drawing them? But this central question is relegated to the background for most of the book, only to be quickly 'answered' at the end. The real fantasy here is that anyone can stay interested with the author's bland and bloviating characters and plot.