A review by mcf
Wrecked by Joe Ide

4.0

The fact that I didn't like this as much as I did the first two IQ novels in no way means it's not good. It's just slightly more conventional than those incredible efforts -- not bad, but below the extremely high standard Ide has set for himself. I think in large part my issues with the book stem from its very conventional (if extremely dark) subject matter: abuse at Abu Ghraib with some romance on the side. Because Ide is a tremendously skilled writer and observer, his examination of the abuses in question is more sophisticated than most, as is his clear-eyed look at the impact violence has on people, both its victims and its perpetrators. That said, however, in the other books, this would be clear without being said; here, however, it is spoken, either out of a newfound absence of faith in the reader or a concern that the story itself hadn't made Ide's point clearly enough.

ANYWAY. It's still good.