A review by multimindz
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Meh at best. Standard White suburban whinging, if you will. Leonard is a unreliable narrator who lives in a depressive world of being caught up in himself because of a trauma that struck him at the hands of a former friend and born into an unloving family. It felt like "Harris/Kebloid Day Out", esp with all the casual racism (no Black ppl in the work but two instances of the n-word, one Iranian kid who is just trying to survive the WASP-y world & school he's been plunked in) and casual sexism. I was hoping for Walt to die, and for the kid to off himself at least sooner so that the story could end faster. 

I suppose it's a good glimpse inside the head & life of the average mass shooter and how they're so caught up and stuck on themselves. It is a good (though overly White) perspective of how trauma can really disrupt a person, how depression can deeply warp your perspective, and how it takes a villiage to fail a child but it isn't one I would recommend. 

Herr Silvermann seemed ok, at least he tried to do his job, which does show a great example of how the actions of one person going on a limb and giving a care can mean the world to someone else, even if they're on the brink. And the ending isn't neat but shows the problems are still ongoing, which makes sense, real life doesn't always have a happy ending, esp if nothing changes where it counts. 
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