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A review by livyalusk
The Ravaged by Norman Reedus
5.0
I did NOT expect to rate this five stars. I expected three, maybe four if I was entertained. My main reason for concern was that Norman Reedus is a photographer and an actor, so how good can he be at writing? On the other hand, the size of his name compared to Frank Bill's had me keeping my guard up, as that often means 'celebrity's name is solely to sell the book, author actually wrote it,' but I kept my fingers crossed as Norman seems like a pretty genuine guy. Another concern I had was that Reedus seems to get a bit artsy and cryptic at times, making me wonder if the novel would read like a fake-deep poem. This didn't show through, though there were many issues brought to light that got dramatic at times.
The story follows three stories that never intersect but share common themes. All three protagonists are at completely different stages in their life (17, 46 and 65), yet seem to be at the exact same place mentally. All of them have lived with some form of ignorance and are then forced to face up to these, be it things they've taken for granted, had hidden from them, repressed or just actively ignored. The older one's story shows that some people think they're doing very well but actually lose sight of what is important, then have to figure things out at such a late stage.
The few antagonistic characters presented share the action of twisting certain views to fit their agenda, always preaching but never doing. However, they also present arguments that further distort the gray areas surrounding our characters, while one of them actually acted as the tipping point for a character's final, happy decision.
All three stories have open endings that leave us hopeful as the characters start to look towards everything they've ignored. There could be a sequel, but I don't think there should be as it is good to leave us with the possibilities we can imagine. One thing I didn't like was that I was quite concerned about the health of the relationship one of them got into, but I'm not entirely sure. It doesn't matter too much as it wasn't the main point of that ending, but it still bothered me a bit.
With the apparent genre, I didn't expect much diversity at first glance. What did I get? Diversity. The minority characters (different races, genders and sexualities) were treated appropriately by the writers and the audience were presented with various perspectives. Again, within the genre, I worried about the role of women. There were times, especially early on, at which I thought it'd fall victim to tropes common in classic media of the sort, but I was pleasantly surprised when these were overcome, putting different people in different roles in each of the three main stories. The one man who slid a little (a refreshingly small amount) towards disrespect was, interestingly enough, one who had such a saviour complex that he fully believed he was respectful, yet he realised his assumptions and went on to focus on himself. It's also very clear that his childhood played a heavy role in it.
History, as suggested by this man's repressed childhood causing him problems, is a prevalent theme in this book. It talks of how we need to learn from the past, which is something I really support. It goes on to discuss indigenous history and the rise of nationalism after Pearl Harbour, showing that both the history of your country and your own personal history are equally as important in shaping your decisions in life.
Expanding on the American history, it both criticises America and shows hope for it, discussing the ways in which people have interpreted the 'American Dream.' It was refreshing to see multiple ways of viewing it rather than either 'oh poor me America is a cesspit' or 'GOD BLESS AMERICA HOME OF THE BRAVE!'
Returning to the subject of women and their roles, one of the most important themes in this book was parenting. It talks about how the idea people have of men being the sole provider is a total scam, as both parents have to be there. Dedicating yourself to 'the grind' is useless when you ignore everything else and let things play out without you.
It then delves into what we can and can't control or, more accurately, what we should and shouldn't control. All three characters deal with things differently, but they all learn similar lessons.
The next few topics I have to discuss are about the style of writing. At first, I wasn't sure about the writing for two reasons: one story uses a slight dialect that I briefly mistook for bad writing, while they all contain parts in which a character will tell a story quite quickly and in a natural dialogue, making it a little hard to catch up with. Luckily, I was able to settle in and catch up, but I doubt many people would. Having had to look up a lot of lingo, I'm definitely not part of the main target audience, so perhaps there is hope for more people to understand it.
There was something in the writing that gave the story an uncomfortable sense of urgency, making you feel like you're wasting time. This was pretty good for the overall vibe, but there were circumstances in which the characters had to learn freedom and relaxation, and an overarching message of moderation, so sometimes it felt a bit too panicked. As previously mentioned, the endings were hopeful and open but I worried at several points that they wouldn't be.
Overall, returning to my concern about the co-writing and celebrity author, I'll tell you what I thought showed through. It has clear nods to (what I think are) many aspects of Reedus' life, work and interests, coming across as a very personal project to him. It made sense that many aspects of the book reminded me of Daryl Dixon (his most famous role), but this element also surprised me as a lot of his fans from the show seemed not to like it, though the book is definitely for a niche audience. However, Reedus was not the only writer. I have no idea what Frank Bill has been through or written about before, but I believe that some of the elements of this book I understood less were further towards his areas of interest. I'm not qualified to evaluate that area, but I think his assistance has proven useful in creating such a broad story and tackling all they tried to tackle.
The story follows three stories that never intersect but share common themes. All three protagonists are at completely different stages in their life (17, 46 and 65), yet seem to be at the exact same place mentally. All of them have lived with some form of ignorance and are then forced to face up to these, be it things they've taken for granted, had hidden from them, repressed or just actively ignored. The older one's story shows that some people think they're doing very well but actually lose sight of what is important, then have to figure things out at such a late stage.
The few antagonistic characters presented share the action of twisting certain views to fit their agenda, always preaching but never doing. However, they also present arguments that further distort the gray areas surrounding our characters, while one of them actually acted as the tipping point for a character's final, happy decision.
All three stories have open endings that leave us hopeful as the characters start to look towards everything they've ignored. There could be a sequel, but I don't think there should be as it is good to leave us with the possibilities we can imagine. One thing I didn't like was that I was quite concerned about the health of the relationship one of them got into, but I'm not entirely sure. It doesn't matter too much as it wasn't the main point of that ending, but it still bothered me a bit.
With the apparent genre, I didn't expect much diversity at first glance. What did I get? Diversity. The minority characters (different races, genders and sexualities) were treated appropriately by the writers and the audience were presented with various perspectives. Again, within the genre, I worried about the role of women. There were times, especially early on, at which I thought it'd fall victim to tropes common in classic media of the sort, but I was pleasantly surprised when these were overcome, putting different people in different roles in each of the three main stories. The one man who slid a little (a refreshingly small amount) towards disrespect was, interestingly enough, one who had such a saviour complex that he fully believed he was respectful, yet he realised his assumptions and went on to focus on himself. It's also very clear that his childhood played a heavy role in it.
History, as suggested by this man's repressed childhood causing him problems, is a prevalent theme in this book. It talks of how we need to learn from the past, which is something I really support. It goes on to discuss indigenous history and the rise of nationalism after Pearl Harbour, showing that both the history of your country and your own personal history are equally as important in shaping your decisions in life.
Expanding on the American history, it both criticises America and shows hope for it, discussing the ways in which people have interpreted the 'American Dream.' It was refreshing to see multiple ways of viewing it rather than either 'oh poor me America is a cesspit' or 'GOD BLESS AMERICA HOME OF THE BRAVE!'
Returning to the subject of women and their roles, one of the most important themes in this book was parenting. It talks about how the idea people have of men being the sole provider is a total scam, as both parents have to be there. Dedicating yourself to 'the grind' is useless when you ignore everything else and let things play out without you.
It then delves into what we can and can't control or, more accurately, what we should and shouldn't control. All three characters deal with things differently, but they all learn similar lessons.
The next few topics I have to discuss are about the style of writing. At first, I wasn't sure about the writing for two reasons: one story uses a slight dialect that I briefly mistook for bad writing, while they all contain parts in which a character will tell a story quite quickly and in a natural dialogue, making it a little hard to catch up with. Luckily, I was able to settle in and catch up, but I doubt many people would. Having had to look up a lot of lingo, I'm definitely not part of the main target audience, so perhaps there is hope for more people to understand it.
There was something in the writing that gave the story an uncomfortable sense of urgency, making you feel like you're wasting time. This was pretty good for the overall vibe, but there were circumstances in which the characters had to learn freedom and relaxation, and an overarching message of moderation, so sometimes it felt a bit too panicked. As previously mentioned, the endings were hopeful and open but I worried at several points that they wouldn't be.
Overall, returning to my concern about the co-writing and celebrity author, I'll tell you what I thought showed through. It has clear nods to (what I think are) many aspects of Reedus' life, work and interests, coming across as a very personal project to him. It made sense that many aspects of the book reminded me of Daryl Dixon (his most famous role), but this element also surprised me as a lot of his fans from the show seemed not to like it, though the book is definitely for a niche audience. However, Reedus was not the only writer. I have no idea what Frank Bill has been through or written about before, but I believe that some of the elements of this book I understood less were further towards his areas of interest. I'm not qualified to evaluate that area, but I think his assistance has proven useful in creating such a broad story and tackling all they tried to tackle.