I read some of the other reviews of this book, trying to figure out what people liked about it. I did read it all the way through, something I doubt I would have done if it wasn't an Early Reviewer book from Library Thing. The main character just gets crazier and crazier, more and more bizarre, as the book carries on. As I read other reviewers comments, I realized I had to admit that this was certainly the author's intent. The discomfiture I felt watching him lose his mind was carefully crafted by the author, and I'm sure that I felt just as he wanted me to feel!Still, as a psychotherapist, I was really stuck in the idea that "There's medication for this, ya know??" It really is a very good piece if you want to see in action what delusional disorder is really all about. But a warning: YOU might go crazy reading about it!
6 comments:
there's medication
That's what I liked about it. That this guy is certifiable, yet mostly functioning in a way that fools everybody around him. I'm sure they think he's a little odd, unusual, but not enough to worry. And he's so alone that no one can even tell how nuts he is. That there are people around like this, semi fuctional, is what is so scary. And the author did a great job of conveying that. Certainly disturbing to read though.
Yeah, in one of the reviews I read, someone said "The creepiest book since Lolita" which was what made me think -- "oh, DUH, the author MEANT for this guy to be totally crazy!!"
I definitely felt the Lolita vibe, not in the crime but the mind of the narrator and his descent into crazyland.
I noticed you loved House of Meeting, and it completely underwhelmed me, so we must read books differently. I found it so depressing and I never really 'got' what the book was about
Hey, you're back! I'm glad to finally see a post! I know that feeling that you have to push through a book because you're reviewing it. It's a yucko feeling, but the free books are just too tempting. Loved your reaction. Speaking of creepy books where you're in the mind of the crazy, I once read a book that was so disturbing I had to keep setting it down. I'd read a little, walk away, read a little. At the time I worked in a bookstore and was allowed to read off the shelves, thank goodness -- I'd hate to have wasted my money. I just looked it up - A Simple Plan by Scott Smith.
oooh, yeah, that WAS a creepy one!!
You and raidergirl3 have made this book just too tempting!
Welcome back.
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