Yangihara's Booker/Mann Prize Nominated novel is so depressing at times that it's difficult to go on...but I did. The main character, Jude, dominates the narration although we are also let into the minds of two others, Willem, his life long friend, eventual lover, and Harold, his mentor then adopted father. Two others, JB and Malcolm, also are friends of both Jude and Willem since college are on the edges of Jude's story. All four end up being successful, as the novel takes us from their college days up to their lives in the 50's and 60's. The text focuses on Jude and we are drawn into his narrative, his attempts to overcome his first sixteen years of violence and sexual abuse, at the hands of Brother Luke and other pedophiles. It's so upsetting and at times graphic that I had to put the novel down and ask myself why keep reading. But like all of Jude's friends, as a reader, we grow to like him, even love him, his battle with his demons, attempts to overcome various handicaps, and live a normal life. The novel jumps back and forth between the four lives in the present, then each successive decade, then back to the awfulness of Jude's past. He could not ask for better friends, all of whom are devoted to him and support him through his bouts of depression, constant cutting, and attempts at suicide. Most of us could only wish to have such friends. This should give the reader enough to know if they want to tackle a 700 page tomb.
No comments:
Post a Comment