We are told in almost an afterthought at the end of the book that the flashback which is its core is based on notebooks which the writer has been keeping from his youth. If that were so why is the early part of the story so decidedly not in keeping with the mind of a thirteen year old boy. He knows the colour of his mother's eyes very precisely. Really. We are not told of his position on accent walls.
Troops of tropes: ...the breeze was as heavy as teakettle steam......polychrome edge between truth and untruth....
The smells, the shadows, even the dappled pale trunks of the plane trees lifted my spirits but yet it was as if I was seeing another Park beneath the tangible one, a map to the past, a ghost Park dark with memory, school outings and zoo visits of long ago.
It hovers between the real and, yes Holden, the phoney. High end trash is what it is, 771 pages in large format paperback. I finished it, as one does, more in hope than in expectoration.
Non placet.
2 comments:
Though at times the plot takes a few sharp turns, the characters and the underlying voice of the author make this a wonderful read.
What an INCREDIBLE book. It's a mix between Great Expectations, The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankwiler, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It's a beautiful narrative that is simultaneously compelling, a rare combination. Definitely read!
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