I recently finished these two slim novels that are pictured here, and though they were stories about different topics, they did share some similarities. Both are quite dark and are told by flawed narrators who are working their way psychologically through difficult circumstances (one after divorce, the other war). Both use landscape to lend to the plot’s mood (one in New Mexico, the other Iraq), and both forebodingly lead up to an event at the end of the book that makes a shattering impact.
“The Boy” by Lara Santoro, which came out last month, is about a 42-year-old woman (Anna), who’s a single mother trying to put her life back together after a bitter divorce. She crosses paths with a 20-year-old male neighbor, who seems to get under her skin and infatuate her. Though she tries to resist the temptation, she soon finds herself involved in a reckless relationship with the boy. His carefree nature seems to make her happy and she pursues her lust for him despite admonitions from his father and her daughter. Ultimately the consequences of their affair turn devastating for all in its wake.
I found the narrator Anna to be pretty harsh. She’s obviously a damaged soul (apparently from her divorce) who looks at the world in a dark or seemingly uncaring way. Her judgement about her sexual relationship with the boy is pretty screwed up and awful, and the one person she truly seems to love, her young daughter, she puts at risk.
It’s hard to find a lot redeemable about Anna, which marred some of my ability to like the novel. She loves her daughter, but can she really be trusted to raise her? That’s one thing the book puts forth to struggle with, along with the “ick factor” of Anna being sexually involved with a 20 year old. The author writes effectively in casting Anna as both flawed and not totally beyond redemption; her daughter still loves and wants to be with her. But after what happens, you’ll be struggling with Anna’s ability as a mother for long after the book’s climax crashes down.
I can’t say I thoroughly liked “The Boy” but it did raise some disturbing questions.
The same perhaps can be said of my feelings towards “The Yellow Birds” by Kevin Powers, which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2012.
This novel is about a 21-year-old boy, Private Bartle, who with a buddy he meets in basic training, 18-year-old Private Murphy, tries to stay alive while their platoon wages a bloody battle in Al Tafar, Iraq. Before leaving the States, Bartle promises Murphy’s mother that he’ll bring him back unharmed, but after a year or so into the war, Murphy begins to become unhinged. Yet Bartle still feels responsible for him. The actions that follow by both soldiers lead to devastating consequences at the end.
“The Yellow Birds” is told through Bartle’s narration, and alternates chapters of life during the war and then after the war when Bartle is back home in Virginia, trying to piece together his experience in Iraq.
The novel paints a bleak picture of what war is like: the constant stress of danger, the ambivalence toward dead bodies, the fatigue, the body counts, the psychological toll. The author effectively captures it all quite vividly with his descriptive images and account of life among the platoon. Undoubtedly, this is why the book was chosen as a finalist for the National Book Award.
But it’s not an easy read. At times, I grew impatient with Bartle and his malaise and damaged self. I wanted to relate and understand his take on war but found him and the tangents he goes on at times out of reach. My mind started to wander during some of the storytelling and I wanted Bartle to get to the point of what happened. It reads a bit like a gradual march, or a look back on something bad that’s happened but it takes till the end of the book to get there, dangling you along like a wet rag.
While I appreciated some of the writing and insight into war in “The Yellow Birds,” it’s sort of an agonizing place to remain too long, marching.
These two books sound alternately disturbing and compelling…how does one come to conclusions about books like these without a lot of pondering?
Now I must investigate them. Thanks for sharing.
Here’s MY SUNDAY SALON POST
Yeah I was sort of surprised how much these books were similarly dark with bleak events. I need something happy now! Thanks Laurel; I will stop by.
Good informative reviews. I don’t think I’ll pick up The Boy. Neither the subject matter nor the main character as you describe her appeal to me. The Yellow Birds has intrigued me because I keep seeing it pop up as a very good book and because of the nomination. I find I often do well with National Book Award and Booker nominations. But after reading your review, I will at least put it off for a while. I waited so long for something interesting to happen in one recent book — Barbery’s Hedgehog — I’m not ready to take on another sleeper for a while.
Yeah holding off a bit might be a good idea. Eventually you can get to it. How do you feel about war novels? Perhaps it’s slightly like a modern version of All Quiet on the Western Front but more sparing … Thanks for stopping by
Just looking at my comment and seeing a sloppy little grammar mistake! Oh my. As for war books, I hesitate, but if they get great reviews I may be drawn to them. Same with sports novels. I liked Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried very much. I did not care for The Art of Fielding, which I considered a mess of a book. As sloppy as my grammar! Bottom line: Depends on the quality of the writing and how heavily layered it is. I like layers.
Yes. I agree. I think it depends too. Some I can get into. Some I can’t … depends how effectively the book is done.
I brought this home last week, but I may pass on it. Not in the mood for bleak right now. Maybe when things are sunnier outside.
Yeah with these 2 bleak ones in a row, I’m ready for something (a lot) happier to read now. Thanks Deb for stopping by
I think you deserve to read something light and fluffy after those two!
Definitely! Got to find some happiness! Thanks Carrie
I think I liked The Yellow Birds more than you did but agree it was a difficult read. When I read books like that, I always wonder why we keeping sending our young people to do battle.
Yes I agree. Thanks Kathy
After rereading your review, I think you are one of the reasons I decided to read this book (though I tucked the source away and didn’t remember it until now) And obviously I concur. I have very similar reactions to yours. I usually do well with National Book Award nominees, so I decided to take the plunge. I did end up feeling that this was a book written for psychological healing and also that it was an MFA book — one full of beautiful writing , but heavily worked nonetheless.
Yes I agree — it must have been written for healing. I wanted to get into a lot but it was difficult. I had to make myself continue on a couple times. Hope I didnt steer you wrong