birendesai

On the fence about this one...between three and four stars... This is a dark book, filled with all the depravity of human existence, sexual and otherwise. There are scenes that are so painful to read about that you keep hoping for a little comic relief that just never comes. The noteworthy aspect of the book is the author's narrative and perspective -- it's the collective "we" of the teenage boys in the novel whose friend goes missing. We get a perspective that is all of them and some of them at the same time. What I find most fascinating about the narrative is that it is written by a woman; there is no flowery prose or feminine musings of any kind. The brillance of the novel starts in the middle and works its way toward the end. I won't spoil anything, but the reader begins to lose sight of what really happened to Nora, and what is in the imaginations of the boys. The author skillfully weaves details that could be read in multiple ways and the details keep building until you think you know what happens. Pittard isn't trying to hide that the stories are all conjecture, but the reader can't help trying to solve the mystery anyway...

2022-11-14 18:01