Book Review: "Beautiful," that sounds about right
Neil Ross
Issue date: 5/4/09 Section: Arts and Entertainment
In "Beautiful Children," Charles Bock's debut novel, you are taken on a heaving neon drenched boat ride through the sewers of the darker parts of the mind, which are coincidentally located right underneath Las Vegas.
After 12 year old Newell Ewing vanishes one routinely sinful Saturday night, the threads behind his disappearance begin to unravel backwards, upside down, and not once in the same direction. A gaggle of tragic heroes share seemingly unrelated adventures throughout the city, ranging from the missing boy's grieving parents to a raunchy comic book illustrator with an unfortunate name. Their stories cross and intertwine throughout the novel, one moment meandering lazily, the next colliding in an explosive wave.
Possessing a diabolically gripping prose that pulls you into a dangerous and alluring portrayal of the Sin City, "Beautiful Children" is a full blown sensory experience. Prepare for an introspective journey through the minds of those whom society has let down.
Through all the characterization, plot devices, and storytelling; the heart of the novel, the main course, the steak dinner, is its poignantly reflective tone. Powerful emotions, insecurities, and human motivations reverberate from page to page as the most significant theme.
The author displays a very circumspect, and at times fiendish, awareness of the human experience. The novel cuts right through the superficial and straight to the juicy stuff-the stuff most people, when taking a good look inside themselves, prefer to avoid. The emotional awareness and depth of thought worked into all aspects of the story create a truly encompassing read.
If there is a weakness, it's that the plot takes its precious time taking off. Not to say there isn't an interesting storyline, quite the opposite actually, but the characters at times find themselves in a deep self-examining internal monologue, though they hardly ever drag on and more often than not lead somewhere fairly quickly.
After 12 year old Newell Ewing vanishes one routinely sinful Saturday night, the threads behind his disappearance begin to unravel backwards, upside down, and not once in the same direction. A gaggle of tragic heroes share seemingly unrelated adventures throughout the city, ranging from the missing boy's grieving parents to a raunchy comic book illustrator with an unfortunate name. Their stories cross and intertwine throughout the novel, one moment meandering lazily, the next colliding in an explosive wave.
Possessing a diabolically gripping prose that pulls you into a dangerous and alluring portrayal of the Sin City, "Beautiful Children" is a full blown sensory experience. Prepare for an introspective journey through the minds of those whom society has let down.
Through all the characterization, plot devices, and storytelling; the heart of the novel, the main course, the steak dinner, is its poignantly reflective tone. Powerful emotions, insecurities, and human motivations reverberate from page to page as the most significant theme.
The author displays a very circumspect, and at times fiendish, awareness of the human experience. The novel cuts right through the superficial and straight to the juicy stuff-the stuff most people, when taking a good look inside themselves, prefer to avoid. The emotional awareness and depth of thought worked into all aspects of the story create a truly encompassing read.
If there is a weakness, it's that the plot takes its precious time taking off. Not to say there isn't an interesting storyline, quite the opposite actually, but the characters at times find themselves in a deep self-examining internal monologue, though they hardly ever drag on and more often than not lead somewhere fairly quickly.
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davidmush
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posted 11/14/09 @ 6:13 PM EST
Great art issues. Thanks.
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