Review by 10mile72 -- A Bloody Book by Chris Bowen
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Review by 10mile72 -- A Bloody Book by Chris Bowen
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Bloody Book" by Chris Bowen.]
4 out of 4 stars
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It all starts in Reading Hell. That’s where they stick kids like Maxx – kids who are, in Maxx’s own words, “like a hundred points below stupid, but at leas twenty-five points above permanent skull damage.” It’s in Reading Hell that Maxx meets Mr. Foxx, who gives the class a provocative assignment: write a paper about when you officially stopped giving a crap. A Bloody Book is Maxx’s paper.
And it is bloody. It’s a bloody and heart-wrenching account of the ravages of neglect and poverty on the bodies, minds, and souls of Maxx and his family. By the time it’s finished, you wonder how he didn’t stop giving a crap a long time ago.
But he didn’t. For a long time, he kept on hoping, kept on believing, that somehow, in the end, it would all work out. He kept believing even after his father literally drank himself to death right in front of him. He kept believing even after his little sister Rosie almost died from ingesting cleaning fluid. He kept believing even after years of drinking powdered milk that looked like dirty dishwater because that’s all his family could afford. He kept believing even after experiencing every form of neglect, abuse, and humiliation that one could imagine.
He kept believing because that’s what kids do. He kept believing because the human heart has an almost infinite reservoir of hope that is almost impossible to completely exhaust. Almost, but not quite. This book makes the point that this life, and the people who comprise it, can be so unfair, so heartless, so deliberately, maliciously, systematically, hurtful that eventually they can extinguish even the naïve, tenacious, never-say-die hope of a child.
This book works on a number of levels. First, it works as a cautionary tale against the dangers of apathy and neglect in our schools and in our society. An educator himself, Chris Bowen dedicated this book to “every struggling student who has walked through my classroom door.” He clearly carries the burden of these students and has crafted a tale, told from a child’s perspective, that effectively conveys the challenges they face and the hardships they endure.
Secondly, the book works as a great first person read in the tradition of Huck Finn and Catcher in the Rye. The author gives Maxx a voice that’s so bristling with feeling, insight, and humor, that his every observation has an impact.
Finally, the book works as powerful fusion of tragedy and comedy, due, once again, to the wonderful voice of the child narrator. His casual observations are devastating and hilarious at the same time. For example:
“They called my house. And since my dad drank instead of worked, he was home and came down to get me.”
“So many adults I knew at school, or with social services, the police -- they never really had to get results. They just had to show that they tried. And nobody says nothing when their trying is weak. That’s why adults have all that paperwork. Files and files of paperwork. All of them. All that paper is supposed to prove that they tried.”
This is great stuff. It’s Holden Caufield meets Huck Finn, with a dash of Stephen King: brilliant, hilarious, and horrifying.
This book will appeal to teachers, social workers, and anyone who works with troubled kids. It will also resonate deeply – and painfully – with anyone who has ever experienced the devastating effects of poverty. Kids will like this book, too. It’s pithy, with short chapters, and lots of observations they will enjoy. It is definitely not a book for the squeamish or those who prefer light reading. The only fault I found was the editing. There are more than a few mistakes like this: “The guy did really know how to get our to pay attention.” But those errors do not detract from the brilliance of this book. I give it 4 out of 4 stars. It is a modern-day masterpiece: scary, funny, and shocking all at the same time. I daresay that Bowen’s child narrator succeeds in casting an indictment on society so penetrating that nobody with a conscience will be able to read this book without feeling like they have some blood on their hands by the time they put it down.
******
A Bloody Book
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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It all starts in Reading Hell. That’s where they stick kids like Maxx – kids who are, in Maxx’s own words, “like a hundred points below stupid, but at leas twenty-five points above permanent skull damage.” It’s in Reading Hell that Maxx meets Mr. Foxx, who gives the class a provocative assignment: write a paper about when you officially stopped giving a crap. A Bloody Book is Maxx’s paper.
And it is bloody. It’s a bloody and heart-wrenching account of the ravages of neglect and poverty on the bodies, minds, and souls of Maxx and his family. By the time it’s finished, you wonder how he didn’t stop giving a crap a long time ago.
But he didn’t. For a long time, he kept on hoping, kept on believing, that somehow, in the end, it would all work out. He kept believing even after his father literally drank himself to death right in front of him. He kept believing even after his little sister Rosie almost died from ingesting cleaning fluid. He kept believing even after years of drinking powdered milk that looked like dirty dishwater because that’s all his family could afford. He kept believing even after experiencing every form of neglect, abuse, and humiliation that one could imagine.
He kept believing because that’s what kids do. He kept believing because the human heart has an almost infinite reservoir of hope that is almost impossible to completely exhaust. Almost, but not quite. This book makes the point that this life, and the people who comprise it, can be so unfair, so heartless, so deliberately, maliciously, systematically, hurtful that eventually they can extinguish even the naïve, tenacious, never-say-die hope of a child.
This book works on a number of levels. First, it works as a cautionary tale against the dangers of apathy and neglect in our schools and in our society. An educator himself, Chris Bowen dedicated this book to “every struggling student who has walked through my classroom door.” He clearly carries the burden of these students and has crafted a tale, told from a child’s perspective, that effectively conveys the challenges they face and the hardships they endure.
Secondly, the book works as a great first person read in the tradition of Huck Finn and Catcher in the Rye. The author gives Maxx a voice that’s so bristling with feeling, insight, and humor, that his every observation has an impact.
Finally, the book works as powerful fusion of tragedy and comedy, due, once again, to the wonderful voice of the child narrator. His casual observations are devastating and hilarious at the same time. For example:
“They called my house. And since my dad drank instead of worked, he was home and came down to get me.”
“So many adults I knew at school, or with social services, the police -- they never really had to get results. They just had to show that they tried. And nobody says nothing when their trying is weak. That’s why adults have all that paperwork. Files and files of paperwork. All of them. All that paper is supposed to prove that they tried.”
This is great stuff. It’s Holden Caufield meets Huck Finn, with a dash of Stephen King: brilliant, hilarious, and horrifying.
This book will appeal to teachers, social workers, and anyone who works with troubled kids. It will also resonate deeply – and painfully – with anyone who has ever experienced the devastating effects of poverty. Kids will like this book, too. It’s pithy, with short chapters, and lots of observations they will enjoy. It is definitely not a book for the squeamish or those who prefer light reading. The only fault I found was the editing. There are more than a few mistakes like this: “The guy did really know how to get our to pay attention.” But those errors do not detract from the brilliance of this book. I give it 4 out of 4 stars. It is a modern-day masterpiece: scary, funny, and shocking all at the same time. I daresay that Bowen’s child narrator succeeds in casting an indictment on society so penetrating that nobody with a conscience will be able to read this book without feeling like they have some blood on their hands by the time they put it down.
******
A Bloody Book
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Alfie's Attack by David Bohline
