Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Book Review: Boy A by Jonathan Trigell


This is probably the most painful book I've ever read. It's the only novel I remember making me feel physically sick at times. Not because it was gory or deliberately calibrated for shock value. It wasn't. It was just so vivid, heart-wrenching and raw.

This might not sound like a glowing recommendation for a book I'm giving a rare 5-star review. But honestly, even after having much of the story "spoiled" by seeing the excellent film adaptation, I found this so compelling I didn't want to put it aside. The story was well-crafted, the writing gorgeous, and the characters and story impossible to get out from under my skin. I was torn between the painful feelings the book evoked and wanting to focus on the words and savor the rich, beautiful writing.

Boy A, who is never named, grows up in a part of England that seems to have abandoned hope. His father seems inexplicably estranged from him and his mum, he doesn't fare well in school, and he is the constant target of bullies. He finally finds a sense of safety, and his first experience with friendship, when he meets Boy B, who is clearly disturbed and harboring a volatile streak of rage.

Boy B is an expert at adapting to survive. He adopts the posture and attitude he needs to hold his own on the street, amid gangsters and bullies. Later, in prison, Boy B will learn a new demeanor and attitude, evolving as many times as he needs to in order to stay alive. On the streets of their hometown, Boy A learns a few survival skills from Boy B. They stop bothering to show up at school -- it's just as well; the teachers have clearly long since given up on them. They live in the shadows, lurking under bridges, in an abandoned park, and in other secret places where they feel safe and alive.

Later, after being convicted of a brutal crime, loathed by shocked and grieving citizens and exploited by the press, the two boys live parallel lives in correctional institutions. Ironically, it is here that we see their budding potential. Unsuspected reservoirs of strength and perseverance. Intelligence that their families and teachers never suspected. We begin to wonder if they are redeemable, and if they might finally get the chance their childhoods denied them.

As a 24-year-old, Boy A is released. Guided by his mentor, Terry, who has been his lifeline throughout his years of incarceration, he christens himself "Jack" and begins a new life under his new identity.

Two threads run throughout this book. In the first, we see the two boys' childhood experiences and their lives while incarcerated. There are shifts in time, and the author artfully doesn't let us learn the full truth about what happened on the day of the crime until the novel has nearly ended. So the reader suspends judgment, waits to hear all the facts before jumping to conclusions, and keeps an open heart. This is a benefit kids like Boy A and Boy B rarely get in real life.

In the second thread, Jack builds his new life.The author does an excellent job of showing how Jack is overwhelmed by the real world and quotidian life at first:
He realizes ‘wide world’ is not just an expression. Streets are broad, houses high, horizons unimaginably vast, even corner shops are commodious. Big dens of pop and videos, fags and beer. The trees are greener close up, the walls are redder, the windows more see-through. He wants to tell Terry all of this, and more. He wants to tell him how great wheely bins are, how every house should have a name like the one back there did, how telephone wires drape like bunting. He wants to shake Terry’s hand with thanks and hug him with excitement and have Terry hold him tight to quell the fear.
And:
She smiles broadly when she looks at Jack’s again. But he flicks his gaze away to his feet. She dizzies him. Jack’s not exactly well versed in flirting. There were long years when the only women he saw were a few prison teachers. Some didn’t bother to contain their loathing. ‘So when are you going to take me out for a drink, Jack?’ She’s joking but she means it too. Jack is stumped, stunned; he feels his worldly ignorance around his neck like the corpse of an albatross. Its huge wingspan is knocking over the furniture. He’s not ready for this yet.
However Jack savors the small privileges of freedom, earning a salary, meeting friends, and falling in love.
Just for an instant, before they go in, Jack looks up at the night sky and is struck by the unreality of it all. This feels like another world, another lifetime. A cool late summer’s breeze blows him the perfume of a beautiful black girl who’s one place in front. He’s with his friend Chris and his new friend Steve the mechanic. He has drunk tequila, and told people his favourite film; it’s The Blues Brothers. He didn’t know that until tonight. And inside this club, this wide-windowed warehouse, is the girl who maybe, just maybe, he could love. Jack is torn between bitterness, that he has been deprived of all this for so long, and feeling that this moment has made every other moment worth while.
Other threads are woven in, here and there. We briefly see the story through the eyes of Boy A's parents, Terry, Terry's son, and Jack's new girlfriend, Michelle. We see the little events set in motion that -- bit by bit -- destroy each character's life. The character studies and intermingled stories are magnificent.

This is a story in which innocence and evil sit side by side and often seem flipped around. Children are convicted of horrible deeds. Do we loathe them more because they seem capable of such atrocities at such a tender age, or does that predispose us to forgive them and want them to find redemption? The Juvenile Detention Center is, ironically, more brutal than the adult prison where Boy A is later sent. Jack has experienced -- and presumably committed -- more brutality in his 24 years than most people do in a lifetime, yet when released into the real world, he seems inexperienced, naive, and surprisingly open-hearted. This juxtaposition and reversal of depravity and innocence run throughout the novel, keeping us unsettled, making us think. And this author has the rare gift of making us feel empathy and loathing for the same characters, which is unnerving, painful, and enlightening.

The novel is also an indictment of the process of trial-by-media that contaminates the justice system. And it looks at the arbitrary bits and pieces of observations, feelings, and prejudices on which people base judgments.
His teacher, Mrs Johnston, née Grey, disillusioned and going through divorce, thought him lazy like his left eye. She noticed that he always seemed to be dirty, and looked like he’d been fighting. Other children told on him, even some of her nicest girls. There could be no smoke without fire. Besides, he had the same startling blue irises as her filthy, philandering fuck of a husband. Though she neglected to mention this last point at the trial.
The most harrowing thing about the novel, for me, was its study of the many ways children are damaged, by society, by adults, and by each other. I suspect I'll be thinking about this book for years, and this is the thing that's likely to stick with me the most sharply.

I have plenty of other thoughts about this novel I'd like to discuss, but I am trying to avoid spoilers. I may include some of these in a separate post. Since I finished reading Boy A, a few hours ago, I have been anxious to talk to someone about it. If anyone has read this novel, or would like to, are you interested in a read-long or discussion?

Other Reviews of Boy A:
Rating: 5/5

5- Cherished Favorite4 - Keep in My Library3 - Good Read2 - Meh1 - Definitely Not
For Me


22 comments:

  1. This sounds like a book that would put me through the wringer. Anything to do with children being victimized. I think I would have to be in a very strong frame of mind to read something this powerful.

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    1. That's a good way of putting it. Three children are victimized, in this book, in different ways -- this is definitely a difficult topic. Definitely put me through the wringer, though for me, it was worth it.

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  2. I haven't read the book, the movie sure had an impact, and I still find myself thinking about it from time to time.
    Boy A does make you feel uneasy, reminds me of We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011), which is more about emotions of violence, than depicting the actual violence, based on an acclaimed novel by Lionel Shriver I wouldn't read two disturbing novels back to back, though! :)

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    1. I actually have the novel We Need To Talk About Kevin in the house -- I checked it out from the library. You're right though -- I don't think I'm up to reading two disturbing novels back to back. Right now I need a book that will make me feel like the world is a happy place. ;-)

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  3. This book truly sounds amazing. Now I feel compelled to read the book and watch the movie. Any recommendations on which order?

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    1. I don't know, but watching the movie first worked well for me. It's less complex and rich than the book but quite good. And it would give you an idea of whether you really want to read the book, which is even more disturbing. :) For example, the film leaves out the boys' experiences in prison.

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  4. This sounds very much like the Bulger boy murder, even though it doesn't say as much, and I just cannot yet feel compassion for either of the murderers from that case, due to the victim being so young and innocent. I've read Jodi Picoult books where the case is seen from different sides, but if this is the Bulger case, I just can't bring myself to read it. I think I could give it a go, if it was another case entirely. :)

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    1. Wendy, there has been a lot said about this book being inspired by and similar to the Bulger case, which I'm not very familiar with. In the review, I didn't say much about the crime involved, because I'm trying to avoid spoilers. But I will say that while there are some parallels with the Bulger case, this isn't the same crime and these are definitely fictional characters

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  5. Just read an article about the Bulger case: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257614/The-police-sure-James-Bulgers-year-old-killers-simply-wicked-But-parents-dock.html -- I felt both loathing and empathy for the perpetrators of that horrible crime.

    The question that stands out most in my mind is this. Apparently plenty of people came forward, after the murder, to talk about what a train wreck these boys' families were and how horrible and disturbed the children had become. Why did no one intervene until it was too late? Damn. That blows my mind.

    As a counselor working with "at risk" and violent youth, I saw this a lot. Everybody knows, but nothing is done about the family situation.

    As for the question of whether some children are "born evil" -- I would say "very rarely." Some sociopaths seem to be hard-wired that way, for reasons we don't understand. For the most part, I believe children come into the world innocent and with the potential for the full range of human feelings, including love and empathy. The trick is to nurture that and not destroy it.

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  6. I really enjoyed the film, but haven't gotten the chance to pick up the book yet. I should do that.

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    1. If you decide to read it, I'll be interested to hear what you think. Did you review the movie Boy A? I'll take a peek on your blog and see.

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  7. This book is already on my wishlist, and seeing that you give it 5 stars is promising! I recently read Genus, the newest book by this author, and I was very impressed by it (my review here: http://leeswammes.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/book-review-genus-by-jonathan-trigell/). That book is also about people at the fringes of society, maybe a theme in all his books?

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    1. Thanks, Judith, and I look forward to reading your review of Genus. I suspect people on the fringes of society probably is an important theme for this author -- maybe that's one of the reasons we're finding his work so compelling?

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  8. This sounds like a thought provoking and heart wrenching read. 'Do we loathe them more because they seem capable of such atrocities at such a tender age, or does that predispose us to forgive them and want them to find redemption?'<-truly food for thought.

    Coincidentally, I am reading a book called Hand Me Down and it has a similiar theme as far as kids being damaged by society and adults. It's an emotional read as well.
    Like you say, books like this make you think about them for years after. They are hard to forget.
    Wonderful review.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words. And yes, books about the harm done to children -- in various ways -- are really hard to forget.

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  9. Thanks for not spoiling it. I might check out the film first, but the book definitely sounds like a challenging (but rewarding) read.

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    1. Watching the film first worked well for me -- I appreciated the movie more because the plot hadn't been spoiled.

      I'd never even heard of this author before my daughter got the movie Boy A. After watching it, I felt compelled to read the novel right away. :-)

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  10. "The most harrowing thing about the novel, for me, was its study of the many ways children are damaged, by society, by adults, and by each other."

    This alone makes me want to get my hands on this book right away. And I completely agree with your comment about innate sociopathy being very rare. Have you read Jon Ronson's The Psychopath's Test, btw? It deals with some of these questions and it's incredibly interesting.

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    1. Ana, if you decide to read this novel, I'd love to discuss it with you. I haven't read The Psychopath's Test, but I remember seeing it discussed in the interwebs -- maybe I saw it reviewed on your blog? I am adding it to my list.

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  11. THANKS for stopping by my blog, Stephanie.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews

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  12. BTW, you definitely should read Shadow of the Wind.

    I loved it so much I "had" to go to Barcelona to find all the places in the book. :)

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth. I keep hearing so many good things about that author I'm going to have to read his novels. Ah, if only I had the budget to go to Barcelona! :-)

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Hello, and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts -- reader comments make this blogging gig worthwhile. :-) Due to excessive spam, we are now moderating all comments. Like that dude in the Monty Python skit, we just Don't ... Like ... Spam. I will try to post and respond to your comments as quickly as possibly.