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wickedwitchofthewords's review
5.0
This book was indeed a very different book. wow.
I mean, halfway through the book I wasn't so sure what made it so great (according to the reviews and ratings). Sure, it was the story of a guy dreaming to travel the world, falling in love, losing that love, meeting a new friend, blah blah blah... but these aren't so special! Not enough to give a book a rating of 4.39! Not in my opinion anyway.
But then things happened... Charles' truth was revealed... and at that point I wanted to put the book down and never pick it up again. But I pushed through because there was something different about this book.
And I hated Charles! I hated him so much... but I don't know, as I got to know him I kinda felt sorry for him... He was a monster and not really a monster...
I don't know, it's complicated...
Books like this make you wonder... about so many things.
There's one thing I'm sure of: This book is absolutely worth reading. Just read it. See for yourself.
I mean, halfway through the book I wasn't so sure what made it so great (according to the reviews and ratings). Sure, it was the story of a guy dreaming to travel the world, falling in love, losing that love, meeting a new friend, blah blah blah... but these aren't so special! Not enough to give a book a rating of 4.39! Not in my opinion anyway.
But then things happened... Charles' truth was revealed... and at that point I wanted to put the book down and never pick it up again. But I pushed through because there was something different about this book.
And I hated Charles! I hated him so much... but I don't know, as I got to know him I kinda felt sorry for him... He was a monster and not really a monster...
I don't know, it's complicated...
Books like this make you wonder... about so many things.
There's one thing I'm sure of: This book is absolutely worth reading. Just read it. See for yourself.
brynhammond's review
4.0
This book deals with dark material, in a compassionate way, without sensationalism or stereotyped evil, or sentimentality for that matter.
In the early stretches I was worried at how ordinary Haakon’s story is, but that changes when he is called upon to nurse his first boyfriend through AIDS. Exacerbated by family situations: they have scarcely come out to their parents yet, and parents – along with hospitals who insist on parental presence – may only cause an extra psychological hardship at this time. I found these early parts heavy with death, as Haakon’s next question is, when’s my turn?
Haakon escapes ordinary life in travel, but his ignorance and naivety find him involved with those who travel the world in order to exploit and abuse underprivileged children. Things get worse before they get better. In these parts I appreciated that he doesn’t paint people solid black, but writes about monstrosity more than about monsters.
For me, the travel narrative wasn’t a draw in itself, and the other thing I didn’t take to in particular is the writing. Mostly, I respected this book for what it looks at. I recognised in it aspects of the 80s and 90s – the early ‘gay plague’ scare days, but also, how blurrily we thought about sexual abuse issues. We are today hyper-conscious of certain things that passed unnoticed then, or were accepted as commonplace, or were understood as freedoms.
To pigeonhole this, I’d call it rather a novel of gay life than a romance; sex is non-explicit.
###
Won through First Reads. (From Australia, I appreciate the worldwide giveaway. Still waiting for Goodreads to encourage global inclusion with a one-click world option -- instead of a click per country, which takes commitment).
In the early stretches I was worried at how ordinary Haakon’s story is, but that changes when he is called upon to nurse his first boyfriend through AIDS. Exacerbated by family situations: they have scarcely come out to their parents yet, and parents – along with hospitals who insist on parental presence – may only cause an extra psychological hardship at this time. I found these early parts heavy with death, as Haakon’s next question is, when’s my turn?
Haakon escapes ordinary life in travel, but his ignorance and naivety find him involved with those who travel the world in order to exploit and abuse underprivileged children. Things get worse before they get better. In these parts I appreciated that he doesn’t paint people solid black, but writes about monstrosity more than about monsters.
For me, the travel narrative wasn’t a draw in itself, and the other thing I didn’t take to in particular is the writing. Mostly, I respected this book for what it looks at. I recognised in it aspects of the 80s and 90s – the early ‘gay plague’ scare days, but also, how blurrily we thought about sexual abuse issues. We are today hyper-conscious of certain things that passed unnoticed then, or were accepted as commonplace, or were understood as freedoms.
To pigeonhole this, I’d call it rather a novel of gay life than a romance; sex is non-explicit.
###
Won through First Reads. (From Australia, I appreciate the worldwide giveaway. Still waiting for Goodreads to encourage global inclusion with a one-click world option -- instead of a click per country, which takes commitment).
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