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A review by kaje_harper
The Invasion of Tork by Al Stewart, Claire Davis
5.0
These two authors excel at giving us men who are a bit atypical, guys whose thoughts and emotions run outside the usual rails. In this book we meet Tork, a young man who has been living on the street for a while. He's sleeping in hidden places like under a stairwell, scrounging in dumpsters, and barely surviving. He has a set of rules he uses to give shape to his days, and he's brilliant, but he's haunted by his past and mistakes, and on the edge of giving up.
And then Adam, who is a wonderfully obnoxious young man as the story opens. In college, living on his parents' money and spending much of his time partying and drinking and screwing around with guys he really doesn't care anything about. In order to meet his parents' expectations of getting into university, he's been told he needs a volunteer service on his resume, so he goes to a charity kitchen and food shelf. Adam figures it'll be an easy job and he won't have to really interact with the bums off the street. Then he sees Tork, with his green hair, his remote elegance under the poverty, his disdain for Adam's posturing, and his secret brilliance that lets him fold an origami star, fix a bike, or finish off a crossword in the time it takes Adam to fetch a food package.
Adam is intrigued against his will, and in a way, his dismay at being outmatched by someone with nothing reveals the emptiness he hides under the loud friends and the money. Adam wants to get to know Tork better, but it's hard to know a person in five minutes of handing over charity. Especially one who reacts to being touched by swiftly leaving.
There is a lot of emotion in subtle moments here, and a lot of character revealed in word choices and actions. This story of how two dissimilar young men find a way to connect was well worth the read.
And then Adam, who is a wonderfully obnoxious young man as the story opens. In college, living on his parents' money and spending much of his time partying and drinking and screwing around with guys he really doesn't care anything about. In order to meet his parents' expectations of getting into university, he's been told he needs a volunteer service on his resume, so he goes to a charity kitchen and food shelf. Adam figures it'll be an easy job and he won't have to really interact with the bums off the street. Then he sees Tork, with his green hair, his remote elegance under the poverty, his disdain for Adam's posturing, and his secret brilliance that lets him fold an origami star, fix a bike, or finish off a crossword in the time it takes Adam to fetch a food package.
Adam is intrigued against his will, and in a way, his dismay at being outmatched by someone with nothing reveals the emptiness he hides under the loud friends and the money. Adam wants to get to know Tork better, but it's hard to know a person in five minutes of handing over charity. Especially one who reacts to being touched by swiftly leaving.
There is a lot of emotion in subtle moments here, and a lot of character revealed in word choices and actions. This story of how two dissimilar young men find a way to connect was well worth the read.