A review by raulbime
Martin and John by Dale Peck

4.0

A strangely structured book, with stories set in a kind of episodic form. The two main characters in this book are Martin and John and both different people in each episode. An intriguing book but it's easy to be lost and confused as each new episode, which shares nothing with the one preceding it except the main characters, begins. It took some time to get used to the flow of the book but once one appreciates the stories within the story individually and as part of the book interconnected by the protagonists, then the tale becomes quite interesting in its multiplicity. There is a lot of abuse against children described here, a warning for those affected by such depictions. All stories have the children with strained and/or damaged relationships with their parents and guardians.

There is a particular part that involved such wonderfully described intimacy between the two characters that I loved. The gestures, the tenderness, it was so brilliant. I liked this book.