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A review by richardleis
The Free by Willy Vlautin
5.0
The Free follows the difficult lives of three protagonists, including a young war veteran, a nurse, and a caretaker at a group home. Their difficulties stem from health issues, lack of medical insurance, bills, difficult family members, and bureaucratic institutions that promote an American Dream but abandon people at any hint of trouble. Despite their emotionally and physically draining personal challenges, the characters are heroic, not just in surviving day to day, but in trying to help out others. The help, unfortunately, is not always successful, leading to some very bleak moments in the novel.
While definitely heartbreaking and emotional, the book manages to avoid sentimentalism and even to be hopefully. There are not always happy endings to the intertwined story lines, but by the end of the novel some of the characters have found new beginnings and new frames of mind that will hopefully lead them to better lives.
There are science fiction elements in a story within the story related to the veteran. This seems to be there there more for character building than anything else, but it also provides an interesting mirror-like reflection of the very real challenges facing each character. The author uses other devices like dreams that provide some psychological insight into the characters and repetition to demonstrate that the various challenges are relentless and daily. In effect, these and other elements heighten the realism of the novel. Vlautin's language is concise, efficient, and very visual.
While definitely heartbreaking and emotional, the book manages to avoid sentimentalism and even to be hopefully. There are not always happy endings to the intertwined story lines, but by the end of the novel some of the characters have found new beginnings and new frames of mind that will hopefully lead them to better lives.
There are science fiction elements in a story within the story related to the veteran. This seems to be there there more for character building than anything else, but it also provides an interesting mirror-like reflection of the very real challenges facing each character. The author uses other devices like dreams that provide some psychological insight into the characters and repetition to demonstrate that the various challenges are relentless and daily. In effect, these and other elements heighten the realism of the novel. Vlautin's language is concise, efficient, and very visual.