This is definitely the kind of book that you’re better off not knowing a lot about before you start. I think I’ve found a new favourite though, and can’t wait to try Extence’s second novel on the grounds of how I felt about this.
The opening had me curious about where we were going, but I liked the fact that our narrator, Alex, takes us back to explain how, aged 17, he came to be in Dover port with an urn containing ashes on the front seat of his car and home-grown marijuana in the glove-box.
Alex is a precocious, yet touchingly innocent, character, perhaps because of the accident that took place when he was younger. He is very knowledgeable about subjects that might not be expected to engage many teenagers, but rather clueless when it comes to the things that might make his teenage years a little easier. His awkwardness results, sadly, in some rather stereotypical bullying, but this device is needed to introduce the two main characters.
The relationship that develops between Alex and touchy war veteran Mr Peterson was deeply moving. Some reviewers have criticised Extence for creating an all-too-neat ‘father figure’ for Alex, but in my mind Mr Peterson fulfilled the role of mentor. His presence is also needed to allow us to see how the character of Alex matures into the kind of young man that any parent would be proud to be related to.
I found parts of the novel laugh-out-loud funny. I am now resolved to find out more about Vonnegut, the writer who appears to be something of a favourite for Extence, and it made things about which I have very little interest in seem fascinating.
What happens in the final section of the novel is presented logically, and without becoming mawkish. The subject wasn’t what I expected to be reading about, but it was handled with sensitivity and the arguments presented were compelling. I want other people I know to read this, and soon.