CARRY ME DOWNM. J. Hyland
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
I chose this book because it was on the UK's Man Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist. While I liked it, I didn't find it to be an amazing read and somewhat surprised that it's on an award list.
The main character and narrator, eleven-year-old John, appeared to have one foot in reality, which tended to be a little on the odd side, but reality nonetheless and one foot in his own world that was engulfed in THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS. I enjoyed the story from John's point of view and thought it was well done, however, everything just had an odd feeling to it. Even with his parents, they each independently had an odd relationship with him. Actually, the entire book seemed a bit peculiar, and I felt like I never got any firm confirmations of anything.
So, I'm left with the broad question of whether John is just John or if John is the way he is because of his upbringing (the whole nature vs nurture debate). Only being exposed to one year of his life, it's difficult to answer, but I surmise that it's probably a combination of the two. I'm not sorry that I read it, but I am ready to move on.
Nice review, Joy! Yes, it is disappointing when books nominated for big prizes turn out to be "just okay" reads - with all the hype they receive we expect them to be better than average reads.
ReplyDeleteAre you planning on reading any of the other books nominated for the same prize? I favor "In The COuntry of Men" by Hisham Mattar and "Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai.
Last I heard, Sarah Waters' "Nightwatch" is tipped to win - hot on her heels is Edward St Aubyn with "Mother's Milk".
Joy... I agree with your review. Didn't you have some frustrations with the mother/son relationship in particular?
ReplyDeleteLotus... I've read both books and have to admit that I'm rooting for "Nightwatch." It didn't leave my hands for 12 hours straight.
Lotus ~ I'd like to read more off the shortlist, yes. When...would be the tougher question.
ReplyDeleteKristen ~ Wow, if that's not a positive endorsement, I don't know what is! :) And...YES, the mother/son relationship was definitely weirder than the father/son.
I have been been meaning to read this!
ReplyDeleteAlthough Byrson's latest is good, I would probably recommend you start with something more characteristic of Byrson, like some of his travel writing.