The InterloperAntoine Wilson
Mr. Wilson, I owe you an apology. See, I had been really intrigued by the premise of The Interloper, but something put me off. That something?
Your name.
Allow me to explain.
A quick overview of The Interloper's plot is enough to convince anyone that the novel has promise. It concerns average ol' Owen Patterson and his quest to avenge the murder of his brother-in-law. Unfortunately, I had recently read The Power of Flies, a very French (read: depressing) novel, and, well, your name sounds French. Therefore, I thought The Interloper would get all heavy, all philosophical in an existentialism-is-so-hot sorta way, and quite frankly I didn't want to deal with it, so I ignored you and your book.
Well, slap my ass and call me Betsy, cause The Interloper was simply fabulous, darling. A hefty 250+ pages, it took only hours to read.
Owen's plan to avenge the death of his brother-in-law is so fascinating that it's impossible to stop reading once he unfolds his idea. It's not that Owen really misses his brother-in-law (he hardly knew him), but rather that the murder has had some pretty adverse effects on his life. His wife has become a ghost of herself, and Owen feels like an outsider when with his in-laws, all too aware of the hole he cannot fill. The murderer, Henry Joseph Raven, sits in prison, but Owen knows this isn't enough.
To punish Raven adequately, Owen sets out to create the ingredients necessary to force Raven to truly understand what he has done. To achieve this end, Owen writes as Lily Hazelton, a lovely, lonely young lady who decides to reach out and write to an incarcerated man. Owen plans to slowly seduce, then abandon, Raven. Soon, Raven will know just how it feels to lose someone you deeply love.
I especially enjoyed how Wilson subtly alludes to the story's resolution, but he never fully tips his hand. The novel's end is both expected and surprising, both brilliant and satisfying.
In a nutshell: Sorry for judging your book by your name, dude.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
Your name.
Allow me to explain.
A quick overview of The Interloper's plot is enough to convince anyone that the novel has promise. It concerns average ol' Owen Patterson and his quest to avenge the murder of his brother-in-law. Unfortunately, I had recently read The Power of Flies, a very French (read: depressing) novel, and, well, your name sounds French. Therefore, I thought The Interloper would get all heavy, all philosophical in an existentialism-is-so-hot sorta way, and quite frankly I didn't want to deal with it, so I ignored you and your book.
Well, slap my ass and call me Betsy, cause The Interloper was simply fabulous, darling. A hefty 250+ pages, it took only hours to read.
Owen's plan to avenge the death of his brother-in-law is so fascinating that it's impossible to stop reading once he unfolds his idea. It's not that Owen really misses his brother-in-law (he hardly knew him), but rather that the murder has had some pretty adverse effects on his life. His wife has become a ghost of herself, and Owen feels like an outsider when with his in-laws, all too aware of the hole he cannot fill. The murderer, Henry Joseph Raven, sits in prison, but Owen knows this isn't enough.To punish Raven adequately, Owen sets out to create the ingredients necessary to force Raven to truly understand what he has done. To achieve this end, Owen writes as Lily Hazelton, a lovely, lonely young lady who decides to reach out and write to an incarcerated man. Owen plans to slowly seduce, then abandon, Raven. Soon, Raven will know just how it feels to lose someone you deeply love.
I especially enjoyed how Wilson subtly alludes to the story's resolution, but he never fully tips his hand. The novel's end is both expected and surprising, both brilliant and satisfying.
In a nutshell: Sorry for judging your book by your name, dude.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
1 comment:
Apology accepted. ; )
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