Rocks In The Belly

Nov 12, 2011 Janelle Dazzlepants rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, first-reads, drama

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow, I really don't know what to say about this book. I suppose I'd say it's beautiful, but some of the horrifying and depressing parts make me wonder if 'beautiful' is a bit too inappropriate. It's a book that made me angry, sad, and somehow a little bit happy when it came full circle.

I have to say that I really love the two voices in this book. I was worried that the child voice would be too cutesy and juvenile or unbelievable, but it's incredibly accurate and makes me wish adults gave childr...more Wow, I really don't know what to say about this book. I suppose I'd say it's beautiful, but some of the horrifying and depressing parts make me wonder if 'beautiful' is a bit too inappropriate. It's a book that made me angry, sad, and somehow a little bit happy when it came full circle.

I have to say that I really love the two voices in this book. I was worried that the child voice would be too cutesy and juvenile or unbelievable, but it's incredibly accurate and makes me wish adults gave children more credit. I really did feel like I was in that 8 year old boy's mind, and remembered my own frustrations with how adults treated me at that age. It's great when contrasted against the adult voice, as it's quite jarring to go from that youthful innocence to adult sexuality and adult dramas.

The mother in this book was also really believable, and her actions remind me a lot of the despicable characters Stephen King creates in some of his books, like abusive husbands where I can't wait for them to meet a horrible end. Watching the mother's story developing was really interesting because I initially started out like this, wanting her to have a moment of clarity in her dying moments for her son to abuse her about all the horrible things she'd done.

But then as the story progressed, I began to feel sorry for her in her last few days, especially after reading the letter she'd tried to write her son over the years. And by the time she eventually died, I'd lost all those feelings of animosity toward her and may or may not have cried like a baby. D: Though I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have spent the last few chapters crying if it weren't for the cat having to be put down, I started crying during those scenes and then didn't stop! Judging by how much I cried, it was a really effective device.

I also found it interesting how much I loathed the mother for how she abused her son, because it was never outright emotional or physical abuse - it was smaller things, an almost subtle kind of neglect that really took its toll. I sat there thinking "god, she's an awful mother" but if I were to explain why she was so horrible to someone, I wouldn't be able to easily point it out.

I also adore the non-linear chronology that this book takes, I think it works well and is perfectly paced to reveal what ultimately happened to Robert and changed everything forever. I liked that the book wasn't set out so it was just a guy coming back to his hometown to deal with an emotionally abusive dying mother - it had an unusual mystery element to keep me guessing. I liked how Robert's fate was what drove the whole book, yet you're kept guessing about what really happened until 3/4 of the way through.

Overall I quite enjoyed this book, with the last few chapters having me sobbing like an absolute baby. It takes what could be a pretty generic drama storyline and turns it on its head, shaking up the chronology and using subtle plot devices for maximum impact. I didn't think this would be my kind of book when I first received it, but it's affected me quite a lot, and is probably the best that I've received through the Goodreads First Reads program so far.

If you're into dramas where a character comes back to their hometown to face their past, or even if you aren't, give this book a read. It could easily be generic and predictable, but the subtle changes really differentiate it from similar stories. And I know it certainly changed my expectations of the genre.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program. My opinions aren't influenced from receiving the book for free, because if you check my first-reads shelf you'll see me having torn an author a new one before ;] A shit book will still be a shit book in the end, after all!(less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Blue Eyed Vixen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-author, audiobook-i-own, challenge-aussie-authors-with-a-twi

I listened to the audiobook of Rocks in the Belly, which was read by the author, and I must say that he weaves a compelling tale.

The POV swings between the 8 year old child of parents who forster an endless string of boys, to the 28 year old who has returned to care for his terminally ill mother with the hopes that he will vindicate himself of the years his mother treated him more like a second-class citizen while she lavishes the broken children with her affection.

His story was a rollercoaster...more

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May 26, 2013 Gary rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 06, 2010 The Blurb Radio Show rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: past-books-and-authors

Review by Bernard Ryan

Jon Bauer “Rocks In The Belly”, Scribe, rrp $34-95, pp 296.

Again we have a first novel, with a front-cover blurb by acclaimed South-African-born, lately ‘naturalised’ Australian, J. M. Coetzee. And the novel was to be launched in Melbourne Monday night by Cate Kennedy, novelist, whose work we have discussed on this program. Jon is off to a flying start and, by and large, his novel deserves it.

His is one of he most polished works of fiction I have rad this year. As is not un...more Review by Bernard Ryan

Jon Bauer “Rocks In The Belly”, Scribe, rrp $34-95, pp 296.

Again we have a first novel, with a front-cover blurb by acclaimed South-African-born, lately ‘naturalised’ Australian, J. M. Coetzee. And the novel was to be launched in Melbourne Monday night by Cate Kennedy, novelist, whose work we have discussed on this program. Jon is off to a flying start and, by and large, his novel deserves it.

His is one of he most polished works of fiction I have rad this year. As is not uncommon these days, the narrative unfolds by means of two alternating voices, one the protagonist at eight years of age (and occasionally earlier) and the same person twenty years later. The boy tells his story, whereas the adult persona is represented in the third person. Interestingly we are never given the specific location for the action; Bauer is English-born but now lives in Sydney. I believe we could be in either country. More importantly it is the family home where most of the novel is set, and it is drawn with lively care. Nor are we told explicitly the name of our “hero” – though he playfully (in view of another thread in the story) introduces himself at one stage as “Michael”. His father calls him a series of nicknames (such as “sonny jim”, etc.) while his mother mostly yells at him – when not covering him in smothering embraces.

To say “Michael” is disturbed is to rush to judgment. Bauer is at his best when he speaks in the boy’s voice, depicting all the confusion, pain and want of the eight-year-old existence with great sensitivity and insight. He reasons for his lifelong anger and social isolation are revealed only gradually, but put simply the boy is extremely jealous of the serial foster children his ‘saintly’ mother brings into the family home. Incidentally, both parents are drawn with unerring authenticity.

The adult “Michael” returns – according to him – from a decade or so working as a prison officer in Canada; there is a sub-plot here that may or may not have a bearing on why he is the adult he is, depending on whether we believe him or not. It is that sort of book. You see, we have THREE stories here: firstly, there is the boy’s story, concerning the effect of his younger brother on “Michael’s” life, followed by his relationship with the foster child, Robert. Secondly, the adult “Michael”, home to nurse his dying mother. Finally, the same “Michael’s” relationship with a girl, Patricia, and an old man, Reg. The three strands are carefully interwoven and the drama keeps coming. This is not a read for the faint-hearted for, while there are no shocks, this “Michael” is a difficult fellow to like. The question is: can we empathise with him? I definitely found it difficult to SYMPATHISE with him. This raises the usual question: does the novel have resolution? Don’t look for a happy ending, listeners– but DO read this book. Bauer is a very promising newcomer and I look forward to his next offering.

Well worth reading: better than ***. (Call me a fence-sitter!)
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Aug 27, 2010 Danielle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

From the back cover:
How far can you push a child? Rocks in the Belly is about a precocious eight-year-old boy and the volatile adult he becomes. During childhood his mother fosters boys, despite the jealous turmoil it arouses in her son. Jealousy that reaches unmanageable proportions when she fosters Robert, an amiable child she can't help bonding with. Until the bond triggers an event that profoundly changes everyone. Especially Robert. At twenty-eight the son returns to face his mother. He ha...more From the back cover:
How far can you push a child? Rocks in the Belly is about a precocious eight-year-old boy and the volatile adult he becomes. During childhood his mother fosters boys, despite the jealous turmoil it arouses in her son. Jealousy that reaches unmanageable proportions when she fosters Robert, an amiable child she can't help bonding with. Until the bond triggers an event that profoundly changes everyone. Especially Robert. At twenty-eight the son returns to face his mother. He hasn't forgiven her for what happened to Robert. But now she's the dependent one and he the dominant force, a power he can't help but abuse. Written in two startlingly original voices, Rocks in the Belly is about the destruction we wreak on one another in the pursuit of our own happiness; how we never escape our upbringing; and a stark reminder that the most dangerous place for a child is with the family.

Review:
It's going to be really hard to review this book without giving away spoilers - the sequence of the revelations of information is essential to the telling of this story, so I'm going to try to give it the best review I can without telling too much. This starts off as such an uncomfortable read, it was so dark and confronting. Rocks in the Belly is told from the son's two voices - the eight year old and the twenty-eight year old. The son never holds back in his narration, we hear every thought he has, openly and honestly with no attempts to soften the reality of the events. And the events are utterly unpalatable, and the kind of thing that we want to shy away from and ignore or re-tell differently trying to put a positive spin on them so they become more comfortable. I feel like I should be repulsed by the whole thing, and yet somehow, in writing with this honesty, Jon Bauer has created a series of moments that I couldn't help but feel deep heartache and compassion for the characters.

We never discover the name of the son, which is a really interesting juxtaposition in that the son tells and shows us who he is, completely, without shielding anything from the reader, and yet by not telling his name he keeps some essential part of himself secret. But also, and probably what makes this such an uncomfortable read, is that by not telling us his name, as a reader we identify with him and put ourselves in his narration instead.

The final scenes of the book, in which resolutions (of sorts) occur, are equally as powerful and are as heartrending as the dark events are gut-wrenching. In comparison to other brutally honest narration (such as The Slap) this one has so much more feeling to it, much more than just a snapshot or an examination of how damaged and damaging human beings can be. This is a story of how beautiful that damage is.
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Aug 07, 2012 Garry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Rocks in the Belly explores the fractured relationship between a mother and son. She has a compulsion to be foster troubled boys, but fails to notice that the love and attention she devotes to them comes at the cost of her son. He is eight years old when Robert arrives, the latest in a string of foster boys to enter the family. His jealosy curls like a snake within him, and bursts out with an ever-increasing frequency and intensity.

The son is our unnamed narrator. We hear from him as both a chil...more Rocks in the Belly explores the fractured relationship between a mother and son. She has a compulsion to be foster troubled boys, but fails to notice that the love and attention she devotes to them comes at the cost of her son. He is eight years old when Robert arrives, the latest in a string of foster boys to enter the family. His jealosy curls like a snake within him, and bursts out with an ever-increasing frequency and intensity.

The son is our unnamed narrator. We hear from him as both a child and an adult, with chapters regularly alternating between these two perspectives. It is very clear early on in the novel that a tragic event will befall Robert - we can see the violence building in the narrator as a child, and he frequently refers to the event as an adult.

RITB is chilling in its depictions of the acts of violence that our narrator is capable of, both as a child and as an adult. And not just the violence, but the justifications he creates for himself to absolve himself from its effects. It left me in a constant state of shock.

Was he born a violent man, or is it a product of the circumstances of his upbringing? Nature vs nurture? It's a question that naturally arises as you read the novel, but isn't answered. This ambiguity is a strength rather than a weakness. We're not forced to choose one over another. It's not an "either/or" situation: both nature AND nurture are important.

I've made room on my Favourites shelf for this one. It's rare to find a book that can navigate the narrow passage between telling a compelling story and causing you to think. RITB not only does both brilliantly, but the writing itself is also superb.

At times it is charming and humorous:
Auntie Deadly says we aren't to watch TV during the day, and last night she cooked us soup that was so homemade my spoon wouldn't sink into it. (p101)

At times it is philosophical:
Whereas the nurse is in her element. She spends her days in the awkward quiet of illness, the way waiters and waitresses spend their day in that pause in conversation while they work the tables. Every job has its own brand of silence. (p34)

And at times it tells us truths that are devastatingly profound:
I suppose you only know who you are in the extreme moments because that's when you can't help but be how you really feel. (p277)

It would be wrong of me to recommend this book without providing the caution that it is very disturbing in places. But I do recommend it: the payoff is definitely worth it.(less)

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Mar 18, 2013 Maeve rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book provides insight into a traumatized child's mind and we meet the very damaged adult he become as a result of the emotional neglect he suffered as a child. How the cycle of abuse so easily repeats itself within families is another thread through the book. Also the question of what constitutes neglect for children who have special emotional needs, a particular personality make-up or a sensitivity which makes life a little more threatening for them through no fault of their own is raised....more

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Dec 30, 2012 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Rocks in the Belly, is a troubling book about a family told from the perspective of a young man who has come home to look after his terminally ill mother from who he has been estranged. The book switches back and forth from age 8 to 28 and through this device we are given hints and insights into the relationship that he has with his mother and with his father. His parents foster troubled boys and it is the jealousy that this creates in him that is the impetus for his increasingly brattish behavi...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Jacki rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what to make of this book. Whilst I found the style very easy to read the subject and characters were awful. Surprisingly I wasn't moved by either the son or the mother and was left thinking both of them were not particularly likeable people. The mother clearly was suffering from the loss of a child and was in someway endeavouring to replace when from my view all she had to do was embrace what she had rather than more. The son - born bad or became bad? couldn't decide but thought if...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Ursula rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian

Interesting debut novel about an 8-year old boy who struggles with having to share his parents, especially his Mum, with a row of foster children. A quiet sensitive boy called Robert appears to be a particular threat to the unnamed protagonist and calls for special measures. Years later, when he returns to visit his terminally ill mother, the line between who is the victim and who the offender starts to blur.
Switching between the 8-year old's voice and his 'grown-up' self with each chapter, the...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Kathy Hiester rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rocks in the Belly moves between past to present in the life of a son who comes home to care for his dying mother. It soon becomes clear that the bond between them is broken. Mary, the mother took in foster boys while the son was a child and because of this he became a very resentful child as he feels that his mother pours adoration and care on the foster boys, which he feels belongs to him. The son eventually grows into an emotionally impaired man who now has control over his dying mother. This...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Willsin Rowe rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very strong story, quite visceral at times. It makes excellent use of the technique of twin time-lines (present day and twenty years before). I'm a big fan of this technique, and Bauer handles it very well.
Our narrator (whose name we never learn), is a man who is not easy to love, difficult even to like, but easy to sympathise with. The reasons for this are covered but not excused, which makes him very readable and very human.
I found that Bauer wrote the 8-year-old version of the character pos...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Kirsten Krauth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

MEET THE LOCALS: JON BAUER

I remember first encountering Jon Bauer in a session, with Fiona McGregor, at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival on writing about mothers. As you know, this is a topic that continues to engage me (on many levels) and I was intrigued because it was unusual to have a male panellist (a refreshing change, actually), and he spoke eloquently about writing female characters.

After his debut novel, Rocks in the Belly, was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awar...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Tracey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rocks in the Belly is narrated by an eight year old boy, an only child desperate for his parents' affections. His mother brings in foster boys which incites a fierce and sometimes dark jealousy. Possessive of his mother's attention, her son does whatever he can to monopolise her affections and when Robert joins their family, all this is set to escalate.

Originally from the UK, but now an Australian citizen living in Melbourne, it's hard to believe this is Jon Bauer's first novel. I read a sample...more

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May 20, 2012 Banafsheh Serov rated it 5 of 5 stars

A disturbing yet touching account of disintegration of a family. The narrative unfolds through two timelines, touching on human insecurities,guilt,jealousy, vengence and love.

Rocks in the Belly follows an extrovert eight year old boy resentful at having to share his parents' (especially his mother's)love and attention with foster boys living with them. This jealousy reaches unmanageable proportions at the arrival of Robert, leading to an act that leaves a lasting and damaging mark on all of the...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Hayley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed, from-library

Rocks in the Belly tells the story of a disturbed child and the troubled, vengeful man he becomes. The book is written jointly by the child who, arguably, is not born bad but becomes bad through the torment of having to share the love of his parents with foster children, and the man who lives with the repercussions of this jealousy and anger. At its very essence Rocks in the Belly details the conflict between the robot and the monster in their struggle to be loved.

It is deeply confronting - at t...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Writers (for study purposes), those who don't get enough of the worst of life in the everyday.

Recommended to Jenny by: Courier Mail review

Shelves: 2010

Put simply, this is a masterpiece. If only this calibre of writing got published then I'd quit yesterday--happily.

This is the story of an un-named man who returns home to be with his mother in her dying days. This is also the story of that man as a child, growing up with somewhat occupied parents, and in particular a mother who is devoted to the point of obsession with fostering troubled boys. (I would describe this as Mother & Son where the son is the devil child, Damien.) But as repellent...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Vanessa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book contains probably the most despicable character I've ever read. His actions made me so angry and at one stage I wanted to hurl the book across the room. I'm glad I persisted because I was very moved by the mothers story. Her description of parenthood in a unsent letter to her son was heartbreaking. In keeping with his character I don't think the son ever gained the emotional maturity to appreciate the tragedy of life events that irreparably damaged the whole family.

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Mar 06, 2011 Jeniwren rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a debut novel which raises many questions about the human condition. Our narrator is both a boy and a grown man and during his childhood his parents choose to foster children. When Robert comes into their home this causes fits of jealousy and difficult sadistic behaviour that one day results in a tragic event. In alternate chapters we are in the present with the troubled and angry young man who returns home to face his ailing mother.
Throughout the narrator remains nameless which is a pow...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Justine rated it 3 of 5 stars

A great read but not a pleasurable one. Difficult characters but I wanted to stick with them and see them through. Liked the switch from the 8 year old voice to 28 year old, equally troubled and torn....how families become broken and life changes from a moment. I'll look out for jon Bauer again as believe this is his first novel. A writer with talent...

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Jan 04, 2012 Kathie rated it 4 of 5 stars

In saying I really liked this book, I actually hated reading it. However, it is masterfully written and reads with authenticity. It is very disturbing and dark. The characters are seriously flawed and damaged people, but this book does capture the mess families can make of each other. Quite horrid but immensely sad too.

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May 28, 2011 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rocks in the Belly was extremely well written, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Bauer is able to make the reader feel both pity, disgust and admiration for the boy in this book, both as a 8 year old and a 28 year old, and of course with his mother Mary, the foster mother who neglected her own son in order to give troubled young boys the care and attention they deserved. I had a love/hate relationship with the boy, feeling sorry for him then hating him for torturing his poor cat Alfie. That definately ma...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Anne rated it 2 of 5 stars

An easy to read & quite well written book but a bit too dark for me. I found it difficult to identify with the main character who is not at all likeable. I spent a lot of the book wondering what mental illness he was suffering from! Turns out he was just selfish & masochistic.

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Apr 30, 2012 Evelien rated it 4 of 5 stars

Zeer goed geschreven! Eenvoudig maar krachtig taalgebruik. Komt aardig in de buurt van We need to talk about Kevin. Het onderschrift zegt eigenlijk alles: carried, but never held.

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Dec 06, 2011 Marg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

I don't think it would be possible to read this book and not have some kind of reaction - whether it be tears, anger, disgust or whatever.

Unnamed, unlikeable narrator.

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Jul 28, 2011 Kim Bristowe added it

Shelves: 2010

A disturbing boy turns into a disturbing man. A good story but the main character gave me an anxious/uneasy feeling throughout the whole book.

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Feb 09, 2011 Lauris Pandolfini rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic debut novel.Could not put it down. A dark tale and very unlikeable main character but compulsive reading. Can't wait for his next book .

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Jan 29, 2012 Sue rated it 2 of 5 stars

Did not enjoy reading this book at all. The only scene I enjoyed was when he was in the restaurant waiting for his date to arrive.

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Aug 03, 2011 Helen Wood added it · review of another edition

Challenging and confronting read - a novel about family, childhood, and how a child sees things

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Aug 25, 2010 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: australian, debut-fiction, fiction, 2010

More of a review to come. What could have been a great book wasn't. Mainly due to the young narrartoe. I will explain further.

This could not be the book that reviewers and critic have been praising.

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