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Method of Choice
A violent young man with a drinking problem goes in and out of mental institutions and bad relationships.
324 pages, Paperback
Published November 21, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 7, 2017
This book started out interesting with the protagonist getting into a fistfight. I had high hopes, as I've enjoyed books like Catcher in the Rye, but I felt this book did not live up to that promise. The writing was relatively error-free, but did tend to ramble a lot. It was basically 300 pages of train of thought with few real scenes which made it hard to read at times.
There were noticeable inaccuracies in the way mental illness treatment was represented. As somebody who has worked in mental illness, there were obvious mistakes that I could see. I wish this had been better researched.
The hardest thing for me about the book with that the protagonist was very unlikable. He was misogynistic and homophobic in addition to his drug use and mental illness, with very little insight into his issues. I don't have a problem with unlikable protagonists as long as there is some sort of redemption, but unfortunately, there with little change between his personality at the beginning and at the end. The book ends with him in nearly the same situation he was in at the beginning. It seemed that he had learned very little over the course of the book.
There were noticeable inaccuracies in the way mental illness treatment was represented. As somebody who has worked in mental illness, there were obvious mistakes that I could see. I wish this had been better researched.
The hardest thing for me about the book with that the protagonist was very unlikable. He was misogynistic and homophobic in addition to his drug use and mental illness, with very little insight into his issues. I don't have a problem with unlikable protagonists as long as there is some sort of redemption, but unfortunately, there with little change between his personality at the beginning and at the end. The book ends with him in nearly the same situation he was in at the beginning. It seemed that he had learned very little over the course of the book.
July 31, 2017
The overall writing style in this novel was good and I normally enjoy mental health stories. I had a few problems with this one. The narrator, whose name we never find out, is a homophobe and a rapist. He only views women as sexual objects throughout the book, even when he is in a relationship.
I tried to ignore it and focus on his mental health journey, but I wish more care had been done in the research for this book. I sat there staring at my kindle when it was written that a patient was on an injectable form of Clozapine. Even in 2011, when that scene took place, that is not possible. Clozapine can be fatal and is only prescribed orally, by a doctor certified to prescribe it. The patient has to sign a contract agreeing to not only take their meds, but agree to weekly blood tests so their white blood cell count doesn't get too low and they die. Fioricet, a headache drug was used incorrectly and Zyprexa and Saphris were confused in one scene.
There were several scenes that could be dangerous to a person with an untreated mental illness. When the narrator is first hospitalized, his psychiatrist wants him to try Abilify. The narrator refuses. Rather than suggest another medication and talk about why he doesn't want to be on that med, the psychiatrist threatens him to have him held down and injected with an injectable antipsychotic. This almost never happens and you can refuse a med. I could see this happening if he had refused all meds, but not just one.
I tried to ignore it and focus on his mental health journey, but I wish more care had been done in the research for this book. I sat there staring at my kindle when it was written that a patient was on an injectable form of Clozapine. Even in 2011, when that scene took place, that is not possible. Clozapine can be fatal and is only prescribed orally, by a doctor certified to prescribe it. The patient has to sign a contract agreeing to not only take their meds, but agree to weekly blood tests so their white blood cell count doesn't get too low and they die. Fioricet, a headache drug was used incorrectly and Zyprexa and Saphris were confused in one scene.
There were several scenes that could be dangerous to a person with an untreated mental illness. When the narrator is first hospitalized, his psychiatrist wants him to try Abilify. The narrator refuses. Rather than suggest another medication and talk about why he doesn't want to be on that med, the psychiatrist threatens him to have him held down and injected with an injectable antipsychotic. This almost never happens and you can refuse a med. I could see this happening if he had refused all meds, but not just one.
February 10, 2017
Drugs, sex but not rock and roll. Method of Choice by RD Stones is a dark drug filled roller coaster ride with characters: Silent, Dogoberto, Paloma, Xiomara, Starvin Marvin, and Reina. Narrated in the first person by a character with no name, this story reeks of: guns, fighting, coke, weed, chronic, black-outs, smoking, King Cobra's, suicide, struggling with El Paso, superstition, fortune tellers, psychiatric psych wards, sex, rape, anti-depressant and explicit language and mature themes.
The author pulls you into this dark world in the first person. One of the things that bothered me is, I wish I would have known the characters name. I had a hard time with the protagonist never being named...I think it would have given him even more of an identity. Perhaps, that was the author's point. It could be any El Paso college age student caught in a twisty mental health depression cycle of sex, drugs and King Cobras struggling to find the answer.
Read it to take a walk down a mental road of struggle in another’s shoes, and it will probably make you feel lucky about your own circumstances and if that’s not the case, then maybe it will help you relate. The ranting of the author made it real. However, I would have liked an Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3 to complete the storyline. What can I say, I’m always rooting for the underdog.
The author pulls you into this dark world in the first person. One of the things that bothered me is, I wish I would have known the characters name. I had a hard time with the protagonist never being named...I think it would have given him even more of an identity. Perhaps, that was the author's point. It could be any El Paso college age student caught in a twisty mental health depression cycle of sex, drugs and King Cobras struggling to find the answer.
Read it to take a walk down a mental road of struggle in another’s shoes, and it will probably make you feel lucky about your own circumstances and if that’s not the case, then maybe it will help you relate. The ranting of the author made it real. However, I would have liked an Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3 to complete the storyline. What can I say, I’m always rooting for the underdog.
January 19, 2017
Always looking for the next drink, drug, or girl to sleep with the unnamed narrator of R.D. Stone's "Method of Choice" seems like a pretty unlikeable character yet there's something intriguing about him. From his first fight to his last, I wanted things to work out for him. Stone writes the character with an ease that draws readers in, even when the subject at hand is a pretty risky (suicide attempts, graphic sex scenes, and lots of binges). The books seems almost like a kind of diary, but is actually a work of fiction. Though an easy read, with mostly short chapters, sometimes the narrator rambled too much and lost my interest. Also, I got tired of him describing how attractive he found every woman he met. Overall I rated this a 3 out of 5 stars. This book is definitely not for everyone, but interesting nevertheless.
April 3, 2017
Different genres often require different types of readers. This book has a certain appeal that I don't find in many books, and I was very happy that I had the opportunity to read this, since it has the attitude I like to see along with the language used to tell the story.
First, this is a work of fiction, so there will be elements that some may find rude or inaccurate, but it is a story, not Sunday School - so lighten up. Leave the disingenuous support and half-hearted hugs in group therapy and social media, loosen the knot on the bitch-pants, and let the author entertain you.
Be prepared for foul language and circumstances that may feel uncomfortable at first, but it is an enjoyable plot. Crack a King Cobra and live the shit with him, drink to ignore the parts that you find unpleasant. Pop a couple of pills to numb it. Do a bump or two to even yourself out. Just don't snuff it quite yet, at least get to the end first. You will be glad that you did.
I laughed at many points throughout this work, simply because the narrator easily draws you into his world, and helps you smile through some things that may bother you with a situation that has arisen in the story. A family member that you will swear has left this world to live on the pages you are flying through, or the neighbor you remember from high school that you would still love to throat punch if you saw him, but decide to let the narrator handle it for you. Or when a couple of bottles in your medicine cabinet make an appearance at different points in the work. You are never alone.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I felt that the characters were very well written and the story moved along nicely, taking you through the different situations that the narrator must battle in his struggle with mental health and the inconsiderate and selfish world around him. An anti-hero of sorts, I was rooting for him to overcome all of the obstacles people seemed too happy to throw into his path, when all he was looking for was happiness and some normalcy. As long as that kept people off his back. Shitty jobs and human interactions that seem all too familiar, but a winning attitude to combat the down times.
I took a star from my rating simply because I wanted more. I am greedy. I am not going to ruin anything, read it yourself and choose which parts you enjoy most. What pieces you know sit in your own memory bank. Pfft, and you thought you were unique. For me, it seemed like it was built really well and was leading to something huge, so I was expecting more. There were the ups and downs of a fantastic plot, and deep and interesting characters in vivid settings to bring you to something magnificent, and I think it could have been bigger. However, certain parts of the story have stuck with me, and then replayed later in my thoughts since they are so close to my own reality, and there is a pretty nice picture or bacon, so give back half a star. Then round up because the work is achieving its goal and fits perfectly with the style and development of the novel and characters it houses. We are back at five.
This was a strong debut, and I had a lot of fun reading it. I will be waiting for the next one.
First, this is a work of fiction, so there will be elements that some may find rude or inaccurate, but it is a story, not Sunday School - so lighten up. Leave the disingenuous support and half-hearted hugs in group therapy and social media, loosen the knot on the bitch-pants, and let the author entertain you.
Be prepared for foul language and circumstances that may feel uncomfortable at first, but it is an enjoyable plot. Crack a King Cobra and live the shit with him, drink to ignore the parts that you find unpleasant. Pop a couple of pills to numb it. Do a bump or two to even yourself out. Just don't snuff it quite yet, at least get to the end first. You will be glad that you did.
I laughed at many points throughout this work, simply because the narrator easily draws you into his world, and helps you smile through some things that may bother you with a situation that has arisen in the story. A family member that you will swear has left this world to live on the pages you are flying through, or the neighbor you remember from high school that you would still love to throat punch if you saw him, but decide to let the narrator handle it for you. Or when a couple of bottles in your medicine cabinet make an appearance at different points in the work. You are never alone.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I felt that the characters were very well written and the story moved along nicely, taking you through the different situations that the narrator must battle in his struggle with mental health and the inconsiderate and selfish world around him. An anti-hero of sorts, I was rooting for him to overcome all of the obstacles people seemed too happy to throw into his path, when all he was looking for was happiness and some normalcy. As long as that kept people off his back. Shitty jobs and human interactions that seem all too familiar, but a winning attitude to combat the down times.
I took a star from my rating simply because I wanted more. I am greedy. I am not going to ruin anything, read it yourself and choose which parts you enjoy most. What pieces you know sit in your own memory bank. Pfft, and you thought you were unique. For me, it seemed like it was built really well and was leading to something huge, so I was expecting more. There were the ups and downs of a fantastic plot, and deep and interesting characters in vivid settings to bring you to something magnificent, and I think it could have been bigger. However, certain parts of the story have stuck with me, and then replayed later in my thoughts since they are so close to my own reality, and there is a pretty nice picture or bacon, so give back half a star. Then round up because the work is achieving its goal and fits perfectly with the style and development of the novel and characters it houses. We are back at five.
This was a strong debut, and I had a lot of fun reading it. I will be waiting for the next one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews