Willy in Exceptional Books

Feb 10, 2011 Bill rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction-literary, mystery, favorite-books-re-read

I have mixed feeling about this book. I was expecting a horror, but it is more of a suspense. I consider a horror something that tries to scare me. Willy did not do this. I was expecting a Gay novel, but this is a coming of age, consummated-hero-worship novel (ie, you and hero become friends). Even with my strong tendency to make all protagonists Gay in my mind, I did not get a sense of this at all. The boys were cute, though ;-)

I think a part of the problem came from my expectations. I had not I have mixed feeling about this book. I was expecting a horror, but it is more of a suspense. I consider a horror something that tries to scare me. Willy did not do this. I was expecting a Gay novel, but this is a coming of age, consummated-hero-worship novel (ie, you and hero become friends). Even with my strong tendency to make all protagonists Gay in my mind, I did not get a sense of this at all. The boys were cute, though ;-)

I think a part of the problem came from my expectations. I had not read much about the book, but had seen how others had shelved the book (largely horror and GLBT) and had seen the types of sites that reviewed it (horror sites). I would call this a suspense or psychologic thriller or mystery. It instilled a strong sense that something was going to happen, something either queer or horrifying. I really don't know if that sense comes from expectations or from the book.

But the dénouement is too fuzzy for a mystery/suspense/thriller, at least for me. That I like books with ambiguous resolutions or ending underscores this. The best novels, IMO, allow me to decide the ultimate outcome, or meaning from my own experiences. I felt I needed more from Willy, though. I feel there is too much ambiguity. I wonder if knowing more from Willy's point of view would have helped me, if Willy is indeed real.

Amended:
All that said, I liked the book—thus 4 stars, as a mouse-over pops up "really liked it". The main characters were complex and interesting and I would like to find out more about them. The milieu was very well painted. Overall the book is well written. I still feel chilled from the snow and wind and have a sense of ennui that permeated the scholl's hallways. The journey was a good one. The destination left me feeling half empty, as perhaps it was.

I have not read much modern "horror", so maybe am too inexperienced to really get it. Or maybe I just did not get it period. Perhaps a re-read will help—probably will do if it comes up for discussion. Perhaps the best thing I can say is that I feel a need to understand Willy

I'm still thinking about this book which means it's better than the 3 stars I originally gave it. I think I got too caught up with genre concerns and should have taken what was given. (view spoiler)

Amended Again 22 Apr 2011:
I am still thinking about this book, nearly every day. I cannot get it off my mind. I keep coming up with possible answers to all of the unanswered questions I have. I've been writing them down so I can looks for clues when I reread the novel. Since the protagonist remains unknown, I have decided to call him The Kid.

Bumped it up to 5 stars. ...more

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