Review: A real mental twister!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 6, 2013
Drunk driving is such a hot issue that people now simply form an opinion as soon as they hear of an incident. We forget that there are underlying issues, not excusing anyone's responsibility, but Scott Kelly gives an in-depth look into the mind and feelings of a guy that we would normally just villi before knowing anything about him. The first-person narrative makes the reader immediately struggle between sympathy and skepticism about who he is. At first the broken sentences bothered me, but just for a few paragraphs. It serves to get the reader into Derek's head quickly because don't we all think in broken sentences? Kelly kept me on the edge of my seat, continuing to read as Derek's awareness unfolds with his impaired brain functioning. I love that it gave me reason to struggle with my feelings about responsibility and knee-jerk assumptions. "Gritty" is such an overused term that we may miss what it's really referring to. Let me be more descriptive: this novel delves into the depths of a man's despair, grief, guilt, hopelessness, and raw emotions. It paints a dismal picture of what a person's life can be at the bottom while he tries to claw his way out of his situation. You really won't want to put it down.