Bad Book
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008The title of the book in question is The Blue Star by Tony Earley. he wrote a book earlier this century called Jim the Boy which features the same main characters as The Blue Star but was different in one important fundamental way: it was good. Not just compared to The Blue Star but, compared to lots of other good books, Jim the Boy holds its own among them. Its a very simple story about a boy named Jim Glass and a brief moment in his life growing up in North Carolina with his mother and three uncles. Its told simply, no flashy language, no massive plot points pushing the story in a direction it doesnt want to go, just a nice simple story about nice characters who all develop slowly but fully leaving you feeling very satisfied and glad you spent a couple days in their company. It even sports a cover reminiscent of a children’s book and thats what it is really, and this has been backed up by the author, a children’s book for adults.
The Blue Star features the same characters, the same type of cover, the same simple writing, the same essential story arch. so. why isnt it good? This time Jim is 17 year old baby. The writing while cute before and the perfect vehicle to tell the coming of age story of a 9 year old just seems ridiculous trying to unfold the story of a teenager being difficult during Worl War II. To make things even more awkward for Mr. Earley he decided to use his quaint innocent country voice to describe Jims emotions as he finds himself falling in love with the town war hero Bucky Bucklaw’s Native American girlfriend eventually involving the three of them in a pretty little love triangle.
It really all comes down to the writing with this one. The book hit the wall for me almost instantly. While technically sound (just because i cant do it doesnt mean i cant recognize it) the voice is just too sweet for the subject matter. its is amazing how a writer’s natural voice can either sink a book or make it soar. Even if you hate a book like Fight Club, that book would not have worked if the idea was executed in anyone else’s voice other than Chuck Palahniuk. Same thing with High Fidelity, same thing with Paul Austers best books, same thing with all of Thomas Pynchons books. This list could go one forever. Unfortunately i dont have forever, i was just trying to make a point at which i believe i have succeeded.
