My review of "Tietam Brown
I finished reading Tietem Brown (the novel by Mick Foley I mentioned a few posts ago) at the end of last week. I don't even know where to begin in describing it. The reviews on the back of the book gave hints that the book would be graphic and violent at parts but i didn't think much of it until I was reading the damn thing. And WOAH, Mr. Foley surprised me with the amount of SICK violence at parts of the book. It was all in such gruesome detail too. But the scary thing about it was, the character of Andy (the main character) who tended to perpetrate the violence, was so relatable to me.
Basically, Andy was just a nice kid with good intentions and a good heart who had tons of patience (like me) but then bad thing after bad thing would happen to him, and he'd let it roll off him until a line was crossed and then he'd just explode (kind of like what happens with me- it take a LOT to piss me off but then once I get to that point, you better look out). So as sick and gruesome as some of the things he did were, each of the recipients deserved it AND more (seriously, you need to read this book to see what I'm talking about).
Another thing is that a lot of critics pan Foley and don't take him seriously as a writer b/c he was a pro-wrestler, but damn the man can write. I mean i'll admit, the man does do some things in his writing that I'm sure "real" writers would frown upon (like breaking down the fourth wall to crack a joke) but you can't deny the appeal of his writing. He writes in a way that it's like he's sitting in front of you telling you a story. It's just so damn intriguing.
All the characters were really interesting and you just wind up caring so much for Andy's character. When he's nervous about asking the girl out, you feel his anxiety, when things wind up not working out with the girl you feel his heartbreak. When he's having issues with his dad, you feel his sadness and when he goes into his "rages" you feel his anger. And when Foley keeps throwing insane hardship after hardship at Andy all on top of each other, you just feel so bad for him that at times I found myself saying in my mind "What are you doing to this kid, Foley!?!? Let him catch a break!" Now I don't read a lot of books but damn if that's not the sign of some fine writing.
Another great thing about the book- the character of Andy's father. He's just such a complex character. You start off thinking he's an asshole, then as a whore, then as a guy who means well but just has a "unique" way of doing things, then as a hero, then as an utter asshole again, then someone to be extremely pitied, then as some sort of sick deprived maniac and at the end you don't know what to think of him b/c he just has so many layers. It was hard to tell whether you should pity him for what he's gone through (cuz Foley makes a point of the terrible things he had to deal with) but then some of things he does are SO utterly reprehensible that it's hard to have anything but hatred for this character. And I think that was the hook of the book- when is the point that a person you love hurts you so much that it's ok not to love them anymore?
In the end it was just a powerful and emotional read. I only wish it was longer (it was only about 240 pages and I went through the last 160 pages in like four hours b/c I couldn't put the book down). Do I recomend it? If you have a strong stomach, and can take reading a downer (although I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there are some HYSTERICAL parts too) then yes I give it a very strong recomendation. I guarentee at the very least this book will make you think.
Basically, Andy was just a nice kid with good intentions and a good heart who had tons of patience (like me) but then bad thing after bad thing would happen to him, and he'd let it roll off him until a line was crossed and then he'd just explode (kind of like what happens with me- it take a LOT to piss me off but then once I get to that point, you better look out). So as sick and gruesome as some of the things he did were, each of the recipients deserved it AND more (seriously, you need to read this book to see what I'm talking about).
Another thing is that a lot of critics pan Foley and don't take him seriously as a writer b/c he was a pro-wrestler, but damn the man can write. I mean i'll admit, the man does do some things in his writing that I'm sure "real" writers would frown upon (like breaking down the fourth wall to crack a joke) but you can't deny the appeal of his writing. He writes in a way that it's like he's sitting in front of you telling you a story. It's just so damn intriguing.
All the characters were really interesting and you just wind up caring so much for Andy's character. When he's nervous about asking the girl out, you feel his anxiety, when things wind up not working out with the girl you feel his heartbreak. When he's having issues with his dad, you feel his sadness and when he goes into his "rages" you feel his anger. And when Foley keeps throwing insane hardship after hardship at Andy all on top of each other, you just feel so bad for him that at times I found myself saying in my mind "What are you doing to this kid, Foley!?!? Let him catch a break!" Now I don't read a lot of books but damn if that's not the sign of some fine writing.
Another great thing about the book- the character of Andy's father. He's just such a complex character. You start off thinking he's an asshole, then as a whore, then as a guy who means well but just has a "unique" way of doing things, then as a hero, then as an utter asshole again, then someone to be extremely pitied, then as some sort of sick deprived maniac and at the end you don't know what to think of him b/c he just has so many layers. It was hard to tell whether you should pity him for what he's gone through (cuz Foley makes a point of the terrible things he had to deal with) but then some of things he does are SO utterly reprehensible that it's hard to have anything but hatred for this character. And I think that was the hook of the book- when is the point that a person you love hurts you so much that it's ok not to love them anymore?
In the end it was just a powerful and emotional read. I only wish it was longer (it was only about 240 pages and I went through the last 160 pages in like four hours b/c I couldn't put the book down). Do I recomend it? If you have a strong stomach, and can take reading a downer (although I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there are some HYSTERICAL parts too) then yes I give it a very strong recomendation. I guarentee at the very least this book will make you think.
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