2/4/14; 320 pages
HarperCollins
The Free by Willy Vlautin is a very highly recommended look into the lives of three people whose lives interconnect as they are looking for meaning while facing desperate situations.
Iraq, veteran Leroy Kervin suffered a traumatic brain injury and was living in a group home. Now he is in a coma at the hospital after clarity returned to him one night and he tried to commit suicide. His memories and dreams while he is in the coma are shared in the narrative.
Freddie McCall works two jobs, a clerk at a paint store and the overnight caretaker at the group home where Leroy was living. He still struggles to make ends meet after being buried in debt, including medical bills from his daughter. His wife moved out and took their two daughters with her.
Pauline Hawkins is a nurse at the local hospital and Leroy is one of her patients. She cares for her mentally ill father with practical yet firm kindness, buying him groceries and paying his bills. She also cares for a young patient who is a runaway, Jo, who was living in a bad situation, but doesn't know how to escape it.
The writing is straight forward while developing these realistic characters who are all depicted as fully realized individuals with strengths and weaknesses. They are all damaged in some way while they are facing issues and their fears as many ordinary working class people do. While Leroy tried to escape his situation, his dreams add a surreal, nightmarish aspect to the narrative. Freddie, who is working as hard as he can, is kind to others, and tries to hold onto some kind of hope. Pauline has deeply regulated her life and keeps her emotions tightly controlled to protect herself from harm/hurt. Jo opens up something in Pauline.
Another excellent novel by Vlautin that is a testament to the resiliency of people as they face their fears and find some kind of redemption.
No comments:
Post a Comment