Maybe (review)
2006; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 60; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2006.0839
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Themes in Literature Analysis
ResumoReviewed by: Maybe Karen Coats Runyon, Brent Maybe. Knopf, 2006196p Library ed. ISBN 0-375-93543-6$18.99 Trade ed. ISBN 0-375-83543-1$16.95 Ad Gr. 7-10 Brian feels lost and bitter as he enters his new high school in Virginia Beach. His family has moved just before his junior year, taking with them the pain of losing Brian's older brother, Sean, in a car accident. Brian's first-person narration walks readers through the adjustments of his first year in a new school, where he tries very hard to get laid and make friends who won't embarrass him. His unspent grief has him spinning his wheels, though, and his everyday life takes on a Holden Caulfield-esque form of tedium, disaffection, and naïve self-reflection. He grows to hate the girl he's dating, and he slowly realizes that his friend Dan is a slut where girls are concerned; it's not until he finally has sex with Dan's jilted ex that he is able to open up about what happened to his brother. There isn't much action to carry the story here, and Brian never really emerges as more than a marginally sympathetic character; much of his narrative is given over to the dully obsessive ravings of a rather boring, very horny guy who's not above random gropes when he can get them. His passivity and general avoidance of all things emotionally difficult plays credibly as a grief narrative, however, especially since most of his memories of Sean, who had rage issues and used to beat him up a lot, are not happy ones. Readers who enjoy exploring the character development of ordinary guys put through difficult emotional paces may therefore appreciate Brian's story. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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