T list #5

Scowler by Daniel Kraus

I. Hated. This. Book.

I can do creepy, and I can do weird, but I can't do this book.

First of all, roughly fifty pages in, I had to read about an @$$h0le sewing his wife to a mattress. Very graphic, and it made me physically ill.

Then, the book jumps around from time to time. Typically, this is ok, but it would flashback then come to the present and chronicle every single hour. Aggravating.

At its core, this book is about a teenager named Ry. He lives on a farm with his little sister and his mother. His father is in jail, presumably, for sewing his wife to the mattress and nearly killing Ry. A meteorite his the prison where he is housed, and the dad, Marvin, escapes. He makes his way back to his family's farm just as they are preparing to move away.  Another meteorite hits the farm, and all Marvin can see are dollar signs. He thinks he can make money off of the meteorite, and live in obscurity.

A little about Ry... After his father tried to kill him, he went a little nutzo. He had three toys that were real to him. As in, they talked and had personalities. Ry had been living without them for some time, but with his crazy father coming back and threatening them (and killing at least two men), these toys come back to life. In fact, one attacks the father and tries to kill him.

Again, I hated this book. I forced myself to give it a chance, and it had no redeeming qualities, in my opinion.