The Lost Memory of Skin

I love [a:Russell Banks 15128 Russell Banks http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1275844031p2/15128.jpg]. He's got this way fo writing that is deep and thought provoking while also being entertaining and relatively easy to read. It's like brain candy for smart people. Light reading, but not.This book was a joy to read for the first 4/5ths of it. Great character development, a good plot that moves along at the right pace but is moved in a unique manner. EG: it's not just this happens, then that happens and then this happens..... the story is told through some jumps in time, from different perspectives and characters do grow and change, appropriately.All that said, the last 1/5th of the book it suddenly became this weird mystery that comes out of nowhere. Although it's point as a writerly device makes sense (I don't want to give it away so I won't explain that much more), the actual writing in this section fell flat for me, especially after the preceding 375 pages.Still, I enjoyed this book and do recommend it.

The best thing about this book is how deftly Banks changes the focus of the novel. It goes from being about the Professor trying to investigate the Kid (a sex offender who lives under a causeway) to being about the Kid trying to learn more about the Professor. The shift is so subtle that it's barely noticeable. It's a testament to Banks' skill as a writer that he can so easily change the direction of a novel when he's already 200-300 pages into the story.

The best thing about this book is how deftly Banks changes the focus of the novel. It goes from being about the Professor trying to investigate the Kid (a sex offender who lives under a causeway) to being about the Kid trying to learn more about the Professor. The shift is so subtle that it's barely noticeable. It's a testament to Banks' skill as a writer that he can so easily change the direction of a novel when he's already 200-300 pages into the story.

As difficult as it is to have sympathy for this novel's main character—the Kid is a porn addict and convicted sex offender—it isn't at all difficult to become thoroughly caught up in the memorable story that revolves around him. After all, there's talk of pirates and buried treasure, there's a hurricane, there's a secret agent (or double agent), and there's an adventure in a Florida swamp. What's not to like? Along the way, there's a discourse on knowledge and truth, on believing and knowing, and on the reinvention of self.

See the full review at Perpetual Folly.