A review by aghoststory
The Bedwetter: Journal of a Budding Psychopath by Lee Allen Howard
I must say reading this book was truly an experience and one that I wasn't necessarily prepared for.
We meet Russell Pisarek, a 26-year-old who comes across as your typical "nice guy" just looking for connection, but due to the trauma from an abusive household, he is unable to. Also, he wets the bed and has demented dreams involving his mother with electric clippers that electrocute her, and then urinating on her. The title is literal and the book description is one hundred percent accurate to the contents of the book.
Honestly, I have never read a book like The Bedwetter, and I can understand why. I am not its target audience and I do struggle to understand who exactly is. The book is filled with homophobia, sexism, animal abuse, extreme language, and horrible sexual situations. It's dirty and grimy and makes you feel like you need to take a shower after, but now you can't because Russell as somehow managed to ruin that too. As soon as you start reading, you are transported into Russell's dark and disgusting world and it never lets up. I mean, there are two and a half pages of him just talking about his balls.
The book is written in a diary format so these are all Russell's thoughts. He is childish, petty, and blames everyone around him for his own disturbing thoughts and behaviors. It is absolutely not meant to be enjoyable in the least, but that is not to say that Lee Allen Howard is not a good writer. Howard does manage to create fully fleshed-out characters and a backstory that sets up the events of the book well. However, I am not sure that the purpose of the book is or even if there is meant to be one. There are moments where I feel like you are supposed to sympathize with Russell, but it is almost impossible. While you continue to read, you do get used to the way that Russells writes out his thoughts and all of the language. It becomes less and less shocking.
Also, the ending seemed kind of rushed and like it didn't fit in with the rest of the book. It completely took a turn and felt like it was forced in there for shock value, but fell flat.
The Bedwetter is not an enjoyable experience and I do not think I would recommend this to anyone who isn't familiar with this particular genre. But it will forever be stuck in my head so at least the author did something right.
*Thank you to Book Publicity Services and the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own and are always honest.*
We meet Russell Pisarek, a 26-year-old who comes across as your typical "nice guy" just looking for connection, but due to the trauma from an abusive household, he is unable to. Also, he wets the bed and has demented dreams involving his mother with electric clippers that electrocute her, and then urinating on her. The title is literal and the book description is one hundred percent accurate to the contents of the book.
Honestly, I have never read a book like The Bedwetter, and I can understand why. I am not its target audience and I do struggle to understand who exactly is. The book is filled with homophobia, sexism, animal abuse, extreme language, and horrible sexual situations. It's dirty and grimy and makes you feel like you need to take a shower after, but now you can't because Russell as somehow managed to ruin that too. As soon as you start reading, you are transported into Russell's dark and disgusting world and it never lets up. I mean, there are two and a half pages of him just talking about his balls.
The book is written in a diary format so these are all Russell's thoughts. He is childish, petty, and blames everyone around him for his own disturbing thoughts and behaviors. It is absolutely not meant to be enjoyable in the least, but that is not to say that Lee Allen Howard is not a good writer. Howard does manage to create fully fleshed-out characters and a backstory that sets up the events of the book well. However, I am not sure that the purpose of the book is or even if there is meant to be one. There are moments where I feel like you are supposed to sympathize with Russell, but it is almost impossible. While you continue to read, you do get used to the way that Russells writes out his thoughts and all of the language. It becomes less and less shocking.
Also, the ending seemed kind of rushed and like it didn't fit in with the rest of the book. It completely took a turn and felt like it was forced in there for shock value, but fell flat.
The Bedwetter is not an enjoyable experience and I do not think I would recommend this to anyone who isn't familiar with this particular genre. But it will forever be stuck in my head so at least the author did something right.
*Thank you to Book Publicity Services and the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own and are always honest.*