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A review by elturko64
Lord of Dark Places by Hal Bennett
5.0
This is a strange, incredible, thought provoking book. It's probably one of the greatest books I've ever read yet at the same time I don't know if I can recommend it due to its intense, messed up scenes. Right away this book shows you how twisted and disturbing this book is going to be and it doesn't stop until the last page. The story is about a man named Joe Market and how messed up his life is and that's pretty much it. The style is a mixture Cormac MacCarthy and Iceberg Slim with a lot of lustful themes thrown in.
However not everything is all doom and gloom in this book. It can be loving, hilarious, sincere and the author try to bridge the divide between races, sexes, politics and religion. What really stuns me is that the book goes into so many different genres within a snap of a finger. comedy, detective murder mystery, romantic fatalism, southern gothic, a Vietnam story, and even a buddy comedy. The characters are well written even though most of them are jaded, warped characters they are still fascinating. Then there's the actual writing itself which is perfect. This book is filled with powerful quotes that left me reeling. Without a doubt this is the greatest transgressive novel I've ever read. There is no other book like this and this story will stay with me for the rest of my life.
"The human condition sometimes it carries us to salvation in strange ways. And it requires so many sacrifices, so many. it's the only proof that we love, when we sacrifice. If sacrifice is strange enough, great enough, we say that a man or a woman is a hero. Are you a hero, my son?"
"I found out a long time ago that the duty of the church is not to save sinners, but to make a man sin. It is a fear of the example of Christ that causes good men to turn bad. Follow the example of this man, the church says, and you'll wind up on the cross just like he did. The promise of heaven is pale indeed when a man has to die in order to achieve it."
However not everything is all doom and gloom in this book. It can be loving, hilarious, sincere and the author try to bridge the divide between races, sexes, politics and religion. What really stuns me is that the book goes into so many different genres within a snap of a finger. comedy, detective murder mystery, romantic fatalism, southern gothic, a Vietnam story, and even a buddy comedy. The characters are well written even though most of them are jaded, warped characters they are still fascinating. Then there's the actual writing itself which is perfect. This book is filled with powerful quotes that left me reeling. Without a doubt this is the greatest transgressive novel I've ever read. There is no other book like this and this story will stay with me for the rest of my life.
"The human condition sometimes it carries us to salvation in strange ways. And it requires so many sacrifices, so many. it's the only proof that we love, when we sacrifice. If sacrifice is strange enough, great enough, we say that a man or a woman is a hero. Are you a hero, my son?"
"I found out a long time ago that the duty of the church is not to save sinners, but to make a man sin. It is a fear of the example of Christ that causes good men to turn bad. Follow the example of this man, the church says, and you'll wind up on the cross just like he did. The promise of heaven is pale indeed when a man has to die in order to achieve it."