A review by bunnieslikediamonds
The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle
2.0
In an afterword, the author explains that he wrote the book while working fulltime as a teacher and caring for a baby at home. He used two hour sessions at a coffee shop to finish it, which explains a lot. There may be a good book in there, but it's hidden in a mess of jumbled plot lines, heavy-handed and simplistic criticism of the mental health care system, a strange narrative voice, and uneven pacing.
The story takes place at a psychiatric hospital with the worst staff and patients ever. Now, ever since I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as a kid (why was I allowed to see that?) I've disliked mental institutions as settings in novels. The staff is always evil, the patients are mistreated and it's boring as hell. LaValle paints the same picture. The daily routine is what you'd expect in a psych unit - incredibly dull. The protagonist is heavily medicated most of the time. To have a monster roam the corridors doesn't really add any suspense, as you're hoping it will devour the patients just to break the monotony.
The story takes place at a psychiatric hospital with the worst staff and patients ever. Now, ever since I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as a kid (why was I allowed to see that?) I've disliked mental institutions as settings in novels. The staff is always evil, the patients are mistreated and it's boring as hell. LaValle paints the same picture. The daily routine is what you'd expect in a psych unit - incredibly dull. The protagonist is heavily medicated most of the time. To have a monster roam the corridors doesn't really add any suspense, as you're hoping it will devour the patients just to break the monotony.