Scan barcode
A review by blackwolf294
Ill Will by Dan Chaon
2.0
If I could pick two words to describe this book, it would be "dark" and "experimental." I'll be honest. There were a few times where I considered putting down the book and just not finishing it, because this book is very, very dark, and I'm not someone who really likes to read stuff like that. However, it's actually very hard for me to not finish a book, so I kept going. Plus, the underlying plot about the murder mystery still held enough interest for me to finish the book, despite the fact that for at least the first half of the book, I wasn't sure it was really about the murder mystery at all.
Indeed, the description of what this book is about is a bit misleading. The description makes it sound like a murder mystery, but I wouldn't really classify this book that way. While it does contain a murder mystery, I didn't feel like that was the "spotlight" of the book's plot.
As for it being experimental, I say this because Chaon uses several unusual writing techniques in this book, one of which being writing inside a vertical grid pattern. While I understand that this book is a thriller, and this technique is meant to cause a sense of unease, it actually just distracted me from the story more than anything else. It made me frustrated and occasionally confused (which I realize was the aim, so kudos to Dan Chaon), and once or twice I actually almost stopped reading just because of this strange format. If I were writing this book, I would've left this technique out.
The other experimental technique Chaon uses is cutting sentences off right in the middle, or breaking them up into pieces by cutting small sections out and using white space. Chaon only does this in Dustin's point of view, and I can presume that he is using this technique to reflect Dustin's mental state. This technique didn't bother me too much, actually. Chaon didn't do it that often, and when he did, I was still able to understand what was being said. I would say that Dan Chaon used this technique quite masterfully.
With all of that said, I still have to commend Dan Chaon for his writing skills. Despite my struggle with this book (mostly because of all the dark stuff in it), he still delivered a twisty surprise at the end which I never saw coming. It was almost enough for me to raise my rating to three stars, but I still just can't get over the dark part of it. If it wasn't for that, I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Not to say I won't read Dan Chaon again. You can count on it that I will.
Indeed, the description of what this book is about is a bit misleading. The description makes it sound like a murder mystery, but I wouldn't really classify this book that way. While it does contain a murder mystery, I didn't feel like that was the "spotlight" of the book's plot.
As for it being experimental, I say this because Chaon uses several unusual writing techniques in this book, one of which being writing inside a vertical grid pattern. While I understand that this book is a thriller, and this technique is meant to cause a sense of unease, it actually just distracted me from the story more than anything else. It made me frustrated and occasionally confused (which I realize was the aim, so kudos to Dan Chaon), and once or twice I actually almost stopped reading just because of this strange format. If I were writing this book, I would've left this technique out.
The other experimental technique Chaon uses is cutting sentences off right in the middle, or breaking them up into pieces by cutting small sections out and using white space. Chaon only does this in Dustin's point of view, and I can presume that he is using this technique to reflect Dustin's mental state. This technique didn't bother me too much, actually. Chaon didn't do it that often, and when he did, I was still able to understand what was being said. I would say that Dan Chaon used this technique quite masterfully.
With all of that said, I still have to commend Dan Chaon for his writing skills. Despite my struggle with this book (mostly because of all the dark stuff in it), he still delivered a twisty surprise at the end which I never saw coming. It was almost enough for me to raise my rating to three stars, but I still just can't get over the dark part of it. If it wasn't for that, I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Not to say I won't read Dan Chaon again. You can count on it that I will.