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A review by oskarij
Wild Animus by Rich Shapero
1.0
I picked up this book from a University Book Exchange shelf solely because I thought the name and the cover of the book were cool. I also was intrigued by the shamanistic-mystic journey of self-discovery that the back cover of the book promised.
In the end that promise fell several steps short. While the basic idea, attempting to get closer to nature and your "true self" via drug-induced trance isn't a bad plot, its execution didn't work for me at all. The parts where Sam/Ransom was "transformed" were steeped with fancy words and inexplicable incidents that both felt awkward and out of their depth. Profoundness turned to obscurantism and slight cringe.
The characters didn't appeal to me at all. Sam/Ransom himself seemed, in the end, to be just a druggie with a possible mental health issue and a deathwish. His obsession with his self-discovery seemed more and more to take a form of dangerous delusions than genuine advance towards the inner self. This might have been a deliberate motive of the author, but I felt that the original intent of the writer felt more genuine than what the actual end-result was.
The protagonist's relationship with his girlfriend was more abusive than committing. Again I feel that their relationship was supposed to be difficult and sacrificing, but it only came out as Sam abusing Lindy, dragging her more and more into his delusion and strange cult than keep her as a companion on their journey.
The ending was actually somewhat brave, the author was not afraid to deny his protagonist their prize. It was a bit confusing though, because a part of the ending was put right at the start, so at the same time the ending is spoiled, but you are also required to go back and read it again at the beginning, in case you forgot it.
I'm not against portrayal of unhealthy issues and phenomena in books. If the book would have been about a mentally ill person dragging his loved ones into a dangerous cult, it might have been an interesting read. Now, however, the author has seemed to intend wildly different conclusions that I were able to take from the book, so the result only seems hamfisted, questionable and bad.
In the end that promise fell several steps short. While the basic idea, attempting to get closer to nature and your "true self" via drug-induced trance isn't a bad plot, its execution didn't work for me at all. The parts where Sam/Ransom was "transformed" were steeped with fancy words and inexplicable incidents that both felt awkward and out of their depth. Profoundness turned to obscurantism and slight cringe.
The characters didn't appeal to me at all. Sam/Ransom himself seemed, in the end, to be just a druggie with a possible mental health issue and a deathwish. His obsession with his self-discovery seemed more and more to take a form of dangerous delusions than genuine advance towards the inner self. This might have been a deliberate motive of the author, but I felt that the original intent of the writer felt more genuine than what the actual end-result was.
The protagonist's relationship with his girlfriend was more abusive than committing. Again I feel that their relationship was supposed to be difficult and sacrificing, but it only came out as Sam abusing Lindy, dragging her more and more into his delusion and strange cult than keep her as a companion on their journey.
The ending was actually somewhat brave, the author was not afraid to deny his protagonist their prize. It was a bit confusing though, because a part of the ending was put right at the start, so at the same time the ending is spoiled, but you are also required to go back and read it again at the beginning, in case you forgot it.
I'm not against portrayal of unhealthy issues and phenomena in books. If the book would have been about a mentally ill person dragging his loved ones into a dangerous cult, it might have been an interesting read. Now, however, the author has seemed to intend wildly different conclusions that I were able to take from the book, so the result only seems hamfisted, questionable and bad.