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A review by youraveragedave
The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is my third Victor LaValle book, and the first that is not supernatural. Despite the word "Devil" in the title and a minotaur like character, this book is a straightforward attack on the mental healthcare system in America.
The obvious comparison is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but I love how LeValle takes that away from you and does it himself in the text! The book and movie exist in this world and the protagonist, Pepper, references it.
Another thing I liked was about 40-50% of the way through the book LeValle starts dropping facts and anecdotes about the mental health system in America. Also we get a nice section about the lives of rats!
How do you convince the world you're not crazy when you're in a psych ward? Setting the story in a psych ward we get an unreliable narrator. This plays out really well when Pepper leads a pill strike and he sees his fellow patients off their meds which they actually need (even though they are over prescribed so the staff doesn't have to actually deal with them patients). Despite this the criticisms sprinkled throughout the novel feel real to our MC and are real as been reported in the news.
The obvious comparison is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but I love how LeValle takes that away from you and does it himself in the text! The book and movie exist in this world and the protagonist, Pepper, references it.
Another thing I liked was about 40-50% of the way through the book LeValle starts dropping facts and anecdotes about the mental health system in America. Also we get a nice section about the lives of rats!
How do you convince the world you're not crazy when you're in a psych ward? Setting the story in a psych ward we get an unreliable narrator. This plays out really well when Pepper leads a pill strike and he sees his fellow patients off their meds which they actually need (even though they are over prescribed so the staff doesn't have to actually deal with them patients). Despite this the criticisms sprinkled throughout the novel feel real to our MC and are real as been reported in the news.