Lennon gives us a story told in the first person by his unreliable narrator, Eric Loesch, who speaks in a stilted, almost nineteenth century, voice, without contractions, without warmth, without affect. Eric is a cold fish carrying around burdens we only gradually learn about.
This is a book driven by its slowly developing, dark, but ultimately interesting plot.
It's one of those novels that, at the end, I'm glad I finished. I wasn't put off by its clunky phrasing or its few undeveloped plot elements. I was put off by its darkness, by scenes of Eric's physical and mental abuse as a child, and of his involvement in wartime torture, This is not a book to read at bedtime.
We are not sure which parts of the story happen in Eric's life and which are in his head. The book is open to many interpretations. ( )

Lennon has a gift for creating a strong sense of character, and a strong sense of atmosphere. The pace of the novel is managed very well, too. Where I think he stumbles is in choosing and using themes--here things like disciplining children, authority, war. A certain heavy-handedness on these subjects, in the end, obscure the good work he does on the other things. The main character's secrets are rather predictable (an abusive childhood, wartime horror) and they should have been made part of the setup, not what we waited the whole novel to find out. Moving beyond or with these predictable, practically cliche, formative experiences is more the makings of a great novel. As it is it is good, and shows the potential for much better. ( )

I read this over the weekend. It was suspenseful and meditative and well-craffted. Unfortunately, somewhere in the middle it took on the aspect of some long, creepy, illustrative scenario you might find in a Psychology textbook. Not entirely enjoyable, but unnerving enough to not want to stop reading. ( )

Interesting plot but somehow lacked development. A number of teaser lines that became either dead ends or led to illogical conclusions. Also the voice of the main character was not consistant with that of an Army Warrant Officer. The book had a great deal of potential but sadly did not deliver. ( )

Felt like a lot of build-up to a disappointing ending. It was trying to be surreal but didn't quite pull it off. I enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book but then my interest petered out. ( )