|
AMERICAN SKIN by Ken Bruen is a dark, hilarious nightmare of a book that stretches genres and concepts. Bruen's work in general and this novel in particular mines the dark places in the human psyche where Cormac McCarthy so frequently visits, though from a different side of the mirror. While McCarthy's work is almost unrelentingly grim, AMERICAN SKIN is informed with a ferocious humor that has you screaming both with laughter and in horror.
Bruen is not a native of the United States, but he is a keen and canny observer of the landscape that most residents behold only from moving vehicles whose windows are up and whose doors are locked. AMERICAN SKIN is evocative of a number of novels --- everything from William Burroughs's NAKED LUNCH to Leonard Cohen's BEAUTIFUL LOSERS, from Norman Mailer's WHY ARE WE IN VIETNAM? to James Joyce's ULYSSES --- with Bruen bouncing characters dead and alive around time and distance in this tale of greed, love and revenge, and the unintended consequences that result from all.
Stephen Blake is the primary figure in this dark vision, a Galway native who has reached a decent if rough middle age. His life consists primarily of working in a CD store, romancing a lovely bank clerk and drinking at a local pub. When given the opportunity to participate in an IRA-related heist, Blake agrees, the result of a deathbed promise and a misplaced and reluctant loyalty. Things, we are informed early, go badly, but Blake and a conspirator gamely carry on, with Blake traveling to the United States to execute the rest of the plan in the somewhat unlikely locale of Tucson.
Blake's immigration is the first step that puts him on an unforeseen and unintended collision course with an American homegrown psychopath named Dade, a tightly wound chaotic force of nature whose instinct inclines toward random acts of spontaneous violence. Bruen goes deep into the psyche of each and all concerned in AMERICAN SKIN, with a canny understanding of the inclination of men toward violence and destructive relationships, and the connections linking acts that at first blush appear unrelated.
Ostensibly a stand-alone book, AMERICAN SKIN reaches a haunting conclusion that may well be a prologue to a future event. Regardless, this is a significant work loaded with memorable characters, electrifying incidents and walking nightmares. Very highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
 Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
