The Nephew by James Purdy
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Jeez, what a disappointment. This book has been on my reading list for some time, and, when I finally managed to get my hands on a copy (it's a rare item in my neck of the woods), I was so excited to read it.
The excitement didn't last long. Just so-so for most of the length and then really fell to pieces in the final act. Talk about authorial interference. Nothing in the final quarter of the book seemed to happen as an organic progression from what came before; instead we got a lot of author makes things happen to...And here I'm stuck with "...to what?" Make a point? Teach a lesson? Exhibit his total abhorrence of moral turpitude?
Ugh. Just ugh.
Technically, the level of polish also seemed to diminish toward the end. He started off rather technical sound--nothing particularly special, but certainly more than serviceable. At the end he really just seemed to be trying to crank it out and reach the finish line.
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