A man is trapped in his own mind. Confined to a hospital bed for years, his family and friends believing him all but dead; somehow he can still hear. And he listens, he keeps breathing, keeps thinking, as those around him suddenly condemn him to death. With a life destined to end, he recounts his battlefield experience of death and violence, his own struggle with drug addiction and depression, and coming to terms with his own mortality, the importance of family and the meaning of life. And as he thinks, he lays, still as always, wondering when the final moment will arrive...
Bryan Healey studied Computer Science at Northeastern University before becoming a technology leader, specializing in start-up development. He holds an additional BA in English and an MBA in Project Management. He has technical expertise in machine learning, and he has literary expertise in fiction and essay writing. Bryan lives in Boston with his beautiful wife.
This was a great narrative!! I couldn't put it down!! Even having three kids nine, four, and one I *MADE* time to read this book, because the suspense was amazing!
Imagine yourself in a coma, dead and unconscious to everyone around you for the past six years, and then suddenly able to hear and think. But that’s all. No sense of smell or sight or touch.
Beyond what is given me by those around me, I can experience nothing but what I am able to cobble together using old memories and my old knowledge and my old beliefs and ideals, and the product always lacks the pull of the sonorous echo of Jenny’s ever melodious words, drifting into my ears like rose petals against a stiff breeze. Her voice makes me see color, see music, to see a lively painting, rolling fields of yellow and green cast across a blue, formless sky; she reminds me that there is a world, and at least part of it still cares that I am here.
This is The Void, a world narrated by Max Aaron in this short novel by Bryan Healey. In it, Max’s narrative alternates between processing his current surroundings and reflecting back to major events in his past, with a couple of dreams thrown in, in a kind of stream of consciousness style. There are no line or chapter breaks. The dominance of single-sentence paragraphs makes for a quick pace.
The transitions between past and present come unexpectedly and are key to making the experiences related by such a passive protagonist interesting for a reader. A certain word or phrase from a visitor launches Max’s mind to his past, whether to his time in the military, meeting his wife, Jenny, watching the birth of his son, or the purchase of the car that son now wants.
I remember buying that car; it was a beautiful, sunny Saturday, driving to the address that I found in the newspaper, boasting a cheap sports car for sale. I needed a new car. “Good afternoon!” I smile at the man. “Howdy!” “I hear you have a car for sale?” “Indeed, I do,” he beams and motions for me to follow him into his garage. Briefly, I consider that maybe he is going to kill me, and I wonder if I would be able to defend myself… But then his garage door opens, and before me is the most gorgeous hunk of metal and leather that I have ever seen, glistening with the little sunlight suddenly available from the outside opening. It was black, convertible. It smelled magnificent. I would have paid him whatever he asked… “He always loved that car.” I’m glad he’ll have something from me…
What solitary sadness Max must feel hearing people speaking about him. Their obliviousness of his limited consciousness makes them say things in his presence they wouldn’t otherwise. It works well as a device because it’s not distracting; instead, one wonders how he can endure the impact of their words alone. This is most distressing when his wife and son make the decision to pull his feeding tube to let him die. But more powerful was the one-way interaction between Max and a night nurse, Sarah, whose own tragic circumstances affect Max even more deeply, it seemed.
It’s not all so gloomy and there are light moments. A bit of suspense too. Several memories of reveal incidents of danger or peril. With each, you wonder, was this the event that put him in the coma? The answer does come but for me it was rather uninspired, like the rest of his previous life, which was rather unoriginal in dramatic terms. Perhaps that was on purpose to ensure his current circumstanes take precedence.
The big moral issue of the right to ‘pull the plug’ in such a situation is, curiously, not explored. Perhaps by accepting the possibility of Max’s ‘Void’ an argument could be constructed against mercy killing on the basis of his consciousness. The mercy, then, would be for the family as Max would be content continuing to live indefinitely within his memories and hearing. But he accepts their decision gracefully; what choice does he have? Perhaps there could have been an outsider fighting to keep Max alive. This lack of actual conflict creates another void, a literary one.
But I can appreciate why this route wasn’t taken. It would have made for a far different story, one that would have struggled to sustain the style, and risked becoming too conventional. As it is, The Void is an interesting and creative piece. But because of its narrow scope and shortness, I’d hesitate to call it a novel.
I read this from an ARC epub file, which contained proofing errors and inconsistent line spacing; i.e. the excerpt above was double spaced in the book while other sections were single-spaced. I assume these issues will be resolved by the time this review is posted and The Void is generally available.
I've read two of Healey's books before and I LOVED them. This book took my expectations and blew them out of the water.
Within the first few pages I was crying like a baby, and it didn't let up much from there. I read this in one sitting, as I just could not put it down, I was so attached to Max right from the word go. Healey's ability to write with so much emotion is truly amazing to me. He has this ability to grasp my attention and not let go till the last word.
The story deals with something very controversial, taking a comatose patient off of life-support. I feel that regardless of your feelings on the subject The Void is an eye-opening story. It makes you wonder about all the what-ifs that surround a decision like that.
I love how well the story flows. Max, the main character, seems to float around between the world that is moving on around him and the world that he remembers. Despite the jumping back and fourth the writing just moves along and it does not feel choppy. That's one of my favorite aspects about Healey's writing - his ability to jump the story around without really bringing attention to the fact that you're jumping around. It's something that I do not come across often and I truly appreciate the author that has that kind of ability.
Healey is truly a master of his art! One of my favorite all time authors for sure!
This book was totally amazing! I could not put it down and finished it in one day. I felt as though I took this terrifying journey with Max as he experienced it. It really makes you think about what happens when someone is in a coma. Are they locked inside? Did they already move on? This book shows you what it might be like if you were stuck in your body, unable to move, talk or make anyone aware that you are still there. Such a sad story. I received this book for free through a Goodreads First Reads give away.
This was a bit off the normal reading style for me. I'm still not quite sure what genre it would classify as either. I did "enjoy" the book - if one can enjoy such a book. I thought it was thoughtful and gave an interesting viewpoint into what a coma might possibly be like. The pace worked very well even though it was unusual- but in a coma time very well could cease to exist. It was a good effort by the author to tackle what is a very atypical story- quick read and worth the effort.
Hmph. Interesting book. It actually made me feel claustrophobic at times, as though I were as unable to move and speak just as the main character is. The author moves seamlessly between the past and the present, which is a difficult thing to pull off, I'm sure. Cool book. Easy to read. Only took an hour and a half for 130 pages. In fact, one of my only complaints is that it was too short. But it's worth the read :)
First, I have to say thank you to Bryan for sending this to me as an ARC to review. I went to high school with Bryan and read his last two novels and enjoyed them very much. This was no exception. "The Void" is a journey through one man's mind while he is in a comatose state. I loved the way the story was told from the mind of Max and what he went through. I see the theme of addictions show up a lot in Bryan's work and he writes about them so well and effortlessly. The inner workings of someone's mind while in a comatose state are very difficult to know but as a writer he captured something about Max that I felt was strong, a desire to know why. The toll that each part of Max's life took on him was vividly brought to life throughout not only the dialogue in the book but also the descriptions. I found the scenes with the therapist and priest to be the most compelling as they really delved into the parts of Max's mind that no one could truly see which was such an interesting avenue to take.
All that being said, the only thing that I was not keen on with this book is that it was not broken up in any way. I am aware this was an ARC so maybe the finished copy is broken up into sections or chapters but if not it is something I would have suggested. It makes it easier to take breather and put it down if you need to and not feel like you are leaving in the middle of something. I for one hate leaving a chapter unfinished and that is what it felt like I was doing the couple of times I had to put this book down. Other than that and the fact that sometimes it felt like a bit of a whirlwind, I have to say I enjoyed "The Void" very much and look forward to another work from Bryan very soon!
I won this book via Library Thing Early Reviewers Program.
Absolutely amazing novel. I couldn’t put it down. I even cried a bit through certain parts, which doesn’t happen to me often. This is a novel that truly makes you think about hard subjects.
The narrative was very easy to follow. I got into Max’s head quickly and easily, which is what made it so difficult to get through emotionally. I felt for Max the entire time and couldn’t really distance myself from the story because the narrative just grabbed a hold of me.
The story shifts from present to past frequently, often in the middle of a train of thought. I loved how this was done so smoothly. It helped give the reader information on Max’s past and his personality and ultimately we find out what exactly happened to put him into a coma. Though Max is essentially a vegetable, he can hear what is being said around him. When nurses or his family talks to him, he responds in his head, which was really cool to read through and part of what made the narrative so simple to follow, but also made me feel terrible because he’s not able to say anything out loud.
This book was just amazing. The premise hooked me and it didn’t disappoint. Despite this book being fiction, it forces the reader to think about things we all tend to push to the back our minds, especially the question of what may be happening when someone is a comatose state.
The Void was well written, heart wrenching, and incredibly interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the premise. I loved it. http://meganm922.blogspot.com/2012/06...
I received a preview of this book months ago and loved it, which is why I was thrilled to get a chance to review it in its entirety. This is a heartbreaking story. It’s difficult to write about topics such as these, about sicknesses that affect entire families, but it is even more difficult to write it from the sufferer’s perspective without falling into melodrama. For me, this book’s author did a wonderful job of achieving a truthful, sensitive yet not overdone storyline. The way the book is set up helps with this, since the reader doesn’t even know why the main character, Max, is in a vegetative state. We realize it’s not nearly as important as what Max is thinking and feeling. That there are no chapters also works very well, since in the void the protagonist lives in there is no real sense of time. The characters are real to us, even though we don’t get much more that their voices, their dialogue. That takes skill to do. To make us care about people who barely do anything but talk throughout the novel. It was a moving story to read, and though there were some repetitions, a few too many exclamation points, trivial things like that, I can easily recommend this. It is a quick read which follow you long after you finish reading it.
I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads.
Max is in a coma. Has been for years. Everyone from his wife Jenny to the different nurses and doctors that come into his room think he's a vegetable but that doesn't stop them from talking to him. Sometimes telling him their secrets. What no one realizes because he can't respond is that his mind is still active. He relives events that have happened to him when he is alone and recognizes the different people around him and carries on his side of their conversation in his head. After visiting Max every day for six years Jenny finally has to let him go. She can't afford the hospital bills anymore and its tearing her apart. The terrible part is Max doesn't want to die but he has no way to tell her. This is the second book I've read by Bryan Healey. The first being Bryan's Brain vol. 1 which I thought was very funny and too true to life in some instances. I liked this book even better. An original idea for a story from an imaginative mind told very realistically. So many different emotions past through me while reading this book. Its going to stick with me for a while. Keep me wondering if the scenario is possibly true. Its a book I highly recommend.
I found this book to be a good quick-read, taking only a few hours to complete. The method in which the story is told is appropriate for its setting and context, but it leaves something to be desired.
The way the main character responds to those that confide in him leaves very little to inference, practically ignoring a literary device that could have been used to heighten the anxious and emotional tension for the reader; silence. The book seems to have so little of it wherein it could have been one of its strongest points.
The ending to the story was rather emotionally devoid, despite the fact that emotional tension seemed to build exponentially as you neared the end. It just seemed to have no real release of said tension. That said; it could have been the authors intent - to allude to "the void", of nothing after death, to show that there is no release of tension because there is nothing at all.
In any case, I am glad that I read this book and experienced my take of the authors vision, but I can't say that I would read it more than once.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Wow! This was an intense book. It reminds me of an old book called ‘Johnny Got His Gun’. Bryan Healey’s writing is amazing! You drift so easily from Max being in the ‘void’, to a memory, and back to the ‘void’ … it’s kind of incredible how well Mr. Healey does this! Since it jumps back and forth through time in his thoughts, it seems like it should be jerky, but it truly isn’t! It’s gripping and emotional and maybe makes you ponder things you’d rather pretend would never happen, but do. You really feel the claustrophobia and panic he feels being stuck inside himself the way he is…which I must say was a little overwhelming at times…but these are the feelings the book is trying to convey and it totally succeeds! It’s an amazing story of love and pain, sadly, lots of pain…Max and Jenny have been through the ringer that’s for sure. Again, it’s a beautifully written book and I will look for more of Bryan Healey’s writings because of it!
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This book was simply put and easy to read. However, it failed to keep my interest. I kept reading hoping it would grab hold of me and suck me into the fascinating idea behind the story.
Paragraphs were short and I often wanted more from them; wishing for more depth. However, I liked how the author transitioned from one setting to the other (the current void to a memory). I'm not sure which edition I received but I did notice a few punctuation/grammatical errors.
One thing that quite irritated me was that there are no chapter breaks. I'm always losing my place in books and often rely on chapter breaks as my bookmark.
There are many lines from the book that made me think. My favorite being on page 64: "I am my mind; so long as my mind is still here, whole and in my skull, I am here, in whatever form I can be."
I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and really enjoyed it!
It was at times hard to read because I was thinking of myself in this situation and thinking I'd just want to die. I mean to have to be stuck in that body laying there and not able to show ANY emotion while people are talking to you and telling you things that should receive a reaction would be difficult to say the least! To have to relive memories (good or bad) alone with no one to talk to would slowly drive me crazy! I don't want to give too much away but suffice it to say I would recommend reading this, if for no other reason than to see the interesting way it was written! Thank you good reads, I'm glad I was given the opportunity to read this book!
A really well written stream-of-conscienceness about what it may be like to lie in a vegetative state. The novel jumped back and forth between present and past tense in a way that made sense and was easy to follow. As Max lies in the state between life and death, he hears those around him discuss his condition as well as their own conversations they have with him. I found it fascinating.
The Void is a fantastic book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. The book was well written and grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The heartwrenching emotional story made me reflect on what it would be like if I or a loved one was in a coma and just how awful it must be if you are alive and can still hear but no one else knows it and there is nothing you can do. I received this book through the goodreads first reads giveaway.