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The Persistence of Crows
The Persistence of Crows is a contemporary meditation on the coming-of-age themes of such novels as Less than Zero, or The Catcher in the Rye. More poignantly, it details the late teenage and early adulthood realizations of a young man named Henry Alfi. Henry, recently having quit drugs and alcohol, has become sickened and disenchanted by those institutions surrounding him: college, AA, relationships that go nowhere; and through a trip with his college newspaper away from his native Midwest he's able to realize a higher purpose within himself, that of becoming a writer, and pursuing what he believes in.
- GenresFiction
263 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 14, 2014
A college kid writer, Henry Alfi, visits New York City for a weekend. He's a likable kid, withdrawn, probably depressed (with occasional thoughts of suicide) but still capable of enthusiasm for quite a few things and people (mostly strangers, he doesn't seem at all interested in the people he knows). Throughout the book he's trying to find where he fits in. He's pretty sure it's not with his current girlfriend (he breaks up with her on page 15 or so), and he's pretty sure it's not in western Wisconsin or the Twin Cities of Minnesota. It sure as hell isn't with his coworkers at the college newspaper.
It seems like that place is NYC, once there his enthusiasm multiplies with every passing second. He loves everything there, he meets a girl, they are infatuated with each other...
To this point in the novel, I admit I was a bit at sea. I wasn't sure where it was going and I wasn't sure that I was all the way along for the ride. Henry seemed like a more amicable Holden Caulfield, which was nice enough, and I enjoyed the writing, but if the book had continued on in that vein I probably would have finished it and not come back to it ever again.
Then the weekend ends and he returns to the Midwest and the back half of the book is a departure from the first bit. Not in a jarring non-linear way, the whole setup of the book, how we're introduced to Henry, makes the last part really work. Even now, when I described Henry earlier in this review, I glossed over some of the darker history and darker aspects to his personality. That was the intended effect of the first part of the book. It worked, and it meant I hard time putting the book down for the last 50 pages or so.
That last third of the book was pulled together so well, and the interaction between Henry and his New York crush are spot-on perfect. It ends up saying something about place and the creation and destruction of relationships with places and the people in them. Glad I got the chance to read this, and I'll definitely read other Maierhofer books in the future.
It seems like that place is NYC, once there his enthusiasm multiplies with every passing second. He loves everything there, he meets a girl, they are infatuated with each other...
To this point in the novel, I admit I was a bit at sea. I wasn't sure where it was going and I wasn't sure that I was all the way along for the ride. Henry seemed like a more amicable Holden Caulfield, which was nice enough, and I enjoyed the writing, but if the book had continued on in that vein I probably would have finished it and not come back to it ever again.
Then the weekend ends and he returns to the Midwest and the back half of the book is a departure from the first bit. Not in a jarring non-linear way, the whole setup of the book, how we're introduced to Henry, makes the last part really work. Even now, when I described Henry earlier in this review, I glossed over some of the darker history and darker aspects to his personality. That was the intended effect of the first part of the book. It worked, and it meant I hard time putting the book down for the last 50 pages or so.
That last third of the book was pulled together so well, and the interaction between Henry and his New York crush are spot-on perfect. It ends up saying something about place and the creation and destruction of relationships with places and the people in them. Glad I got the chance to read this, and I'll definitely read other Maierhofer books in the future.
June 7, 2012
The Persistence of Crows is a strange novel, but I don’t mean this in a negative or derogatory way, it’s this strangeness which made me enjoy it so much and feel like I really got to know the protagonist and narrator, Henry Alfi.
Henry’s life has been less than ordinary, finding himself outside society and his childhood packed out with visits to psychiatrists, treatment for depression and then later, addictions. Henry doesn’t see many positives in life yet despite this, his aims in life are very simple, become a writer and have a family/fall in love. When we meet him, Henry is sober and working his way through college, in a school he hates but he does have the chance to write for the school newspaper. It’s through this that he gets the chance to visit New York City for a journalism conference.
I think Henry was written in a sensitive and beautiful way, even at his lowest moments, including stretches of the novel where the reader seems to slip into Henry’s consciousness and I found it really refreshing to be drawn into his mindset in an attempt to figure him out. Henry’s time in New York is fantastically written too and made me want to follow him there and enjoy all the experiences he enjoyed. I found the ending of the novel absolutely perfect, cannot be faulted.
One of the shining glories of this novel is the ease at which Henry comes across fantastic characters whilst in New York. From the old guy on the subway who he has a proper deep heart to heart with to the musician earning her bucks in Central Park, each of these people is instantly memorable and perfectly drawn.
Maierhofer’s novel is about someone trying to grow up and reach their goals and the people they encounter along their way. However, it is much deeper than this too, dealing with the inner turmoil experienced by someone who yearns to write and find their way in the world. A fantastic read.
Henry’s life has been less than ordinary, finding himself outside society and his childhood packed out with visits to psychiatrists, treatment for depression and then later, addictions. Henry doesn’t see many positives in life yet despite this, his aims in life are very simple, become a writer and have a family/fall in love. When we meet him, Henry is sober and working his way through college, in a school he hates but he does have the chance to write for the school newspaper. It’s through this that he gets the chance to visit New York City for a journalism conference.
I think Henry was written in a sensitive and beautiful way, even at his lowest moments, including stretches of the novel where the reader seems to slip into Henry’s consciousness and I found it really refreshing to be drawn into his mindset in an attempt to figure him out. Henry’s time in New York is fantastically written too and made me want to follow him there and enjoy all the experiences he enjoyed. I found the ending of the novel absolutely perfect, cannot be faulted.
One of the shining glories of this novel is the ease at which Henry comes across fantastic characters whilst in New York. From the old guy on the subway who he has a proper deep heart to heart with to the musician earning her bucks in Central Park, each of these people is instantly memorable and perfectly drawn.
Maierhofer’s novel is about someone trying to grow up and reach their goals and the people they encounter along their way. However, it is much deeper than this too, dealing with the inner turmoil experienced by someone who yearns to write and find their way in the world. A fantastic read.
December 10, 2013
review to come
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews