Paper Crown

by Jim Peterson

 Blending features of speculative fiction, the occult, and the spiritual quest, Paper Crown details an unusual story of initiation. Traumatized by the mysterious circumstances of his mother's death, Chuck runs away from his Southern California home and lands in Colorado Springs where he becomes involved with Frank Posner and his mother, Lyuba. Leaders of an ancient and highly secretive family of travelers who have incredible powers, they take Chuck on a psychological journey in which he must face his disturbing past and confront a frightening and uncertain future. With a cast of vivid and sometimes bizarre characters, Paper Crown unfolds a classic story of loss, struggle, and renewal. 

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Peterson's debut novel after publishing some collections of poems. One of those collections, his fourth titled “The Owning Stone”, won the The Benjamin Saltman Award. I met the author before reading the book. He is a colleague of an aunt and good friends with my uncle as well.

From Amazon.Com, here is the description:

Traumatized by the mysterious circumstances of his mother’s death, Chuck runs away from his South Carolina home and lands in Colorado Springs where he becomes involved with Frank Posner and his mother, Lyuba. Leaders of an ancient and highly secretive family of travelers who have incredible powers, they take Chuck on a psychological journey in which he must face his disturbing past and confront a frightening and uncertain future.

There is another significant character, Sandy. This is Chuck’s girlfriend early in the book and who plays a part in the story throughout.

The book started a bit slow, that is for one clocking in at just under 200 pages. And two points of Chuck’s relationship with Sandy ran together kind of quickly. The first was them getting together. But that truthfully doesn’t hinder the story at all. (It just struck me funny how quickly they headed off with each other.) The second was the break-up of their relationship. I think it could have been played out a little more. This doesn’t hurt the story as a whole, but could have added more to it and to the emotion felt by Chuck.

You also find out the surprise of how his mother died, and how he deals with the mysteries that Frank and Lyuba show him and pass onto him. Chuck becomes a pretty cruel guy as the story goes on, and it is the first time I believe that I have read something written in the first person where the character acts the way he does. But Chuck has a lot to deal with, and his inner demons keep tangling with the secrets, his disdain for Frank and Lyuba, the break-up with Sandy, and eventually another guy in her life.

Now, like I said, it felt to me that it took a bit to get going. And it wasn’t a lack of interesting things happening. But the last 130 pages really had the right pace. I stormed through the last 100 pages in no time. It really clicked well. And for someone that has won awards for poetry, his prose was not too wordy or full of metaphors. It was intelligent, yet easy to read, and he would use some of those poetic tools but only at appropriate times. It made for some good reading.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a strange and interesting story. The prose is very tight. Peterson's characters and description are concrete and visceral.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiction

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down.