Tunnel Vision

by Fran Arrick

When fifteen-year-old honor student and star athlete Anthony Hamil hangs himself, his family and classmates all ask themselves if they are to blame.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, School

10 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1980

About the author

Fran Arrick is a pseudonym of Judie Angell

Reviews

[Meaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the exquisitely painful aftermath of a teenage boy's suicide. Anthony had seemed sad and angry for a long time, but then he seemed to get better and his family and friends felt relieved. Then, at the age of fifteen, he hung himself. The noose was made from one of his father's neckties. He didn't leave a note.

The story isn't really about Anthony, although the reader does get to know him through the memories of the other characters. It's about the impact his death had on his loved ones: his parents, his sister, his teacher, two friends and his would-be girlfriend. Everyone is blaming themselves, wishing they'd tried harder to help Anthony, wishing they'd noticed the signs that seem all too clear in hindsight, remembering little transgressions and disagreements and wanting to take it all back. Everyone is angry -- at Anthony, at each other. Everyone is bewildered -- why? All the characters were fully developed and I thought Jana, Anthony's love interest, a refugee from Czechoslovakia whose life had already been touched by death, was particularly well done. The reactions of the characters also rang true.

Speaking as a person who has been suicidal before, I think this book might actually be useful in suicide prevention. Many suicidal individuals believe they are a burden to their loved ones and won't be missed much, but this novel shows as well as any nonfiction study or memoir how much a suicide tears the survivors apart. If a person considering suicide reads Tunnel Vision, they might think the better of making their own loved ones suffer like this.

[Mary JL · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for older teens (say 12 on up) about a 15 year old boy who commits suicide. It is well written, quite sad, and focuses on the effects the suicide has on the boy's family and friends.

The author creates good scenes even for minor characters we met only once. I still recall the scene--read years ago--where one of the police officers called to the scene, looks back at the house and thinks of his own son and how glad he is that his son is still alive.

This book is out of print and is hard to find; but well worth looking for.

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was required reading my junior year of high school. It impacted the way I thought about suicide from the moment I completed the first chapter. As a teen you think that you can take yourself out and often think that you should when life is less than perfect, this book honestly made me think differently. I will forever be grateful to my teacher who required the entire class to read this book.

[Fuzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel about a 15 year old boy who commits suicide written for kids of the same age. A definate must read for young teens. Having read this book when I was 13, at the same time a friend had committed suicide...it has always stuck out as a book that does not recieve enough attention.

[Rachwest1280]

Good Read - A teenager who commits suicide and how his family and close friends try to cope and understand what went wrong. And why and how they did not see the signs.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read it over again. Inspiring.

[Michele Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came to me at a time where life was just to much. The story revolves around teen suicide. Nothing unfamiliar to me. It was what everyone was talking about then. Or at least the kids in my neighborhood. The most gripping piece is in the first chapter. It’s about a young boy named Anthony he was angry and just not happy until it seemed to finally pass. As he collects his father’s neck ties, to do the unthinkable. Yeah if you want to read this book it’s going to take awhile to get, and can be costly. It is for teenagers although in society today I’m sure anyone impacted by suicide or intrigued by death would enjoy the story. It’s devastating, sad and how those we affect by our choices are left questioning themselves and there own issues of trust.

[Josh Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book House made to read in class because it was the only book the library had multiple copies off glad I read of the great book.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, but tragic story of a fifteen year old boy named Anthony who takes his own life. The story is really about the aftermath of his suicide and the effect that it has on his loved ones. Anthony had everything going for him: a loving family, popularity, good friends and a girlfriend. The fact that he killed himself and didn't leave a note weighs heavily on his loved ones. You get to read the story through the eyes of his loved ones, and through them you get to know Anthony as well. As in real life, you don't always get an answer as to why someone would take their own life, and that's what sets this story apart. I read this in high school, and it has become one of the books that has stayed with me over the years. I highly recommend this book to read either in school or on your own.