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Cage's Bend
Told in the alternating voices of Cage, Harper, and their parents, Cages Bend is the story of a family damaged by tragedy and unfulfilled dreams and renewed by the unshakable bonds of love.
Cage, Nick, and Harper appear to be the archetypal sons of the ideal American family of the 1960s and 70s. The firstborn, Cage, is the golden boystar athlete and scholar, adventurous, handsome, and preternaturally popular; Nick is the quiet, late-blooming middle son; and Harper, 10 years younger, chases after his older siblings, trying not to be left out. With the tragic death of Nick in the 1980s, the breakdown of the family begins. Cages guilt triggers incipient mental illness and the next two decades find him swinging between mania and depression, between grim institutions and comebacks. Harper, who has achieved early success on Wall Street, is torn between wanting to help his brother and seeking escape from his ghosts in an endless stream of women.
Cage, Nick, and Harper appear to be the archetypal sons of the ideal American family of the 1960s and 70s. The firstborn, Cage, is the golden boystar athlete and scholar, adventurous, handsome, and preternaturally popular; Nick is the quiet, late-blooming middle son; and Harper, 10 years younger, chases after his older siblings, trying not to be left out. With the tragic death of Nick in the 1980s, the breakdown of the family begins. Cages guilt triggers incipient mental illness and the next two decades find him swinging between mania and depression, between grim institutions and comebacks. Harper, who has achieved early success on Wall Street, is torn between wanting to help his brother and seeking escape from his ghosts in an endless stream of women.
- GenresFiction
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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83 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 29, 2012
I was unfamiliar with this author, just came across the book in the public library. Parts of the novel, especially at the beginning, are pure brilliance. The ideas there are fresh and the writing is nearly poetic. The funniest and most outrageous scenes are near the beginning. There were several lines throughout the novel that made me stop and say, "Wow, I never thought of it that way." Where it's good, it's profoundly good.
The two main characters, Cage and Harper, become less interesting as they grow from boys to middle-aged, mostly because they don't really even begin to act like adults until middle age. By the time it starts to happen, you're almost past caring. They each have psychiatric disorders but lack the reflective wherewithal to grapple with those issues in a way that would make their stories compelling. I sort of wished they'd been minor characters in a book about others in their family. The point of view is distinctly southern and male, which wouldn't have been a bad thing in this case if the female characters had been given some importance other than their ability to rescue Cage and Harper.
Still, I was mightily impressed with Coleman's ideas and the way he puts words together. If he publishes another book, I'll read it.
The two main characters, Cage and Harper, become less interesting as they grow from boys to middle-aged, mostly because they don't really even begin to act like adults until middle age. By the time it starts to happen, you're almost past caring. They each have psychiatric disorders but lack the reflective wherewithal to grapple with those issues in a way that would make their stories compelling. I sort of wished they'd been minor characters in a book about others in their family. The point of view is distinctly southern and male, which wouldn't have been a bad thing in this case if the female characters had been given some importance other than their ability to rescue Cage and Harper.
Still, I was mightily impressed with Coleman's ideas and the way he puts words together. If he publishes another book, I'll read it.
June 21, 2016
Coleman writes (and I'm not making this up):
"I come up to New York a couple of times a year to see the exhibitions. I'm a kind of, um-"
"Exhibitionist?"
This is supposed to be funny, cause if it's not supposed to be funny, it's absolutely meaningless.
How about people who say things like, "That's hella sad,"?
Apparently Coleman (who grew up in Tennessee and Louisiana according to book jacket blurbs) thinks people in San Francisco talk like this.
Or how about this one, a guy travels from the south and another guy makes a pass at him. The response? "Lay off, you old queen."
This is just bad writing, start to finish. The story isn't awful, but an editor was needed.
"I come up to New York a couple of times a year to see the exhibitions. I'm a kind of, um-"
"Exhibitionist?"
This is supposed to be funny, cause if it's not supposed to be funny, it's absolutely meaningless.
How about people who say things like, "That's hella sad,"?
Apparently Coleman (who grew up in Tennessee and Louisiana according to book jacket blurbs) thinks people in San Francisco talk like this.
Or how about this one, a guy travels from the south and another guy makes a pass at him. The response? "Lay off, you old queen."
This is just bad writing, start to finish. The story isn't awful, but an editor was needed.
March 10, 2016
This a book that took much longer than a year to read. It was truly almost unbearable to read. I see that most of the reviews on this book are high, and that's great if you liked it, but I did not. I thought this book needed an extreme edit. There were whole chapters that were aimless and utterly boring with little to no impact to the story progression or character development/background. I don't care for books who wander aimlessly, and there were 100s of pages of aimless wander.
This is not a book for me. I am glad it is finished and I will never have to punish myself by reading it again.
This is not a book for me. I am glad it is finished and I will never have to punish myself by reading it again.
January 26, 2009
This book COULD have been the next Catcher in the Rye, but the author threw in sex scenes that didn't advance plot and used excessive profanity in such a way that it was a difficult read in places. If that had been edited out, I could have given it a "5." I'm not a prude, either--my own fiction contains both profanity and sex, but only as needed to support plot. This seemed present merely to titillate.
April 14, 2014
Didn't even finish. Too depressing. Way too much language. Blah. Great review eh?
April 12, 2016
Did not finish this one....not appealing to me...
November 26, 2017
Cage’s Bend, by Carter Coleman
“He says when the Son of God was tempted by what he called the devil, he was speaking of personalized Evil. Even when he is consecrating communion, he fells slammed by temptation and says, Satan, get the hell out of here. In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to go. And Satan leaves. I try it now, I yell out, ‘In the name of Christ I command you to go. And Stan leaves. I try it now. I yell out, ‘In the name of Christ I command you to go!’ But the ghosts just move in closer and the stench thickens around me, filling my nose until I can’t breathe and I lie on the bed, gagging.”
“He may have been conscious flying through the spray of glass over the Toyota and fifty feet farther through the air, a sensation akin to free-falling off a rock that he had grown not to fear.”
“Know that I love you, and all the good ones in our family.”
“But you’ll come out of this darkness. You always do. And if you ever let yourself go so high, then you won’t ever fall this low. You won’t be stuck in this depression. You won’t always want to die. You’ll get your spirit back. You always had a strong lust for life, more than most people. You’ll put your life back together.”
“You’re a good carpenter. Jesus was a carpenter, so was Harrison Ford.”
“Everyone has a shadow. In some people it is stronger than others. Some people have to struggle long and hard with their shadows—their demons, their addictions, their base inclinations—while others don’t stay so tempted toward straying and self-destruction. The concept of the shadow is a tool toward self-discovery. If you ever make the effort to record dreams, which is had at first but becomes easier with time and practice, you begin to see that your unconscious mind creates little surreal vignettes that dramatize the needs and actions of your shadow versus your better self. You should embrace the knowledge of your shadow. You should fight to master it.”
Cage’s Bend, by Carter Coleman, is a novel about three southern brothers, and their mother and father. The novel spans from 1965 to 2001. We see one brother die, one brother struggle with bipolar disorder, and one brother fall into sex addiction.
Oh, my goodness… well, I was relieved when I finished it. Don’t get me wrong, I had a few favorite characters. The novel switches from each brothers’ perspective as well as their parents, and I always preferred hearing from Cage, the brother with bipolar. His voice was very strong. Coleman apparently visited several mental institutions and talked at length with people suffering with manic depression for research. The perspective Cage provides is equal parts hopeful and heart-breaking. He constantly runs away and commits reckless crimes, but the sweetest moments of the book come when he is offering wisdom to his youngest brother or trying to help a drug addict he meets on the road. However, the book is nearly four-hundred pages long, and I spent most of it hoping Cage would do or say something insightful, and those moment sort of stopped after page two-hundred.
Coleman grants us access to the perspectives of everybody in the family, and most of the time, nobody does anything. They think a lot over and over about their issues and have the same conversations over and over about them. I think the mother; Margaret spent the whole book understandably but tiresomely worrying about her boys. Harper, the youngest brother, has copious amounts of sex with women who all seem exactly the same, until he meets one who doesn’t “save him” until the very stinking end…
Coleman said he was writing in the style of Faulkner, who wrote As I lay Dying, where the reader is taken through the perspectives of every family member traveling cross-country to bury their mother, but As I lay Dying is much shorter, and it sustains an ominous feel. Coleman’s writing fell completely flat halfway through.
Cage’s Bend offered insight into mental illness, but it could have accomplished more if it was shorter and if the characters didn’t seem stuck a lot of the time, even when they were making positive decisions. It was a story about people who had interesting thoughts once in awhile, but really didn’t take us anywhere.
“He says when the Son of God was tempted by what he called the devil, he was speaking of personalized Evil. Even when he is consecrating communion, he fells slammed by temptation and says, Satan, get the hell out of here. In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to go. And Satan leaves. I try it now, I yell out, ‘In the name of Christ I command you to go. And Stan leaves. I try it now. I yell out, ‘In the name of Christ I command you to go!’ But the ghosts just move in closer and the stench thickens around me, filling my nose until I can’t breathe and I lie on the bed, gagging.”
“He may have been conscious flying through the spray of glass over the Toyota and fifty feet farther through the air, a sensation akin to free-falling off a rock that he had grown not to fear.”
“Know that I love you, and all the good ones in our family.”
“But you’ll come out of this darkness. You always do. And if you ever let yourself go so high, then you won’t ever fall this low. You won’t be stuck in this depression. You won’t always want to die. You’ll get your spirit back. You always had a strong lust for life, more than most people. You’ll put your life back together.”
“You’re a good carpenter. Jesus was a carpenter, so was Harrison Ford.”
“Everyone has a shadow. In some people it is stronger than others. Some people have to struggle long and hard with their shadows—their demons, their addictions, their base inclinations—while others don’t stay so tempted toward straying and self-destruction. The concept of the shadow is a tool toward self-discovery. If you ever make the effort to record dreams, which is had at first but becomes easier with time and practice, you begin to see that your unconscious mind creates little surreal vignettes that dramatize the needs and actions of your shadow versus your better self. You should embrace the knowledge of your shadow. You should fight to master it.”
Cage’s Bend, by Carter Coleman, is a novel about three southern brothers, and their mother and father. The novel spans from 1965 to 2001. We see one brother die, one brother struggle with bipolar disorder, and one brother fall into sex addiction.
Oh, my goodness… well, I was relieved when I finished it. Don’t get me wrong, I had a few favorite characters. The novel switches from each brothers’ perspective as well as their parents, and I always preferred hearing from Cage, the brother with bipolar. His voice was very strong. Coleman apparently visited several mental institutions and talked at length with people suffering with manic depression for research. The perspective Cage provides is equal parts hopeful and heart-breaking. He constantly runs away and commits reckless crimes, but the sweetest moments of the book come when he is offering wisdom to his youngest brother or trying to help a drug addict he meets on the road. However, the book is nearly four-hundred pages long, and I spent most of it hoping Cage would do or say something insightful, and those moment sort of stopped after page two-hundred.
Coleman grants us access to the perspectives of everybody in the family, and most of the time, nobody does anything. They think a lot over and over about their issues and have the same conversations over and over about them. I think the mother; Margaret spent the whole book understandably but tiresomely worrying about her boys. Harper, the youngest brother, has copious amounts of sex with women who all seem exactly the same, until he meets one who doesn’t “save him” until the very stinking end…
Coleman said he was writing in the style of Faulkner, who wrote As I lay Dying, where the reader is taken through the perspectives of every family member traveling cross-country to bury their mother, but As I lay Dying is much shorter, and it sustains an ominous feel. Coleman’s writing fell completely flat halfway through.
Cage’s Bend offered insight into mental illness, but it could have accomplished more if it was shorter and if the characters didn’t seem stuck a lot of the time, even when they were making positive decisions. It was a story about people who had interesting thoughts once in awhile, but really didn’t take us anywhere.
February 11, 2018
Selected this book at random, and it immediately pulled me in. The depiction of a family and all of its complexity appealed to me. As I continued reading it, I didn't know what to think, and there were times when I questioned whether I wanted to devote more time to it. However, there were fragments of it that truly resonated with me, and I persevered. The description of a human being suffering from a mental illness was brilliant. It captured the impact of dealing with chronic mental illness, and the effect not only on the person affected, but on those who love that person and struggle with their own conflicted feelings of love, frustration, anger, forgiveness, hope, disappointment, (in various sequences, over and over and over again.)
I am glad the book ended on a hopeful note.
I want to read more books by this author.
I am glad the book ended on a hopeful note.
I want to read more books by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2020
Too much plot and very little direction. Not terribly written but the execution was poor. I agree with other commenters that some editing is much needed. Also hard to believe with some of the language used that this came out in 2005. Felt like it was written in the 60s. A bit outdated.
The sex scenes were too much. I felt like Harper’s story took away from Cage and to an extent Nick. Harper’s problems were just as bad as Cage’s! An entire book (please no!) could have been written about Harper himself. I grew angry and disgusted with some of the language, the sex scenes, and the multiple storylines that did not mesh well. I did not finish this one.
The sex scenes were too much. I felt like Harper’s story took away from Cage and to an extent Nick. Harper’s problems were just as bad as Cage’s! An entire book (please no!) could have been written about Harper himself. I grew angry and disgusted with some of the language, the sex scenes, and the multiple storylines that did not mesh well. I did not finish this one.
October 11, 2020
This is a story of three brothers born in the deep south to a preacher and housewife. Cage, the oldest, exhibits manic depression after his brother, Nick, dies in a car accident (right after his girlfriend breaks up with him and Cage confirms he had sex with her).
I found it difficult to move through the book and feel sympathy for the characters. Harper had potential, but became a womanizer, alcoholic and drug addict.
I found it difficult to move through the book and feel sympathy for the characters. Harper had potential, but became a womanizer, alcoholic and drug addict.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2023
I really liked this book. It will stay with me even though the story is kinda dark. I think of the family as friends. Loved how it was written from different family members viewpoints. It is just beautifully written. Will probably read again.
April 16, 2020
A novel about wonderful intergenerational Southern family - with a twist, actually a spiral, of mental illness in the mix -- fascinating!
May 9, 2022
It was just okay for me. Not horrible but not good in the page turning way. I stuck with it just because that is what I do.
July 21, 2007
This book was one that was recommended by the dearreader.com book group that I subscribe to via the Berkeley Public Library.
If you enjoyed Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much Is True" than you would likely enjoy this book as well.
The Rutledge family is a classic southern family, where the patriarch is a minister and a very demanding father. After the tragic death of one of three sons, Cage and Nick are left to make their way to adulthood under their father's critical eye. Nick finds success, but not happiness, while Cage appears happy and free-spirited, only to discover he has darker mental issues.
The family struggles to help Cage to take care of himself as well as to take care of their individual selves. This rich story pulls at your heart and may even cause you to reflect on people in your own lives.
If you enjoyed Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much Is True" than you would likely enjoy this book as well.
The Rutledge family is a classic southern family, where the patriarch is a minister and a very demanding father. After the tragic death of one of three sons, Cage and Nick are left to make their way to adulthood under their father's critical eye. Nick finds success, but not happiness, while Cage appears happy and free-spirited, only to discover he has darker mental issues.
The family struggles to help Cage to take care of himself as well as to take care of their individual selves. This rich story pulls at your heart and may even cause you to reflect on people in your own lives.
November 2, 2011
Very interesting plot - the middle brother is killed in a car accident, leading to the eldest brother's decline into manic depressive disorder and the youngest brother is caught in the middle of all this family drama. But I found Cage, the oldest brother, to be a very unlikable character. Harper was sort of cut and dry - a cookie cutter character, if you will. And the book itself was so, so boring. I couldn't even finish this one.
July 29, 2009
A pretty solid novel with perspectives from various members of a Southern family dealing with a charismatic, bi-polar adult son. Does give in to a lot of gratuitous episodes of of sex and craziness which is a little hard to buy at times. Much as I like fantasy, this story strives to be realistic, and its exaggerations keep it from feeling like the classic it could have become.
February 25, 2008
I enjoyed the beginning and the end. The novel is largely about a manic depressive and what his highs and lows do to the family. I found the middle of the book a bit tedious, but it does have a good ending.
February 1, 2013
I finally gave up on this book and quit before I finished. I can appreciate the fact that it is well-written, but it was very depressing and didn't seem to be going anywhere. Also more sexually graphic than I like to read.
November 6, 2008
If you love someone suffering from mental illness this book will be an eye opener to the victim's suffering
August 30, 2009
Interesting. pretty good read, not as great as I had anticipated though.
April 25, 2009
I think this book was a gives the readers a excellent view into the world of bi-polar; but a little to graphic in spots.
April 12, 2010
Great writing. Worth reading.
May 19, 2010
I had trouble getting through it. Very depressing. I'm ready for something upbeat.
December 18, 2011
It was all right. Good story but kind of drug on in places.
February 8, 2012
made myself finish reading this book
May 30, 2012
Moments of brilliance in an interesting an compassionate view of manic depression but the parts narrated by the younger brother wore on me.
April 17, 2013
Many ups and downs in this book, but I loved nearly every word of it.
July 8, 2016
not the easiest read or the easiest subject but well written
Read
December 1, 2008Enjoyed the relationships
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews