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Malbry #3
Blueeyedboy
'Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child, timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer.'
Blueyedboy is the brilliant new novel from Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Told through posts on badguysrock@webjournal.com, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the disguise, deception and mind games that are offered by playing out one's life on the internet.
Blueyedboy is the brilliant new novel from Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Told through posts on badguysrock@webjournal.com, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the disguise, deception and mind games that are offered by playing out one's life on the internet.
416 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2010
251 people are currently reading
3010 people want to read
About the author
Joanne Harris
124 books6,272 followersJoanne Harris is also known as Joanne M. Harris
Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. She has also written a DR WHO novella for the BBC, has scripted guest episodes for the game ZOMBIES, RUN!, and is currently engaged in a number of musical theatre projects as well as developing an original drama for television.
In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE by the Queen.
Her hobbies are listed in Who's Who as 'mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion'. She also spends too much time on Twitter; plays flute and bass guitar in a band first formed when she was 16; and works from a shed in her garden at her home in Yorkshire.
Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. She has also written a DR WHO novella for the BBC, has scripted guest episodes for the game ZOMBIES, RUN!, and is currently engaged in a number of musical theatre projects as well as developing an original drama for television.
In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE by the Queen.
Her hobbies are listed in Who's Who as 'mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion'. She also spends too much time on Twitter; plays flute and bass guitar in a band first formed when she was 16; and works from a shed in her garden at her home in Yorkshire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 641 reviews
October 31, 2017
"The world turns not on love, or even money, but on obsession."
Well this was an absolute mindfuck. To the point where I may not sleep tonight.
Three brothers - black, brown and blue. An abusive parent. A gift of words having smells and colours connected with them. An online webpage full of fictional murders. Or are they fiction?
Told through a series of blog posts on badguysrock! Joanne Harris weaves a tale of hatred, deceit, anger, violence and fear. Since I read her book Gentlemen and Players I knew she is in her element with thrillers and the ultimate Queen of the twist. She pulls the rug out from under you until you are left blinking wondering what the hell just happened.
This is a truly frightening tale, and I was left reeling from all the turns and red herrings. I can't explain much more, just that I've never read anything like it, but it scared me a bit too much to give it more than 3.5 stars.
"No one moves on. The wheel just keeps on turning, that's all, creating the illusion of momentum. Inside it, we are all rats; running in growing desperation towards a painted blue horizon that never gets any closer."
Well this was an absolute mindfuck. To the point where I may not sleep tonight.
Three brothers - black, brown and blue. An abusive parent. A gift of words having smells and colours connected with them. An online webpage full of fictional murders. Or are they fiction?
Told through a series of blog posts on badguysrock! Joanne Harris weaves a tale of hatred, deceit, anger, violence and fear. Since I read her book Gentlemen and Players I knew she is in her element with thrillers and the ultimate Queen of the twist. She pulls the rug out from under you until you are left blinking wondering what the hell just happened.
This is a truly frightening tale, and I was left reeling from all the turns and red herrings. I can't explain much more, just that I've never read anything like it, but it scared me a bit too much to give it more than 3.5 stars.
"No one moves on. The wheel just keeps on turning, that's all, creating the illusion of momentum. Inside it, we are all rats; running in growing desperation towards a painted blue horizon that never gets any closer."
April 5, 2010
This is probably one of the most difficult reviews I have written in a long while, for two reasons: 1) I am a HUGE Joanne Harris fan; I have read nearly all her books and just adore them - except for this one 2) I really had no idea what was going on for most of this book.
How do I even explain? Let’s give it a go: The story is narrated by B.B., a loner who spends most of his time on the internet either writing his own personal diary and telling the story of his life as he sees it and also writing fic (stories) on his badguysrock.com – a website that he created himself and attracts a whole array of misfits with their own problems. What is apparant from very early on is that B.B. had a particularly unconventional childhood with a very bizarre family around him. Switching between his private journal and the fiction he writes on badguysrock, we get to see B.B’s life played out before us in all its murderous glory.
Sounds simple enough, right? The thing is, I just didn’t get it. I read somewhere, before I picked this book up, that Harris started writing this and had no idea where it was going and how it would end up, and I’m afraid to say that that is the same feeling I got while reading it. I didn’t get any sense of a plot or purpose for much of it and at times it felt like I was watching someone vent their spleen about…..well, everything. It felt cynical, dark and even bitter but even then I got the sense of it being on the part of the author more than the protagonist.
There were other characters in this book, one of whom – Albertine – also shares her diary entries with us and they give this books some of the unexpected twists that appear more towards the end. Because of the tone and subject matter of the book there are naturally going to be one or two unsavoury characters, but I found that I didn’t like any of them. I couldn’t find a single redeeming quality in anyone who crossed the pages, which made for some uncomfortable reading for me.
It is with a sigh and a heavy heart that I write this review, as (as I said) I am a huge Joanne Harris fan but this book felt like such a departure from her other books that I love so much – even Gentlemen and Players which is also classed as a thriller but which I loved (it was very plot driven and had humour as well as some great charaters and twists).
To sum up: blueeyedboy is not a bad book, it is a different book than I am used to from Harris. There were parts of the book that I really enjoyed and felt that I was getting into, but unfortunately they were outweighed by the parts that were dark and cynical and uncomfortable to me. I do believe that this may have been the point of the book – afterall, can we really believe anything we read on the internet? No, necessarily – we can be anyone we want on the internet; we can invent a whole new persona. It’s just that for me, as a reader, it felt too chaotic, and too much dark with not enough light.
A good read, but not an enjoyable read. Liked it but didn’t love it
How do I even explain? Let’s give it a go: The story is narrated by B.B., a loner who spends most of his time on the internet either writing his own personal diary and telling the story of his life as he sees it and also writing fic (stories) on his badguysrock.com – a website that he created himself and attracts a whole array of misfits with their own problems. What is apparant from very early on is that B.B. had a particularly unconventional childhood with a very bizarre family around him. Switching between his private journal and the fiction he writes on badguysrock, we get to see B.B’s life played out before us in all its murderous glory.
Sounds simple enough, right? The thing is, I just didn’t get it. I read somewhere, before I picked this book up, that Harris started writing this and had no idea where it was going and how it would end up, and I’m afraid to say that that is the same feeling I got while reading it. I didn’t get any sense of a plot or purpose for much of it and at times it felt like I was watching someone vent their spleen about…..well, everything. It felt cynical, dark and even bitter but even then I got the sense of it being on the part of the author more than the protagonist.
There were other characters in this book, one of whom – Albertine – also shares her diary entries with us and they give this books some of the unexpected twists that appear more towards the end. Because of the tone and subject matter of the book there are naturally going to be one or two unsavoury characters, but I found that I didn’t like any of them. I couldn’t find a single redeeming quality in anyone who crossed the pages, which made for some uncomfortable reading for me.
It is with a sigh and a heavy heart that I write this review, as (as I said) I am a huge Joanne Harris fan but this book felt like such a departure from her other books that I love so much – even Gentlemen and Players which is also classed as a thriller but which I loved (it was very plot driven and had humour as well as some great charaters and twists).
To sum up: blueeyedboy is not a bad book, it is a different book than I am used to from Harris. There were parts of the book that I really enjoyed and felt that I was getting into, but unfortunately they were outweighed by the parts that were dark and cynical and uncomfortable to me. I do believe that this may have been the point of the book – afterall, can we really believe anything we read on the internet? No, necessarily – we can be anyone we want on the internet; we can invent a whole new persona. It’s just that for me, as a reader, it felt too chaotic, and too much dark with not enough light.
A good read, but not an enjoyable read. Liked it but didn’t love it
April 15, 2010
It was with great trepidation that I embarked on this literary voyage as I had glanced at a few not so favourable reviews (will I ever learn??). Anyway, better to get this out of the way at the beginning – there is no chocolate, no magic, no wine, no fruit except for some rotten fruit juice. I have no doubt that Joanne Harris is ever so slightly ticked off by folk expecting her to continue writing in the same French pastoral vein but I really admire her for exploring much darker territory in her latest novel although I suspect that the story found her rather than vice-versa.
I have read and loved all of her novels/short stories with the exception of Sleep Pale Sister which is waiting patiently on my bookshelves. The Evil Seed was the only one which failed to impress but I think that was just a case of the publisher reissuing her very first writing for a quick buck.
So, is this a complete lane-change for Ms Harris? Not exactly, as she paved the way with Gentlemen and Players which is set in the same fictional Northern village of Malbry. However, this is a much darker tale with layers of secrets and lies – if Chocolat was Dairy Milk then this is Green and Black's Espresso Dark Chocolate. Our anti-hero, B.B., is a 42 year old janitor at the local hospital. He still lives with his controlling (to put it mildly..) mother and spends most of his time online on his site badguysrock which seems to be a haven for social rejects with a taste for violence.
This is a modern version of the epistolary novel and it reminded me of its ancestor, Liaisons Dangereuses, especially as we again have two unreliable, unappealing narrators, B.B and Albertine who communicate their thoughts, stories via posts on badguysrock and their own personal web journals. One of the strongest themes here is that of identity and how the boundaries between virtual and real life become so blurred as to become interchangeable so even the narrators themselves are unsure as to what's fiction and what's reality and yes, the reader does have a hard job working that out too! We're never sure whether B.B's crowing about the murders he's supposedly committed is just a facade. Just as, on the internet, we are never sure about the true identies of those we communicate with on a daily basis.
None of the characters are likeable. BB's family is a dysfunctional mess, his cronies on badguysrock are social outcasts, even Albertine (reminscent of Proust's character) is not the little Red Riding Hood figure we might imagine. Even the little blind girl, whose murder is at the core of this tale, is living a false life - smoke and mirrors aplenty!
Although we don't have the obvious foodie motifs here, there are plenty of sensations at play, the most intriguing of these being synaesthesia, a neurological condition where the senses overlap. BB has the olfactory/gustatory type whereby he experiences people and places as colours, smells and tastes. Emily, the little blind girl appears to be a synaesthete also but she seems to experience music as colours. Again, we're reminded that our senses can fool us and we need to be on our guard. Indeed there is creeping air of tension throughout the whole book – it's very subtle but it's very unsettling for the reader. I must say that I loved the whole unsettling process! It's very refreshing to not have everything set out in black and white and handed to you on a plate but to come to your own conclusions whilst being thrown the occasional red herring, or is that just your mind playing tricks on you...
So, if you like tidy, linear stories with happy endings this is most certainly not for you. This is the second novel I've read this year which has marked a very different change of tack for the writer, the first of those being The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters which disturbed some of her fans as Ms Waters didn't simply throw on previously worn narrative threads. I loved The Little Stranger on its own merits, nothing to do with previous novels and surely that's how it should be and I am delighted to report that I found blueeyedboy equally gripping. Definitely an A* from me.
PS if you are interested in reading more about synaesthesia I would highly recommend Astonishing Splashes of Colour, an excellent novel by Clare Morall and in non-fiction, Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet – both fascinating and highly enlightening reads.
I have read and loved all of her novels/short stories with the exception of Sleep Pale Sister which is waiting patiently on my bookshelves. The Evil Seed was the only one which failed to impress but I think that was just a case of the publisher reissuing her very first writing for a quick buck.
So, is this a complete lane-change for Ms Harris? Not exactly, as she paved the way with Gentlemen and Players which is set in the same fictional Northern village of Malbry. However, this is a much darker tale with layers of secrets and lies – if Chocolat was Dairy Milk then this is Green and Black's Espresso Dark Chocolate. Our anti-hero, B.B., is a 42 year old janitor at the local hospital. He still lives with his controlling (to put it mildly..) mother and spends most of his time online on his site badguysrock which seems to be a haven for social rejects with a taste for violence.
This is a modern version of the epistolary novel and it reminded me of its ancestor, Liaisons Dangereuses, especially as we again have two unreliable, unappealing narrators, B.B and Albertine who communicate their thoughts, stories via posts on badguysrock and their own personal web journals. One of the strongest themes here is that of identity and how the boundaries between virtual and real life become so blurred as to become interchangeable so even the narrators themselves are unsure as to what's fiction and what's reality and yes, the reader does have a hard job working that out too! We're never sure whether B.B's crowing about the murders he's supposedly committed is just a facade. Just as, on the internet, we are never sure about the true identies of those we communicate with on a daily basis.
None of the characters are likeable. BB's family is a dysfunctional mess, his cronies on badguysrock are social outcasts, even Albertine (reminscent of Proust's character) is not the little Red Riding Hood figure we might imagine. Even the little blind girl, whose murder is at the core of this tale, is living a false life - smoke and mirrors aplenty!
Although we don't have the obvious foodie motifs here, there are plenty of sensations at play, the most intriguing of these being synaesthesia, a neurological condition where the senses overlap. BB has the olfactory/gustatory type whereby he experiences people and places as colours, smells and tastes. Emily, the little blind girl appears to be a synaesthete also but she seems to experience music as colours. Again, we're reminded that our senses can fool us and we need to be on our guard. Indeed there is creeping air of tension throughout the whole book – it's very subtle but it's very unsettling for the reader. I must say that I loved the whole unsettling process! It's very refreshing to not have everything set out in black and white and handed to you on a plate but to come to your own conclusions whilst being thrown the occasional red herring, or is that just your mind playing tricks on you...
So, if you like tidy, linear stories with happy endings this is most certainly not for you. This is the second novel I've read this year which has marked a very different change of tack for the writer, the first of those being The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters which disturbed some of her fans as Ms Waters didn't simply throw on previously worn narrative threads. I loved The Little Stranger on its own merits, nothing to do with previous novels and surely that's how it should be and I am delighted to report that I found blueeyedboy equally gripping. Definitely an A* from me.
PS if you are interested in reading more about synaesthesia I would highly recommend Astonishing Splashes of Colour, an excellent novel by Clare Morall and in non-fiction, Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet – both fascinating and highly enlightening reads.
August 25, 2016
Without doubt, my favourite holiday read ! I'm still not entirely sure what happened or who is who, but mesmerizing ! And Ma, what a disgusting mother she is.
A complete mix of reality, fantasy, childhood and the present and of course the blurring of the senses. Fabulous !!
A complete mix of reality, fantasy, childhood and the present and of course the blurring of the senses. Fabulous !!
April 11, 2011
Harris may be better-known for her lighter works of magical realism, but she can write a twisty, dark psychological thriller like almost no one else. Like her earlier
Gentlemen and Players
, this is a multiple-perspective narrative which toys with the many assumptions readers make about identity, reality and truth in fiction. What seems at first to be a straightforward psychological study of a murderer-- a premise which has proved sufficient to inspire many perfectly good suspense thrillers in its own right-- is something much, much more complex and compelling.
There's a lot going on, almost too much at times, but Harris never lets a thread drop, and the many plot twists both large and small never seem forced. While I guessed the secret at the heart of Gentlemen and Players fairly early on, I never saw any of blueeyedboy's twists and turns coming. It may prove frustrating for those who like their narratives straightforward, but for anyone who enjoys ambiguity, unreliable narrators, "puzzle" novels and good old-fashioned psychological creepiness, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
There's a lot going on, almost too much at times, but Harris never lets a thread drop, and the many plot twists both large and small never seem forced. While I guessed the secret at the heart of Gentlemen and Players fairly early on, I never saw any of blueeyedboy's twists and turns coming. It may prove frustrating for those who like their narratives straightforward, but for anyone who enjoys ambiguity, unreliable narrators, "puzzle" novels and good old-fashioned psychological creepiness, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
March 28, 2018
Era uma leitora assídua da escritora.
Gosto em particular do dom de que ela dispõe para descrever as sensações, os cheiros, os sabores, as cores, destacando-se de uma forma muito sua que me seduziu e me tornou fã.
Este é um género pérfido com o qual não me identifiquei nada. Senti-me defraudada, detestei. Não o posso comentar em pormenor porque já o li há bastante, mas a sensação que me ficou foi um amargo de boca, desagradável, a maldade nua e crua, violência gratuita, mente desprezível, enfim, custou-me imenso ler até ao fim e o desfecho em aberto tornou ainda mais frustrante a leitura.
Após este desaire não consegui comprar mais nada da autora.
Gosto em particular do dom de que ela dispõe para descrever as sensações, os cheiros, os sabores, as cores, destacando-se de uma forma muito sua que me seduziu e me tornou fã.
Este é um género pérfido com o qual não me identifiquei nada. Senti-me defraudada, detestei. Não o posso comentar em pormenor porque já o li há bastante, mas a sensação que me ficou foi um amargo de boca, desagradável, a maldade nua e crua, violência gratuita, mente desprezível, enfim, custou-me imenso ler até ao fim e o desfecho em aberto tornou ainda mais frustrante a leitura.
Após este desaire não consegui comprar mais nada da autora.
June 5, 2016
3.5 stars.
This book was...odd. "I don't quite know what to make of it" odd. Finish-the-book-and-stare-at-it-blankly-because-what-the-fuck-did-I-just-read odd.
Essentially, the gist of this book is that there's a 40-something guy named B.B. He lives with his mother, and spends big chunks of his life online, writing fiction about committing murder on Totally-Not-LiveJournal. He's part of a fiction writing group that focuses on villains, and the entire book is told in the fics and journal entries that he writes, with occasional additions from one of the other characters who's in his fic writing group, but who he knows in real life.
So these are VERY unreliable narrators, and you're never sure how much of what B.B writes is fiction and how much is him talking about things he's actually done but in a fictionalised way. The story is full of twists and turns and "Wait, WHAT???" moments where you thought you knew exactly who the characters were and what their motives were but HAHAHAHA NO NOT EVEN CLOSE.
I guess you could say I liked it? It's certainly a unique way of telling a story. But at the same time, I have literally no idea what I spent the past 3 days reading. None at all. Not a clue. Confusion abounds.
This book was...odd. "I don't quite know what to make of it" odd. Finish-the-book-and-stare-at-it-blankly-because-what-the-fuck-did-I-just-read odd.
Essentially, the gist of this book is that there's a 40-something guy named B.B. He lives with his mother, and spends big chunks of his life online, writing fiction about committing murder on Totally-Not-LiveJournal. He's part of a fiction writing group that focuses on villains, and the entire book is told in the fics and journal entries that he writes, with occasional additions from one of the other characters who's in his fic writing group, but who he knows in real life.
So these are VERY unreliable narrators, and you're never sure how much of what B.B writes is fiction and how much is him talking about things he's actually done but in a fictionalised way. The story is full of twists and turns and "Wait, WHAT???" moments where you thought you knew exactly who the characters were and what their motives were but HAHAHAHA NO NOT EVEN CLOSE.
I guess you could say I liked it? It's certainly a unique way of telling a story. But at the same time, I have literally no idea what I spent the past 3 days reading. None at all. Not a clue. Confusion abounds.
September 14, 2012
I thought I would love this, as I recently read Joanne Harris's 'Gentlemen and Players', which I thought was a superb book, and was told this was in the same vein.
It has considerable similarities, based again on the idea of concealing your identity, and even set in the same town (the fictional school that formed the setting of 'Gentlemen and Players' also features in this novel). I liked the concept - the idea of characters hiding behind online identities, the blurring of the boundaries between fact and fiction. But I ultimately didn't get drawn into this book. The way it's told, through a series of fictional/semi-fictional blog posts by the two main characters, caused the narrative to lose momentum a little, and as a result the suspense didn't build enough for me and the twist at the end, while clever, didn't deliver the punch I was expecting.
Still, it's interesting, intelligent and well-written. I would still recommend this book, but perhaps not as strongly as some of Joanne Harris's other work.
It has considerable similarities, based again on the idea of concealing your identity, and even set in the same town (the fictional school that formed the setting of 'Gentlemen and Players' also features in this novel). I liked the concept - the idea of characters hiding behind online identities, the blurring of the boundaries between fact and fiction. But I ultimately didn't get drawn into this book. The way it's told, through a series of fictional/semi-fictional blog posts by the two main characters, caused the narrative to lose momentum a little, and as a result the suspense didn't build enough for me and the twist at the end, while clever, didn't deliver the punch I was expecting.
Still, it's interesting, intelligent and well-written. I would still recommend this book, but perhaps not as strongly as some of Joanne Harris's other work.
June 12, 2011
I tried several times to get into this book. I never give up on reading a book but I did this time. In fact I brough it with me to France and have left it there. I hope they have better luck than me reading it. An absolute mess it was.
A shame, I had high hopes for it. Even bought it twice. I had lent it to my daughter and then thought I had lost it so I ordered it again. That was how much I wanted to read it. I won't do that again.
A shame, I had high hopes for it. Even bought it twice. I had lent it to my daughter and then thought I had lost it so I ordered it again. That was how much I wanted to read it. I won't do that again.
October 17, 2023
Ho trovato il thriller altamente "disturbante", ho versato in uno stato d'angoscia per tutta la narrazione, ma nello stesso tempo, non riuscivo a metterlo giù. Una lettura con molteplici punti di vista da tener presenti e il lettore non può fare a meno di fare varie congetture, ipotesi, da capire cosa sia reale da ciò che non lo è.
A prima vista sembra quasi un approfondimento psicologico di un assassino, ma la questione è molto più complessa. Non è una narrazione semplice, la Harris gioca molto sull'ambiguità e forse è proprio questo a scatenare l'inquietudine durante la lettura.
A prima vista sembra quasi un approfondimento psicologico di un assassino, ma la questione è molto più complessa. Non è una narrazione semplice, la Harris gioca molto sull'ambiguità e forse è proprio questo a scatenare l'inquietudine durante la lettura.
November 11, 2010
I got impatient to read blueeyedboy. You sort of expect Joanne Harris' work to show up in charity shops in short notice: I've found most of the rest of her work there, in my charity shop binges, after all. But I got tired of waiting, and didn't want to wait until Christmas, so I actually bought it for the Kindle app on my phone. That made it very convenient to read a chapter here and there -- even two chapters while I waited for Delta Maid to get off the stage so Seth Lakeman would come on! -- so that meant I read this quite fast, but in snatches, whenever it was convenient...
The plot is very convoluted. There are so mistaken identities, so many unreliable narrators. The format itself is an unreliable sort of style: it's presented as an online journal-type site, very much like LiveJournal and its offspring, and we all know that people there can fictionalise their lives as much as they want. And you know the narrators are unreliable, and the further on it goes, the more you see that.
I was assured blueeyedboy was a big departure from Joanne Harris' usual. I really don't think so: her writing style bleeds through into the characters, and whenever she writes in first person or third person limited, her style bleeds through. There's something about it -- a hint of flavour, perhaps (appropriate, to be a synaesthete commenting on this book!), something in the phrasing... Anyway, that seemed typically her, and the darkness, the twisted relationships... I can see where in the rest of the work they come from.
blueeyedboy is dark, and not feel-good at all. The theme of food is there, but twisted, where before it's always seemed like a kind of good magic, in Harris' work -- although again, I can see a theme continuing, like the smell of oranges from Five Quarters of the Orange.
Interesting to read, but not so great a departure as I'd been led to believe, although without the comfort I've found in her other books, the way things tend to turn out okay -- changed, yes, but okay, with wounds lanced and poison drained, the danger faced and gone. Not so here. And even that's not new: The Evil Seed ended on a similar note. Not a departure at all, then.
The plot is very convoluted. There are so mistaken identities, so many unreliable narrators. The format itself is an unreliable sort of style: it's presented as an online journal-type site, very much like LiveJournal and its offspring, and we all know that people there can fictionalise their lives as much as they want. And you know the narrators are unreliable, and the further on it goes, the more you see that.
I was assured blueeyedboy was a big departure from Joanne Harris' usual. I really don't think so: her writing style bleeds through into the characters, and whenever she writes in first person or third person limited, her style bleeds through. There's something about it -- a hint of flavour, perhaps (appropriate, to be a synaesthete commenting on this book!), something in the phrasing... Anyway, that seemed typically her, and the darkness, the twisted relationships... I can see where in the rest of the work they come from.
blueeyedboy is dark, and not feel-good at all. The theme of food is there, but twisted, where before it's always seemed like a kind of good magic, in Harris' work -- although again, I can see a theme continuing, like the smell of oranges from Five Quarters of the Orange.
Interesting to read, but not so great a departure as I'd been led to believe, although without the comfort I've found in her other books, the way things tend to turn out okay -- changed, yes, but okay, with wounds lanced and poison drained, the danger faced and gone. Not so here. And even that's not new: The Evil Seed ended on a similar note. Not a departure at all, then.
August 2, 2014
By far the worst book I have ever read. I don't like to start a book and not finish it, so I forced myself to read page after page, all the while telling myself 'It will be worth it in the end!' Well- it wasn't, the end was the worst part. So to anyone else who is part way through this book and dying of a combination of boredom and confusion, my advice is take it to the nearest charity shop.
I've heard brilliant things about Joanne Harris and in particular her novel Chocolat but I don't think I will be able to bring myself to read it.
I've heard brilliant things about Joanne Harris and in particular her novel Chocolat but I don't think I will be able to bring myself to read it.
December 3, 2020
I read this quite a while ago and forgot to log it. Dark, twisted, clever and somewhat confusing - one of those books where I had to keep flipping back to previous pages to check if I'd got it straight - but ultimately satisfying.
February 12, 2012
Very clever and well written but I simply did not enjoy this one.
I have been reading and generally enjoying, sometimes loving the writing of Joanne Harris for a long time. This time with blue eyed boy after reading all 527 pages I am left wondering why I bothered. It was not the writing as that was up to her normal high standards. No this time I just could not get my head around this somewhat strange story. The fascinating aspect of the story and possibly the reason I kept reading was that Synaesthesia plays an important role in the story. Also interesting is that it is written in the form of an online journal. If you have read Gentleman and Players you will recognise the setting for this novel as it is also set in the Yorkshire town of Malbry.
Once upon a time there were three brothers, Black Brown and Blue as they were known by their widowed mother. Blueeyedboy is single, early forties and living at home with his mother. He has a mundane job and no social life apart from his virtual one. He spends a vast amount of time online, on a website he set up it seems to play out his fantasies. Most of his online interaction is with Albertine, with whom in the real world he shares a troubled past. The scenarios he talks about in his web journal are of dark murder. Our protagonist plays out his life on the internet so we slowly learn of his dysfunctional family background and his connections to Emily the blind child prodigy who was also part of his childhood. His mind games will lead you to a conclusion that will not answer all your questions but leave you with something to think about. This I believe was the author’s intention.
It seems I am not alone in my thoughts, as opinion on this novel seems to be very much divided and I quote Joanne Harris : ‘Never has one of my books received such a “Marmite” reaction. Love it or hate it? What kind of reader are you?’ I am not I do not think of a sensitive disposition and I was not terrified as the back cover suggested I might be, I just simply did not enjoy it! Disappointing as after enjoying Gentleman and Players her first psychological thriller, I expected more from this one. Joanne Harris’s writing has in the past tended towards the dark side of human nature but this time I found it just too heavily weighted. Love, Like or Hate this novel will certainly give food for thought especially about the darker side of how one can portray oneself on the internet.
If you have read this I would be very interested to know what your Marmite reaction was.
http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspo...
I have been reading and generally enjoying, sometimes loving the writing of Joanne Harris for a long time. This time with blue eyed boy after reading all 527 pages I am left wondering why I bothered. It was not the writing as that was up to her normal high standards. No this time I just could not get my head around this somewhat strange story. The fascinating aspect of the story and possibly the reason I kept reading was that Synaesthesia plays an important role in the story. Also interesting is that it is written in the form of an online journal. If you have read Gentleman and Players you will recognise the setting for this novel as it is also set in the Yorkshire town of Malbry.
Once upon a time there were three brothers, Black Brown and Blue as they were known by their widowed mother. Blueeyedboy is single, early forties and living at home with his mother. He has a mundane job and no social life apart from his virtual one. He spends a vast amount of time online, on a website he set up it seems to play out his fantasies. Most of his online interaction is with Albertine, with whom in the real world he shares a troubled past. The scenarios he talks about in his web journal are of dark murder. Our protagonist plays out his life on the internet so we slowly learn of his dysfunctional family background and his connections to Emily the blind child prodigy who was also part of his childhood. His mind games will lead you to a conclusion that will not answer all your questions but leave you with something to think about. This I believe was the author’s intention.
It seems I am not alone in my thoughts, as opinion on this novel seems to be very much divided and I quote Joanne Harris : ‘Never has one of my books received such a “Marmite” reaction. Love it or hate it? What kind of reader are you?’ I am not I do not think of a sensitive disposition and I was not terrified as the back cover suggested I might be, I just simply did not enjoy it! Disappointing as after enjoying Gentleman and Players her first psychological thriller, I expected more from this one. Joanne Harris’s writing has in the past tended towards the dark side of human nature but this time I found it just too heavily weighted. Love, Like or Hate this novel will certainly give food for thought especially about the darker side of how one can portray oneself on the internet.
If you have read this I would be very interested to know what your Marmite reaction was.
http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspo...
May 6, 2013
This is a very clever book; arguably the cleverest of all Harris’s books and almost certainly too clever for the likes of me. Because I struggled with it, if I’m honest.
Mrs Green has three sons: Black, Brown and Blue. Black is the eldest, brash and aggressive, Brown is the middle child, timid and dull. Blue is his mother’s favourite we are told at the outset, and he is a murderer.
Or is he? Because nothing is quite as it seems in this story.
The unreliable narrator is one of my favourite fictional devices, and this book has not one, but two. I might have expected to like it all the more but somehow it didn’t quite happen. Much of the time, I really wasn’t sure what was going on. The timelines were confusing, and it was hard to keep track of who knew who in real life or just online. I’m sure if I went back and read it again, it would all make perfect sense, Harris is too good a writer for it not to, but there was too little about the story that was enjoyable for me to want to do so.
Most of the story is told through postings on ‘badguysrock’, an internet forum and Harris exploits to the full our ability to hide behind fictional personas when we interact on-line. We see typical on-line personalities that are all too recognizable: those who over-intellectualise, those who come to life only via a keyboard, those who want to give the world on-line ‘hugs’. It’s clever, I just didn’t find it particularly engaging.
Another theme is that of colour. All the principle characters have a colour assigned to them. The narrator sees colours behind words. Again, a clever idea but to my mind the constant references to different shades of blue became annoying.
Selfish, toxic women who live vicariously through their children, doing them immeasurable harm in the process is another theme, particularly Mrs Green, with her relentless ambition for her sons and Mrs White, who needs to believe that her blind daughter has exceptional gifts. Both were deeply unpleasant.
And that, I guess, is the root of the problem. There was nobody in this rather nasty book that I liked and I remained emotionally unengaged.
I don’t want to NOT recommend blueeyedboy, because it is exceptionally clever, and there will be those who love it. But when I read Harris, I want to be moved emotionally, delighted sensually and thrilled by her originality of thinking. This time, it didn’t happen.
Mrs Green has three sons: Black, Brown and Blue. Black is the eldest, brash and aggressive, Brown is the middle child, timid and dull. Blue is his mother’s favourite we are told at the outset, and he is a murderer.
Or is he? Because nothing is quite as it seems in this story.
The unreliable narrator is one of my favourite fictional devices, and this book has not one, but two. I might have expected to like it all the more but somehow it didn’t quite happen. Much of the time, I really wasn’t sure what was going on. The timelines were confusing, and it was hard to keep track of who knew who in real life or just online. I’m sure if I went back and read it again, it would all make perfect sense, Harris is too good a writer for it not to, but there was too little about the story that was enjoyable for me to want to do so.
Most of the story is told through postings on ‘badguysrock’, an internet forum and Harris exploits to the full our ability to hide behind fictional personas when we interact on-line. We see typical on-line personalities that are all too recognizable: those who over-intellectualise, those who come to life only via a keyboard, those who want to give the world on-line ‘hugs’. It’s clever, I just didn’t find it particularly engaging.
Another theme is that of colour. All the principle characters have a colour assigned to them. The narrator sees colours behind words. Again, a clever idea but to my mind the constant references to different shades of blue became annoying.
Selfish, toxic women who live vicariously through their children, doing them immeasurable harm in the process is another theme, particularly Mrs Green, with her relentless ambition for her sons and Mrs White, who needs to believe that her blind daughter has exceptional gifts. Both were deeply unpleasant.
And that, I guess, is the root of the problem. There was nobody in this rather nasty book that I liked and I remained emotionally unengaged.
I don’t want to NOT recommend blueeyedboy, because it is exceptionally clever, and there will be those who love it. But when I read Harris, I want to be moved emotionally, delighted sensually and thrilled by her originality of thinking. This time, it didn’t happen.
October 1, 2012
Joanne Harris, the acclaimed author of Chocolat, departs from sunny characters and a feel-good story in her latest work, blueeyedboy.
‘blueeyedboy’ is the online name of Benjamin Winter, a troubled man who joins a creative writing forum. Group members post chapters of their works-in-progress, comment on those of others, and occasionally get together. Benjamin’s posts are particularly imaginative—and very dark. blueeyedboy’s life is bleak, full of abuse. He’s learned early that lies can save. There are messed-up relationships, black secrets and disappointments, all of which build to a festering rage. It becomes clear that Benjamin and blueeyedboy are one; it’s also clear his murderous fury has been acted upon many times before. Through his writing, Benjamin manipulates those around him in order to perpetuate his latest plot, something monumental this time, something to change blueeyedboy’s life.
blueeyedboy resembles the old-fashioned epistolary novel, with posts serving to create a ‘real-time’ psychological build-up. This format is problematic, however. Some posts are ‘publically’ available; others are ‘restricted’. In order to follow the clues, the reader is required to keep track of which information is known to all characters, which is known to some, and which is exclusively for the reader. Past and present become jumbled. Events are sometimes written about as they unfold—always illogical in a novel. While the posts of other characters offer different perspectives, it’s never clear what is true and what made-up. Here, fiction is presented mostly as a game of wits. Identities shift, facts blur, others emerge more devious than the blueeyedboy.
While confusing, it’s also intriguing fun. Harris’s big problem is that, unlike the main characters in Chocolat, those of blueeyedboy are so awful, so dysfunctional and arrogant and chillingly cruel, it’s difficult to care about what happens to any of them.
‘blueeyedboy’ is the online name of Benjamin Winter, a troubled man who joins a creative writing forum. Group members post chapters of their works-in-progress, comment on those of others, and occasionally get together. Benjamin’s posts are particularly imaginative—and very dark. blueeyedboy’s life is bleak, full of abuse. He’s learned early that lies can save. There are messed-up relationships, black secrets and disappointments, all of which build to a festering rage. It becomes clear that Benjamin and blueeyedboy are one; it’s also clear his murderous fury has been acted upon many times before. Through his writing, Benjamin manipulates those around him in order to perpetuate his latest plot, something monumental this time, something to change blueeyedboy’s life.
blueeyedboy resembles the old-fashioned epistolary novel, with posts serving to create a ‘real-time’ psychological build-up. This format is problematic, however. Some posts are ‘publically’ available; others are ‘restricted’. In order to follow the clues, the reader is required to keep track of which information is known to all characters, which is known to some, and which is exclusively for the reader. Past and present become jumbled. Events are sometimes written about as they unfold—always illogical in a novel. While the posts of other characters offer different perspectives, it’s never clear what is true and what made-up. Here, fiction is presented mostly as a game of wits. Identities shift, facts blur, others emerge more devious than the blueeyedboy.
While confusing, it’s also intriguing fun. Harris’s big problem is that, unlike the main characters in Chocolat, those of blueeyedboy are so awful, so dysfunctional and arrogant and chillingly cruel, it’s difficult to care about what happens to any of them.
February 11, 2012
I was initially captured by the blurb of this novel. I've never read anything else by Joanne Harris, and found myself loving the psychological thrill behind the brief description.
Unfortunately, this book and I had a rough go-of-it. I found it was easy enough to put down and not pick up for a day or two. The plotline did not advance quickly, and although I understood it to be more of a character study, I was just not fully invested.
Why the four stars?
Page 297. At least in my copy. I can honestly say it changed how I perceived the characters, plot, and even writing style. The rest of the novel was an intense read and I could hardly wait to continue my journey of discovery.
The format of the novel was great - through private and public entries into an online journal, the reader is able to piece together a fractured, horrible tale.
Overall, I think I'm a bit frightened, slighty on-edge, and am constantly over-thinking everything... but wow, this book has a hidden punch!
Unfortunately, this book and I had a rough go-of-it. I found it was easy enough to put down and not pick up for a day or two. The plotline did not advance quickly, and although I understood it to be more of a character study, I was just not fully invested.
Why the four stars?
Page 297. At least in my copy. I can honestly say it changed how I perceived the characters, plot, and even writing style. The rest of the novel was an intense read and I could hardly wait to continue my journey of discovery.
The format of the novel was great - through private and public entries into an online journal, the reader is able to piece together a fractured, horrible tale.
Overall, I think I'm a bit frightened, slighty on-edge, and am constantly over-thinking everything... but wow, this book has a hidden punch!
April 27, 2015
I tried and tried to get into this book. I am not really sure if it was just simply boring or just tedious. Neverttheless I did not finish it.
May 6, 2010
This book is without a doubt the best I've read this year so far!
As with Gentlemen and Players, this one showcases Joanne Harris's dark side, with a seriously sinister undertone playing in this book the whole way through!
The narrators are so unreliable, that even they don't really know what the truth is anymore, and as a reader, I was left reeling on more than one occasion, as just as I thought I had figured things out, the rug was pulled out from under my feet, and I was left reeling, then just as I had righted myself, it happened again!
Joanne Harris has crafted a novel so complex, that after 24 hours of contemplating it, I still am not entirely certain of what actually happened, and what was just the "fic" of the characters!
The synaesthesia aspect was fascinating, it's not something I'd really heard of before, so was very interested in that, and hope to read more of it again!
A gem of a book, highly recommended!!
As with Gentlemen and Players, this one showcases Joanne Harris's dark side, with a seriously sinister undertone playing in this book the whole way through!
The narrators are so unreliable, that even they don't really know what the truth is anymore, and as a reader, I was left reeling on more than one occasion, as just as I thought I had figured things out, the rug was pulled out from under my feet, and I was left reeling, then just as I had righted myself, it happened again!
Joanne Harris has crafted a novel so complex, that after 24 hours of contemplating it, I still am not entirely certain of what actually happened, and what was just the "fic" of the characters!
The synaesthesia aspect was fascinating, it's not something I'd really heard of before, so was very interested in that, and hope to read more of it again!
A gem of a book, highly recommended!!
April 21, 2016
You're reading this online. I'm writing this on a computer. I could tell you that my name's Louise, that I'm twenty-two, fully sighted, I'm slim, blonde, blue-eyed and love to play sports. Actually only one of these facts is correct, but how could you know truth from fiction?
This book is an absolutely riveting tale about a boy and his Mum, about life lived online, about truth, lies, cruelty, bravery, love, murder ... Or maybe it's all in his head. Maybe it's all made up to pass the time. How can we know?
What I promise is that this will keep you reading and totally on the edge of your seat. It has more twists than Chubby Checker and you'll still be trying to figure things out as you turn the last page.
This book is an absolutely riveting tale about a boy and his Mum, about life lived online, about truth, lies, cruelty, bravery, love, murder ... Or maybe it's all in his head. Maybe it's all made up to pass the time. How can we know?
What I promise is that this will keep you reading and totally on the edge of your seat. It has more twists than Chubby Checker and you'll still be trying to figure things out as you turn the last page.
June 21, 2018
Just. Tell. The. Story.
June 6, 2021
The story was gripping. The characters were disgusting. The end was fucking brutal.
I LOVED IT.
I LOVED IT.
May 21, 2020
Okos, csavaros, bonyolult. Nyomokban St. Oswaldot is tartalmaz, de inkább sok minden mást. Fikció és valóság mezsgyéjén egyensúlyoz, átverésekkel és fantáziákkal, színes-szagos szavakkal. Még a mesei elem sem marad ki: a három fiútestvér... És a tragédia. Pardon, tragédiÁK.
Bővebben: https://pupillaolvas.blogspot.com/202...
Bővebben: https://pupillaolvas.blogspot.com/202...
February 24, 2012
Muitos de vocês conhecem-na por Chocolate quer em livro, quer em filme. É autora bestseller e este livro recebeu um dos mais aclamados prémios de literatura inglesa. Escreve livros que são êxitos internacionais e tem milhares de cópias vendidas. Para mim, é uma das escritoras importantes da minha estante.
Ler um livro de Joanne Harris é como regressar a um local sobejamente bem conhecido mas que a cada regresso nos dá uma novidade como uma prenda de boas-vindas a casa. Há anos que me apaixonei por esta escritora e pela sua escrita através de um livro que ainda hoje é um dos livros da minha vida e, apesar de à alguns anos não ler nada seu e ainda não ter lido tudo o que se encontra publicado, sinto que é uma forma de eu saber que sempre que precisar posso comprar um livro seu e voltar a sentir esta sensação de redescoberta. E, finalmente, deu-me uma dessas vontades de ler um livro dela que, como sempre, não me desiludiu.
Uma das coisas que eu venero em Joanne é a sua escrita. A forma como nos confunde para depois nos dar a luz, como as palavras parecem que escorrem pelos nossos olhos, pela maneira como nos descreve as mais variadas situações sem nunca nos dar um vilão e um herói mas sim emoções e sentimentos, o caos e a glória quer da maneira mais lunática, quer da maneira mais racional. Depois são as suas histórias. Não é para todos aquilo que ela faz, de nos contar uma história e a virar do avesso e não há ninguém que use as aparências e os espelhos como ela, de tal maneira que é sempre capaz de surpreender e no último minuto dar-nos a maior reviravolta. Para isso constrói personagens enigmáticas e misteriosas que são tudo menos o que aparentam ser.
O Rapaz de Olhos Azuis tem todos os ingredientes típicos de um livro desta escritora: o suspense, as mentiras e um grande segredo obscuro por trás de uma aparência polida. Não é um dos meus preferidos mas não deixa de ser excepcional. Não sei se foi por estar à muito sem ler nada desta escritora mas este livro agarrou-me de uma forma viciante em que eu não descansei até saber o desenrolar da história toda e, mais uma vez, foi apanhada de surpresa.
Com uma história diferente das que estou habituada desta escritora, este livro tem um conjunto de ingredientes explosivos que o tornam um dos que tem o rumo mais surpreendente. Através das reviravoltas mais inesperadas e com temas tão diversificados como o voyeurismo, a violência doméstica, o que se esconde por trás da Internet, Harris dá-nos uma obra mais forte e pode se dizer, mais obscura. Os seus livros já são por norma intensos e dramáticos mas este forma-se de uma maneira tão insuspeita que cada momento nos arrebata e deixa de queixo caído, tendo vários clímaxes que acabam num dos melhores finais que eu já li.
A juntar a um cenário inesperado temos personagens extremistas com demasiados segredos e vícios e uma personalidade nada evidente que aos poucos vai saltando cá para fora. Tenho a sensação que neste livro se juntou o grupo das personagens mais escuras que saíram da imaginação da escritora e também das mais frágeis, o que nos leva a querer deslindar as razões porque cometem certo tipo de acções e que relações existem entre elas.
Fiquei com a sensação que este livro tinha demasiada informação e que muita coisa pode ter passado ao lado dos leitores mais desatentos já que temos um enredo que contém subterfúgios dentro de subterfúgios dentro de subterfúgios. Mas apesar de um enredo mais complicado, Joanne continua a deter um timming perfeito.
Como disse não é um dos meus livros preferidos mas mantém o estilo inconfundível da escritora para além de ter uma das capas mais bonitas da editora. Permitiu-me passar umas horas de extrema concentração e foi uma leitura que me deixou mais que satisfeita.
Agora pergunto-vos: Ainda não leram Joanne Harris? Vão já arranjar um livro dela! Eu se calhar vou ver o Chocolate…
http://girlinchaiselongue.blogspot.co...
Ler um livro de Joanne Harris é como regressar a um local sobejamente bem conhecido mas que a cada regresso nos dá uma novidade como uma prenda de boas-vindas a casa. Há anos que me apaixonei por esta escritora e pela sua escrita através de um livro que ainda hoje é um dos livros da minha vida e, apesar de à alguns anos não ler nada seu e ainda não ter lido tudo o que se encontra publicado, sinto que é uma forma de eu saber que sempre que precisar posso comprar um livro seu e voltar a sentir esta sensação de redescoberta. E, finalmente, deu-me uma dessas vontades de ler um livro dela que, como sempre, não me desiludiu.
Uma das coisas que eu venero em Joanne é a sua escrita. A forma como nos confunde para depois nos dar a luz, como as palavras parecem que escorrem pelos nossos olhos, pela maneira como nos descreve as mais variadas situações sem nunca nos dar um vilão e um herói mas sim emoções e sentimentos, o caos e a glória quer da maneira mais lunática, quer da maneira mais racional. Depois são as suas histórias. Não é para todos aquilo que ela faz, de nos contar uma história e a virar do avesso e não há ninguém que use as aparências e os espelhos como ela, de tal maneira que é sempre capaz de surpreender e no último minuto dar-nos a maior reviravolta. Para isso constrói personagens enigmáticas e misteriosas que são tudo menos o que aparentam ser.
O Rapaz de Olhos Azuis tem todos os ingredientes típicos de um livro desta escritora: o suspense, as mentiras e um grande segredo obscuro por trás de uma aparência polida. Não é um dos meus preferidos mas não deixa de ser excepcional. Não sei se foi por estar à muito sem ler nada desta escritora mas este livro agarrou-me de uma forma viciante em que eu não descansei até saber o desenrolar da história toda e, mais uma vez, foi apanhada de surpresa.
Com uma história diferente das que estou habituada desta escritora, este livro tem um conjunto de ingredientes explosivos que o tornam um dos que tem o rumo mais surpreendente. Através das reviravoltas mais inesperadas e com temas tão diversificados como o voyeurismo, a violência doméstica, o que se esconde por trás da Internet, Harris dá-nos uma obra mais forte e pode se dizer, mais obscura. Os seus livros já são por norma intensos e dramáticos mas este forma-se de uma maneira tão insuspeita que cada momento nos arrebata e deixa de queixo caído, tendo vários clímaxes que acabam num dos melhores finais que eu já li.
A juntar a um cenário inesperado temos personagens extremistas com demasiados segredos e vícios e uma personalidade nada evidente que aos poucos vai saltando cá para fora. Tenho a sensação que neste livro se juntou o grupo das personagens mais escuras que saíram da imaginação da escritora e também das mais frágeis, o que nos leva a querer deslindar as razões porque cometem certo tipo de acções e que relações existem entre elas.
Fiquei com a sensação que este livro tinha demasiada informação e que muita coisa pode ter passado ao lado dos leitores mais desatentos já que temos um enredo que contém subterfúgios dentro de subterfúgios dentro de subterfúgios. Mas apesar de um enredo mais complicado, Joanne continua a deter um timming perfeito.
Como disse não é um dos meus livros preferidos mas mantém o estilo inconfundível da escritora para além de ter uma das capas mais bonitas da editora. Permitiu-me passar umas horas de extrema concentração e foi uma leitura que me deixou mais que satisfeita.
Agora pergunto-vos: Ainda não leram Joanne Harris? Vão já arranjar um livro dela! Eu se calhar vou ver o Chocolate…
http://girlinchaiselongue.blogspot.co...
August 29, 2015
?????????????
I just ... I don't know??? Did anything in this book actually happen? I know it's meant to be an unreliable narrator kind of thing, but it just doesn't work when the character is just flat-out lying to you for no reason. Everyone in this book pretends to be someone else, which is revealed like halfway through and then ... doesn't really matter? It didn't complicated or enrich the plot at all.
Basically, it's written in "blog format", but it doesn't work. Especially the last couple chapters DO NOT WORK as diary entries, when they're written in present tense and it being clear that the character doesn't know what is going on. That's not how blogs/diaries work, it's just not. The only way it DOES work is if nothing in the book is true, if EVERYTHING is fiction, but then ... what was the point of the story? If nothing was real, what does it fucking matter?
I would chalk it up to bad writing - especially how terrible the characters are and the unappealing writing style - but Joanne Harris CAN write, I've read books by her and liked them. That means she deliberately wrote it like this, and it makes sense - IN A WAY - because it so fit what we understand of the MC ... but it also feels like reading a gratious self-insert novel by some dude with an inflated sense of self-worth, and why would ANYONE want to read that?
Nah, I would've needed a better twist at the end, but I don't know what it could've been. The "it's all in the MCs head" seemed obv from the start, but it didn't even explicitly go there ...
I just ... I don't know??? Did anything in this book actually happen? I know it's meant to be an unreliable narrator kind of thing, but it just doesn't work when the character is just flat-out lying to you for no reason. Everyone in this book pretends to be someone else, which is revealed like halfway through and then ... doesn't really matter? It didn't complicated or enrich the plot at all.
Basically, it's written in "blog format", but it doesn't work. Especially the last couple chapters DO NOT WORK as diary entries, when they're written in present tense and it being clear that the character doesn't know what is going on. That's not how blogs/diaries work, it's just not. The only way it DOES work is if nothing in the book is true, if EVERYTHING is fiction, but then ... what was the point of the story? If nothing was real, what does it fucking matter?
I would chalk it up to bad writing - especially how terrible the characters are and the unappealing writing style - but Joanne Harris CAN write, I've read books by her and liked them. That means she deliberately wrote it like this, and it makes sense - IN A WAY - because it so fit what we understand of the MC ... but it also feels like reading a gratious self-insert novel by some dude with an inflated sense of self-worth, and why would ANYONE want to read that?
Nah, I would've needed a better twist at the end, but I don't know what it could've been. The "it's all in the MCs head" seemed obv from the start, but it didn't even explicitly go there ...
June 30, 2019
I’m a Joanne Harris’ fan, I’ve read and enjoyed many of her books so I was surprised I didn’t like this novel more.
I enjoyed Gentlemen and Players which takes place in the same village, and to some extent has a similar thriller narrative with unreliable first person narrators but Blueeyedboy was too confusing, and had none of the humor of the previous book. Here, her characters were cynical, dark and manipulative, this makes them off-putting and highly unlikable.
Moreover, there were too many twist and revelations in the plot and too many deaths (are they real or fantasies?) that don’t raise suspicions (you’d think that by the third or fourth death in a small community authorities would start to pay attention, no?).
On the other hand, I liked the exploration of the mind of a complex character like a serial killer, I liked the playful way the author blends reality with fiction (you can’t trust what you read on the net, besides how can you tell who is behind a screen?) and there were some thrilling suspenseful moments and delightful passages like the descriptions of sensations (a pretty good rendition of synesthesia) where Harris’ talent shines.
2.5 stars
I enjoyed Gentlemen and Players which takes place in the same village, and to some extent has a similar thriller narrative with unreliable first person narrators but Blueeyedboy was too confusing, and had none of the humor of the previous book. Here, her characters were cynical, dark and manipulative, this makes them off-putting and highly unlikable.
Moreover, there were too many twist and revelations in the plot and too many deaths (are they real or fantasies?) that don’t raise suspicions (you’d think that by the third or fourth death in a small community authorities would start to pay attention, no?).
On the other hand, I liked the exploration of the mind of a complex character like a serial killer, I liked the playful way the author blends reality with fiction (you can’t trust what you read on the net, besides how can you tell who is behind a screen?) and there were some thrilling suspenseful moments and delightful passages like the descriptions of sensations (a pretty good rendition of synesthesia) where Harris’ talent shines.
2.5 stars
May 22, 2011
Hmmm, still processing this one. I didn't want to give it three star "I liked it", because actually I found this book a discomforting, unsettling read. I was drawn back to it, compelled to read it despite those feelings. And it feels dreadfully strange to comment on a book made up of web entries by writing a web review - it feels too much as if I am trying to emulate the book.
I feel sure that I will be haunted by this book, that as I put all the different pieces together in my head I will be drawn to re-read parts if not all of it, to answer the questions that will arise in my mind.
Just one dislike - the books is made up of the web posts of two people, but they write in such a similar way, it is hard to tell them apart. They use the same words even, echo the same thoughts. Perhaps it is deliberate - the book is the more menacing to be completed in the same tone - perhaps Joanne wants us to be on edge not quite knowing who is hiding behind which identity.
I am quite glad to have finished the book, and yet I would like to know more - the ending was left open.
I feel sure that I will be haunted by this book, that as I put all the different pieces together in my head I will be drawn to re-read parts if not all of it, to answer the questions that will arise in my mind.
Just one dislike - the books is made up of the web posts of two people, but they write in such a similar way, it is hard to tell them apart. They use the same words even, echo the same thoughts. Perhaps it is deliberate - the book is the more menacing to be completed in the same tone - perhaps Joanne wants us to be on edge not quite knowing who is hiding behind which identity.
I am quite glad to have finished the book, and yet I would like to know more - the ending was left open.
November 17, 2021
What the actual hell I've just listen to. That was one of THE best stories I've ever came across. Twist after twist after twist. It leaves you gasping in surprise so often that you feel like you need to keep on going. Who is who, are the atrocious things described real, is the mother the only evil and abusive person in this story?? Just wow.
If I could I give 10*, or more. I LOVED THIS BOOK and I'll remember it forever. Joanne Harris is quickly becoming my favourite author and that's not because I live in Huddersfield, she is that good. Like mixture of all my other favourite authors. The Malbry series was fantastic. All 4 books 5*
If I could I give 10*, or more. I LOVED THIS BOOK and I'll remember it forever. Joanne Harris is quickly becoming my favourite author and that's not because I live in Huddersfield, she is that good. Like mixture of all my other favourite authors. The Malbry series was fantastic. All 4 books 5*
February 21, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. It did take quite a lot of concentration at times, & I was briefly confused on a couple of occasions, but overall, it was very well written. I've read a lot of Joanne Harris books, & this reminded me a little of Gentlemen & Players, which I'd recommend to anyone who enjoyed the mystery in this story.
May 15, 2020
This is a difficult book to describe. Written in the form of blogs, it’s very different from Harris’ previous books. Clues are peppered throughout the book, but it is hard to follow and complicated at times. You never really know who the characters are and they aren’t very likeable. There is a clever twist at the end and it’s very well written.
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