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The Perfect Man
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Europe and South Asia.
Winner of the 2008 PEN Beyond Margins Award.
Identity, friendship, and a long-hidden crime lie at the heart of Naeem Murr’s captivating novel about five friends growing up in a small 1950s Missouri river town. A contender for the Man Booker Prize, this exhilarating story beautifully evokes the extreme joys, as well as the dark and shameful desires, of childhood.
Young Rajiv Travers hasn’t had much luck fitting in anywhere. Born to an Indian mother who was sold to his English father for £20, Raj is abandoned by his relatives into the reluctant care of Ruth, an American romance writer living in Pisgah, Missouri. While his skin color unsettles most of the townsfolk, who are used to seeing things in black and white, the quick-witted Raj soon finds his place among a group of children his own age.
While the friends remain loyal to one another through the years, it becomes clear that their paths will veer in markedly different directions. But breaking free of the demands of their families and their community, as well as one another, comes at a devastating As the chilling secrets of Pisgah’s residents surface, the madness that erupts will cost Raj his closest friend even as it offers him the life he always dreamed of.
Taking us into the intimate life of small-town America, The Perfect Man explores both the power of the secrets that shape us and the capacity of love in all its guises to heal even the most damaged of souls.
Winner of the 2008 PEN Beyond Margins Award.
Identity, friendship, and a long-hidden crime lie at the heart of Naeem Murr’s captivating novel about five friends growing up in a small 1950s Missouri river town. A contender for the Man Booker Prize, this exhilarating story beautifully evokes the extreme joys, as well as the dark and shameful desires, of childhood.
Young Rajiv Travers hasn’t had much luck fitting in anywhere. Born to an Indian mother who was sold to his English father for £20, Raj is abandoned by his relatives into the reluctant care of Ruth, an American romance writer living in Pisgah, Missouri. While his skin color unsettles most of the townsfolk, who are used to seeing things in black and white, the quick-witted Raj soon finds his place among a group of children his own age.
While the friends remain loyal to one another through the years, it becomes clear that their paths will veer in markedly different directions. But breaking free of the demands of their families and their community, as well as one another, comes at a devastating As the chilling secrets of Pisgah’s residents surface, the madness that erupts will cost Raj his closest friend even as it offers him the life he always dreamed of.
Taking us into the intimate life of small-town America, The Perfect Man explores both the power of the secrets that shape us and the capacity of love in all its guises to heal even the most damaged of souls.
451 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2007
22 people are currently reading
561 people want to read
About the author
Naeem Murr
7 books23 followersNaeem Murrʼs first novel, The Boy, was a New York Times Notable Book. Another novel, The Genius of the Sea, was published in 2003. His latest, The Perfect Man, was awarded The Commonwealth Writersʼ Prize for the Best Book of Europe and South Asia, and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. His work has been translated into eight languages. He has received many awards for his writing, most recently a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pen Beyond Margins Award. He has been a writer-in-residence at the University of Missouri, Western Michigan, and Northwestern University, among others. Born and brought up in London, he has lived in America since his early twenties, and currently resides in Chicago.
Photo: copyright Alan Cross.
Photo: copyright Alan Cross.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
December 23, 2021
Another from the 2006 Booker longlist, which I read as part of the Mookse group's revisit. I knew nothing about the book or the writer when I ordered it. Murr was born and brought up in London but moved to America in 1987.
I rather liked the opening chapters set in 1947, in which the 5 year old Rajesh arrives in London from India with his English father, who leaves him with his brother and sister-in-law.
The story proper starts seven years and a few pages later, after he has been suspended from school where he has been alienated by racist bullying. The uncle has arranged for him to move to the small town of Pisgah in rural Missouri to stay with the third brother and his older American partner Ruth, but by the time they arrive to find that this brother has just killed himself, and Ruth reluctantly agrees to keep him for the rest of the summer. At the end of the summer the uncle fails to return.
Unfortunately the authorial contrivance needed to set up this arrangement is not the only implausible element of a story that becomes very melodramatic, gratuitously violent and rather too contrived and fanciful for my taste.
The strongest elements of the book are the descriptions of the setting, and Raj's relationship with his closest friends in Pisgah. Annie is a tomboyish daughter of an Italian shopkeeper and a Pole, and her best friend Lew has just been released after spending two years in a psychiatric institution after his younger brother drowned in an incident he witnessed but is persuaded to accept that he imagined. The cast of flawed local characters is also quite convincing.
I rather liked the opening chapters set in 1947, in which the 5 year old Rajesh arrives in London from India with his English father, who leaves him with his brother and sister-in-law.
The story proper starts seven years and a few pages later, after he has been suspended from school where he has been alienated by racist bullying. The uncle has arranged for him to move to the small town of Pisgah in rural Missouri to stay with the third brother and his older American partner Ruth, but by the time they arrive to find that this brother has just killed himself, and Ruth reluctantly agrees to keep him for the rest of the summer. At the end of the summer the uncle fails to return.
Unfortunately the authorial contrivance needed to set up this arrangement is not the only implausible element of a story that becomes very melodramatic, gratuitously violent and rather too contrived and fanciful for my taste.
The strongest elements of the book are the descriptions of the setting, and Raj's relationship with his closest friends in Pisgah. Annie is a tomboyish daughter of an Italian shopkeeper and a Pole, and her best friend Lew has just been released after spending two years in a psychiatric institution after his younger brother drowned in an incident he witnessed but is persuaded to accept that he imagined. The cast of flawed local characters is also quite convincing.
June 19, 2009
"The Perfect Man" sounds like a title of a romance novel, but it is anything but (though one of the characters is a romance novelist). I selected this book for the June 2009 meeting of my Mostly Literary Fiction Book Group, which meets at the Hayward Public Library. Several members did not like the book, and seriously wondered why I selected it. As is often the case, however, disagreement about the book generated one of the most animated and interesting discussions we have had of any book to date. Although many of the characters are despicable and weak, particularly the men who form the backbone of a small town in Missouri in the 1950s, this is a book you have to read to the end, because some of your judgments about the characters may shift as you gain more insight into their complex social network and circumstances. Still, this isn't a book for the weak-hearted.
One of the marks of a good book to me is when I think about or remember the characters for a long time, as was the case for me with The Perfect Man. I found it a well crafted and thoroughly engrossing novel, with an ultimately uplifting view of the human capacity to forge a noble and honorable path in life, in spite of a challenging upbringing, filled with abandonment, rejection, and trauma. The bonds that the children form with each other are filled with creativity, imagination, love, and loyalty -- which serve to offset the difficulties and depravities set before them in this plot.
I found it notable to learn that the first character that presented herself in the author's imagination and development of the book was Ruth, the romance novelist. Everyone agreed that Ruth was one of the most likable and interesting characters. I'd recommend that readers pay special attention to her as they contemplate the meaning and significance of the book.
One of the marks of a good book to me is when I think about or remember the characters for a long time, as was the case for me with The Perfect Man. I found it a well crafted and thoroughly engrossing novel, with an ultimately uplifting view of the human capacity to forge a noble and honorable path in life, in spite of a challenging upbringing, filled with abandonment, rejection, and trauma. The bonds that the children form with each other are filled with creativity, imagination, love, and loyalty -- which serve to offset the difficulties and depravities set before them in this plot.
I found it notable to learn that the first character that presented herself in the author's imagination and development of the book was Ruth, the romance novelist. Everyone agreed that Ruth was one of the most likable and interesting characters. I'd recommend that readers pay special attention to her as they contemplate the meaning and significance of the book.
November 13, 2011
The Perfect Man is an original, dense, complex and deeply satisfying novel. Murr has created a superbly crafted and carefully populated small town with all its secrets, lies, prejudices and gossip.
I found myself completely lost in the pitch perfect dialogue of this impeccably well written book. Damn, such rich and intensely interesting characters some of which I adored, others of which I loathed.
This is a dark book but it is certainly not pessimistic and it is one of the best novels I have read in years.
I found myself completely lost in the pitch perfect dialogue of this impeccably well written book. Damn, such rich and intensely interesting characters some of which I adored, others of which I loathed.
This is a dark book but it is certainly not pessimistic and it is one of the best novels I have read in years.
December 17, 2020
Chaotic. That's probably the best word to describe this novel which unfortunately never really seems to find its voice. When I started the story, I had expected it to be about Raj (hence the title, The Perfect Man). Instead, it ended up being the story about everyone--and by everyone, I mean literally every single character introduced throughout the 437 pages of the book. I really don't understand why authors feel the need to do this. Instead of focusing on one character (or even a few) and tell his/her story, the author of this novel delves into the back sob story of every person who enters the narrative (Raj, Gerard, Haig, Annie, Frank, Ruth, Nora, Lew, Roh, Miss Kelly, Alvin, Judy, Bennet, Magnus, Goldwin, Sal, Hoffmeyer, Reverend Hewitt, Clyde, Maud, etc, etc.). And it wasn't just that there were many individuals in this book--many good novels have dozens of characters--it was the author's incessant need to forego the main storyline (if there was one) to follow the tangent of every insignificant character's life. What ultimately surfaced was a book filled with too many stories spun together in an incohesive, frustrating, unfocused mess. Really a big disappointment because there were a few characters whose stories were fascinating and whose lives would have been ideal as the main crux of the narrative. Writing all this, I now almost wonder if this novel wasn't originally a set of multiple short stories that the writer tried (unsuccessfully) to merge into a larger book.
I should also add that I was troubled by the author's portrayal of many of the female characters in the novel, not to mention the way many minority groups (Mexicans, African Americans, etc) were depicted. Although there were a couple of female characters who didn't initially fit the stereotypical mold (for example, Ruth and Annie), they ultimately fell prey to the same pigeonholed roles, with lives that depended and revolved around the men in their world. Which, I suppose, isn't surprising, considering that this book is called The Perfect Man.
Overall, this novel was a big mess of a disappointment that I unfortunately can't recommend.
I should also add that I was troubled by the author's portrayal of many of the female characters in the novel, not to mention the way many minority groups (Mexicans, African Americans, etc) were depicted. Although there were a couple of female characters who didn't initially fit the stereotypical mold (for example, Ruth and Annie), they ultimately fell prey to the same pigeonholed roles, with lives that depended and revolved around the men in their world. Which, I suppose, isn't surprising, considering that this book is called The Perfect Man.
Overall, this novel was a big mess of a disappointment that I unfortunately can't recommend.
October 28, 2007
This is an excellent novel, full of interesting (if largely flawed) characters, a compelling trio of lifelong friends, the tragedies that can come from thwarted lives and fateful decisions, and an ode to how a displaced boy can find community, family, and one day, some solace and hope.
The "Perfect Man" is Rajiv, a boy born of an Indian mother and British father who is dumped by his ne'er-do-well dad on the doorstep of a woman who had been living with his brother in a tiny town in Missouri. The dad shortly after disappears, and the woman, Ruth, who ekes out a living writing romance novels, becomes his surrogate mother.
Soon Rajiv meets Annie, the mesmerizing daughter of an Italian father and Polish mother who have settled in little Pisgah, MO, and Lew, an almost beautiful young boy who has just come out of a mental asylum after believing he had killed his autistic younger brother (it gives nothing away to say that in fact, he didn't).
The novel takes you through the growing bond between the three and introduces you to all the other strange characters in the town. This is the anti-Mayberry, full of embittered, failed and cowardly men and disappointed and thwarted women.
In this saga, then, the children -- even mentally ill Lew -- become the heroes and the most admirable people in town.
Murr skillfully intercuts his chronological plot with scattered flashbacks to the night when Lew's brother died, helping build some extra interest and tension with the device.
The one flaw here is that Murr is at his weakest when he is trying to be "literary." When he lets his characters and the plot speak for themselves, the story moves along well, with power and a florid imagination. But when he branches off into his writerly mode, it interrupts the narrative and often clashes with the integrity of the characters' thinking process.
These passages have the whiff of writers' workshop writing, and I hope Mr. Murr loses them in his next effort, because he has far and away enough talent to succeed without them.
The "Perfect Man" is Rajiv, a boy born of an Indian mother and British father who is dumped by his ne'er-do-well dad on the doorstep of a woman who had been living with his brother in a tiny town in Missouri. The dad shortly after disappears, and the woman, Ruth, who ekes out a living writing romance novels, becomes his surrogate mother.
Soon Rajiv meets Annie, the mesmerizing daughter of an Italian father and Polish mother who have settled in little Pisgah, MO, and Lew, an almost beautiful young boy who has just come out of a mental asylum after believing he had killed his autistic younger brother (it gives nothing away to say that in fact, he didn't).
The novel takes you through the growing bond between the three and introduces you to all the other strange characters in the town. This is the anti-Mayberry, full of embittered, failed and cowardly men and disappointed and thwarted women.
In this saga, then, the children -- even mentally ill Lew -- become the heroes and the most admirable people in town.
Murr skillfully intercuts his chronological plot with scattered flashbacks to the night when Lew's brother died, helping build some extra interest and tension with the device.
The one flaw here is that Murr is at his weakest when he is trying to be "literary." When he lets his characters and the plot speak for themselves, the story moves along well, with power and a florid imagination. But when he branches off into his writerly mode, it interrupts the narrative and often clashes with the integrity of the characters' thinking process.
These passages have the whiff of writers' workshop writing, and I hope Mr. Murr loses them in his next effort, because he has far and away enough talent to succeed without them.
August 26, 2012
Although I read this finely-crafted, character-driven story, this is a review of a different kind: I'd like to share my insights about the author rather than the book, since I have the pleasure of knowing him and because I believe it will give you an understanding for all his works. In the fourth semester of my MFA in Creative Writing program, I requested to work with Naeem Murr, who’s held in high regard at Queens University of Charlotte.
This creative writing wizard exudes a genteel serenity, until he starts talking about characterization, then a fiery passion takes hold of him. Naeem was born in Britain, has lived in the U.S. since his twenties, and currently resides in Chicago. He has written three novels: The Boy, The Genius of the Sea, and The Perfect Man. His work has been translated into eight languages, and he has received many prestigious awards. Naeem seems to like stories that slowly but surely immerse the reader in the antics of strange people and even stranger events. His critiques tend to contain wisdom relating to character: for instance, “What makes a great novel is deeply-conceived and finely-rendered characters.”
This creative writing wizard exudes a genteel serenity, until he starts talking about characterization, then a fiery passion takes hold of him. Naeem was born in Britain, has lived in the U.S. since his twenties, and currently resides in Chicago. He has written three novels: The Boy, The Genius of the Sea, and The Perfect Man. His work has been translated into eight languages, and he has received many prestigious awards. Naeem seems to like stories that slowly but surely immerse the reader in the antics of strange people and even stranger events. His critiques tend to contain wisdom relating to character: for instance, “What makes a great novel is deeply-conceived and finely-rendered characters.”
May 28, 2009
I like the writing right off in this book, though I was a little off-put by the title. To me it sounded as though I were to embark on a romance novel.
Well now I"m finished and I must say there are few authors who can create as rich and intensely interesting characters as deftly as Naeem Murr. I felt, at times, as though I were looking at the characters through a prism where a shift of light could changes my perspective entirely, from shadow to light. Ultimately, with either light or shadow, the reader of The Perfect Man, must come to his/her own conclusions. Murr doesn't spell it out.
Well now I"m finished and I must say there are few authors who can create as rich and intensely interesting characters as deftly as Naeem Murr. I felt, at times, as though I were looking at the characters through a prism where a shift of light could changes my perspective entirely, from shadow to light. Ultimately, with either light or shadow, the reader of The Perfect Man, must come to his/her own conclusions. Murr doesn't spell it out.
May 25, 2009
This is a book of paradoxes. Every biological parent in the book is a disaster in one way or another, but some of the children manage to muddle through. The best parent turns out to be Ruth, who doesn't even want to be a parent, but manages to be seduced into love by Raj. There are some strong characters and some puzzling ones. Annie is wise, yet very conflicted because of her strong emotional compass. Raj is tough to decipher, precisely because he doesn't want anyone to get too close to his feelings. He is funny, distracting, and emotionally hidden. Yet many characters in the book are attracted to him. Lew is a beautifully drawn character, but very, very damaged. Unfortunately I read this book in small sections (just busy) and had some difficulty following all the characters. The descriptions of the group of men who carry out some terrible acts was excellent. These uneducated, narrow-minded, dead-end men picked on each other, always probing for weaknesses. I have never understood how a group of 'friends' could tease each other mercilessly and incite each other to destructive acts. These scenes were terrifying!
Our group will definitely have a wide-ranging discussion. There is much to discuss.
Our group will definitely have a wide-ranging discussion. There is much to discuss.
February 15, 2019
For some reason, when I read the inside flap, I thought the story would have more of a focus on Raj than it did. He is still the protagonist and the most central character, but it's much more of an ensemble story than the flap would have you believe. Not to say this is intentional, maybe it's on me for the way I interpreted it...But it threw me off as I got into the middle third...I was getting frustrated as to why all this prose was being devoted to secondary characters when I wanted to hear more about Raj and Ruth.
That being said, that prose wasn't unworthy. The writing style is a bit heavy-handed at times, the type of long sentences that, while technically not run-ons, still leave your mind wandering before the period shows up. Kind of like that one I just wrote, actually. But I at least cared enough about the characters to keep going.
That being said, that prose wasn't unworthy. The writing style is a bit heavy-handed at times, the type of long sentences that, while technically not run-ons, still leave your mind wandering before the period shows up. Kind of like that one I just wrote, actually. But I at least cared enough about the characters to keep going.
April 26, 2009
This book has a misleading (and bad) title as it sounds like a Sex and the City type dating novel. Hardly. The story is about a young boy from India who's father was British. Through a series of events he ends up living with a strong-willed, single woman in a small American town. The book weaves stories about all the town's inhabitants together and, I thought, was quite compelling. A bit overdramatic at times but I really liked it. I found it at the local library. I think Meghan and Shantell would like it.
September 15, 2011
I say that I like it, but I'm still a bit ambivalent about the book. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but I also thought it was a dark take of small town America/people. Every adult in this book was either mentally unstable, corrupt, unhappy, a racist, a drunkard, adulterer or pervert. Plus, every adult had some dark secret in their past. Maybe I'm naive, but I assume that most people don't have dark pasts. I'm amazed that even two kids from this town grew-up to have somewhat normal lives with the adult examples they grew up with.
January 23, 2009
I picked this up because of the rave review others (Melora) gave. My thought was, hmm, a biography of me? Let's go.
Seriously, this is a fantastic example of what modern literature should look like; enthralling from the start with a deep sense of the happiness and misery of life. The characters are beautifully developed ranging from the disturbed to the compassionate with many points in between. I would recommend this to any and everyone.
Seriously, this is a fantastic example of what modern literature should look like; enthralling from the start with a deep sense of the happiness and misery of life. The characters are beautifully developed ranging from the disturbed to the compassionate with many points in between. I would recommend this to any and everyone.
January 1, 2010
I was tempted to give this novel a 5, as there is something special about picking up a paperback nvoel and author youe never heard of and having it be this wonderful amd memorable. the amazingly vivid and quirky and intense characters and plot situtationss reminded mye of The Book Thief, so i hope Elaine reads this and explains to me why. I need a 4.5 category, so EM Forster can stand alone on the Mountain top.
November 26, 2008
Hearing him speak made me want to read what he was speaking out.
Other than a few questions about the historical accuracy of 1950s teenage sarcasm, a lovely, troubling trip to Missouri.
Other than a few questions about the historical accuracy of 1950s teenage sarcasm, a lovely, troubling trip to Missouri.
November 21, 2022
This is an intricate piece of writing with well-turned sentences, a thoughtful take on victims' responses to racism and a complex switch-back structure that reels out its plot until the very last page. Raj, an Indian schoolboy, appears in an English home having been transported from his native land by dint of some mysterious necessity. Our curiosity about what exactly has befallen his parents is piqued but not quickly satisfied. We do, however, learn he's not welcome in the house in which he's washed up and everyone would be very much the happier were he to simply wash up someplace else. Events quickly take an ugly turn, bringing Raj to Jim Crow America where he settles as a brilliantly clever, not-quite stepson, not-quite farmhand with Ruth, a white, unmarried female writer. The young boy embarks on mid-west, small-town life but his arrival helps propel a doom-laden domino run of events towards its dramatic conclusion.
So far so good. Why the measly two stars? I just couldn't read this without my female inner voice whispering revolt. 1950s America was not a bastion of feminists, especially in the boondocks, but every female character is a mere nub of a thing waiting to be brought into fully formed being by the love or desire of a man. The men, almost without exception, are hypocritical, mean-spirited, impotent, disloyal, sadistic or on a till-death mission to make the lives of their wives and children the most miserable of oubliettes. It was a truly harrowing read. The themes are serious and worthy, the imagery is good but there's something conceptually rotten with the book's vision of life and particularly of relations between the sexes. There are some redemptive characters but the whole is too warped to create a realistic treatment of the ideas and Murr fails to control the switch back structure sufficiently to give a rounded feel to what is quite a long journey to inner-hell and back. Lots of readers have thoroughly enjoyed the book, no doubt on the back of the undoubtedly decent writing, but I will be wary of more of Murr's offerings from the noughties.
So far so good. Why the measly two stars? I just couldn't read this without my female inner voice whispering revolt. 1950s America was not a bastion of feminists, especially in the boondocks, but every female character is a mere nub of a thing waiting to be brought into fully formed being by the love or desire of a man. The men, almost without exception, are hypocritical, mean-spirited, impotent, disloyal, sadistic or on a till-death mission to make the lives of their wives and children the most miserable of oubliettes. It was a truly harrowing read. The themes are serious and worthy, the imagery is good but there's something conceptually rotten with the book's vision of life and particularly of relations between the sexes. There are some redemptive characters but the whole is too warped to create a realistic treatment of the ideas and Murr fails to control the switch back structure sufficiently to give a rounded feel to what is quite a long journey to inner-hell and back. Lots of readers have thoroughly enjoyed the book, no doubt on the back of the undoubtedly decent writing, but I will be wary of more of Murr's offerings from the noughties.
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February 7, 2024É até difícil fazer uma resenha desse livro. Uma sucessão de fatos infelizes acontece e um está interligado ao outro. Ficaria uma resenha enorme. Que dó do Raj! Inacreditável que ele tenha sido rejeito por todos da própria família e que tenha ido morar com Ruth, namorada do tio que se suicidou. Lá, conhece os amigos Annie, Lew e Nora. As passagens de Raj com os amigos traz momentos de calmaria e esperança à leitura, até que várias coisas horríveis vão acontecendo. Os homens desse livro são detestáveis. Todos fazem algo terrível: estuprar a filha, permitir que a esposa transe com o colega, levar seu próprio filho para levar uma surra, ver a filha no banho, matar o irmão de Lew... E o pior, o representante da lei faz parte desse grupo de amigos execráveis. Putz! Que ódio quando chegava nessa parte da leitura! Lew sofre consequências tristes após a morte do irmão, é internado como doido e acaba sendo convencido que ele o matou. No decorrer da história, Annie engravida de Lew, mas ele continua agindo de maneira estranha e se mata. Anne e Raj ficam juntos no final. Raj vai se tornando, à sua maneira, o homem perfeito do livro. É um livro triste, profundo, mas ainda assim gostei de fazer a leitura! ''Ele morrera com Lew, seu sangue jorrara sobre o penhasco com o amigo. Seu amigo muito querido, o primeiro a passar um braço descontraído sobre seus ombros, inconsciente da felicidade de tirar o fôlego que isso causara no menino de pele escura que tinha vindo da Inglaterra. Ele morrera lá no penhasco com Lew; não morrera, o que era, quando pensava nisso, milagroso. Sua vida escorregara dos próprios braços. No instante seguinte, aqueles braços seguraram sua vida: Annie."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2022
I'm having a hard time recently with books that contain extensive characters. I have actually started writing character lists, just to keep everyone straight. Many of the people don't end up being significant, but every once and a while, someone will turn up as a suspect of some ill deed and I have to scramble back through the book to identify him/her. Well this was one of those books, my second in a row! Next time I'm going to pick up something simple about a family in Texas, with just the abusive parents, some children, poverty and a bunch of horses and cattle. In a word, "Liar's Club"!
I have a habit of not giving up on my reading, but I came close again this time. This book had a decent Goodreads score of 3.73 when I picked it up. So obviously some readers (553 of them) liked it. This was a coming-of-age story, mixed in with a mystery, mixed in with a touch of small-town mob violence, mixed in with some really unusual characters, mixed in with one totally looney character, mixed in with young love....have I said enough? I think so. Another trick I had to deal with was the jump through time with every chapter, so not only did I have to keep my characters straight, I also had to keep track of their ages! One review on the book jacket compared the author to Faulkner. Having never read a volume by Faulkner, I think I'll stay away.
I have a habit of not giving up on my reading, but I came close again this time. This book had a decent Goodreads score of 3.73 when I picked it up. So obviously some readers (553 of them) liked it. This was a coming-of-age story, mixed in with a mystery, mixed in with a touch of small-town mob violence, mixed in with some really unusual characters, mixed in with one totally looney character, mixed in with young love....have I said enough? I think so. Another trick I had to deal with was the jump through time with every chapter, so not only did I have to keep my characters straight, I also had to keep track of their ages! One review on the book jacket compared the author to Faulkner. Having never read a volume by Faulkner, I think I'll stay away.
July 25, 2018
This tale is nothing short of magnificent. Reading of the lives of residents of Pisgah, Missouri, Murr fills the village, the countryside, with living, breathing humans, with all their folly, foulness, and beauty. Sometimes it reads like a sweaty potboiler, yet, following the lives of Raj, Annie, Lew, Nora and Alvin, from child to adult, rocks the foundations of emotions. I awoke at 1:30, after falling asleep and hour before, and in the still heat of the night read until 4 or 5, unable to cast away this story for mere slumber. Murr uses language that seems to have an inner melody built on images and compassion and explosive humor, chiseled like fine sculpture. A brilliant writer, a story that will possess you like Lew's frightful inner voice, echoed in the thoughts and feelings of the characters, searching for meaning, companionship and purpose.
February 20, 2022
Good characters but forgettable ending.
Want to read
February 3, 2025I loved his story "Sorrow Corner" from Pushcart 2025, want to read more. This is one of three novels he's published.
April 7, 2012
There were some strains to this story that were interesting enough to compel me to finish, though in the category of "lonely, frustrated people in small towns", many have done much better (my favorite is still Sherwood Andersen's Winesburg, Ohio"). But I hated all the characters, and I resent Murr for making them so one-dimensional and inorganic. The jumps in chronology create some disappointing holes that need to be filed, particularly because the development of the characters during those jumps gets neglected, as well. There seems to be something impatient about the way he moves through this book, spending a lot of time inside certain characters' brains at some times, then having them do seemingly contradictory, or at least uncharacteristic, things later on without leading up to those actions. And perhaps I am overly sensitive to this, but does every small Midwestern town in the 50s have to be populated entirely by horrible, stupid pieces of shit? It's just too simplistic--he writes about small town Missouri as if he visited there for a little while and never really got to know the place or its people (which, judging by his bio, seems plausible). In general, I guess I felt a lack of respect for his characters and his subject matter, and so I couldn't respect these elements, either.
The other book I have read by Murr is The Boy, which was written with such beautiful turns of phrase and seemed uncannily knowledgeable about the seamy underbelly of lower-class London. There was a certain mysticism to it, as well, which kept me mesmerized. None of these elements seemed present to me in The Perfect Man, which was really a disappointment.
The other book I have read by Murr is The Boy, which was written with such beautiful turns of phrase and seemed uncannily knowledgeable about the seamy underbelly of lower-class London. There was a certain mysticism to it, as well, which kept me mesmerized. None of these elements seemed present to me in The Perfect Man, which was really a disappointment.
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April 5, 2010Winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Europe and South Asia.
Identity, friendship, and a long-hidden crime lie at the heart of Naeem Murr’s captivating novel about five friends growing up in a small 1950s Missouri river town. A contender for the Man Booker Prize, this exhilarating story beautifully evokes the extreme joys, as well as the dark and shameful desires, of childhood.
Young Rajiv Travers hasn’t had much luck fitting in anywhere. Born to an Indian mother who was sold to his English father for £20, Raj is abandoned by his relatives into the reluctant care of Ruth, an American romance writer living in Pisgah, Missouri. While his skin color unsettles most of the townsfolk, who are used to seeing things in black and white, the quick-witted Raj soon finds his place among a group of children his own age.
While the friends remain loyal to one another through the years, it becomes clear that their paths will veer in markedly different directions. But breaking free of the demands of their families and their community, as well as one another, comes at a devastating price: As the chilling secrets of Pisgah’s residents surface, the madness that erupts will cost Raj his closest friend even as it offers him the life he always dreamed of.
Taking us into the intimate life of small-town America, The Perfect Man explores both the power of the secrets that shape us and the capacity of love in all its guises to heal even the most damaged of souls
Identity, friendship, and a long-hidden crime lie at the heart of Naeem Murr’s captivating novel about five friends growing up in a small 1950s Missouri river town. A contender for the Man Booker Prize, this exhilarating story beautifully evokes the extreme joys, as well as the dark and shameful desires, of childhood.
Young Rajiv Travers hasn’t had much luck fitting in anywhere. Born to an Indian mother who was sold to his English father for £20, Raj is abandoned by his relatives into the reluctant care of Ruth, an American romance writer living in Pisgah, Missouri. While his skin color unsettles most of the townsfolk, who are used to seeing things in black and white, the quick-witted Raj soon finds his place among a group of children his own age.
While the friends remain loyal to one another through the years, it becomes clear that their paths will veer in markedly different directions. But breaking free of the demands of their families and their community, as well as one another, comes at a devastating price: As the chilling secrets of Pisgah’s residents surface, the madness that erupts will cost Raj his closest friend even as it offers him the life he always dreamed of.
Taking us into the intimate life of small-town America, The Perfect Man explores both the power of the secrets that shape us and the capacity of love in all its guises to heal even the most damaged of souls
March 27, 2016
What: Rajiv, a sort of unwanted love child born in India, finds himself settled in a small Missouri town for the better part of his life. He takes root there, and becomes great friends with Annie, Lew, Nora, and Alvin. Each of them have their own secrets and habits, but they get along very well (for the most part) and grow into young adults together. They have their love, lust, and quarrels, as any friends. As it is in such a small town, all the inhabitants are familiar with one another, so all the characters in the book are linked in some way or another. This makes for a lot of little oddities that are kept under wraps, but just itch to be revealed throughout the book.
So?: I really liked this book. I am very choosy over my novels (especially ones with mushy mush titles like this), but this happened to catch my eye, and I'm happy it did. The story is out there, and sure, maybe these events are very unlikely, but the author makes them nonchalant, the norm. The characters are so well crafted, they become real people over time. The prose is wonderfully elegant, yet readable-- not cheesy, not overly pretentious, just perfect. The Perfect Man is one of the best novels I've read in the past few years... I recommend it highly.
So?: I really liked this book. I am very choosy over my novels (especially ones with mushy mush titles like this), but this happened to catch my eye, and I'm happy it did. The story is out there, and sure, maybe these events are very unlikely, but the author makes them nonchalant, the norm. The characters are so well crafted, they become real people over time. The prose is wonderfully elegant, yet readable-- not cheesy, not overly pretentious, just perfect. The Perfect Man is one of the best novels I've read in the past few years... I recommend it highly.
October 2, 2011
This is such a heartbreaking and beautiful book,the best comin-of age novel I've read so far. The prose is breathtaking,and the characters are so real and alive,they get under your skin. I fell in love with all of them,but above all with Raj,Annie, and Lew. When I finish reading the last page,it was sad to realize how a group of adults destroy the mental,phisical,and spiritual innocence of a kid,in this case Lew,the hell he went in his everyday life,getting no help from his doctor or his dad,finding a little peace and refuge only with his friends. The novel is a long chain of dark secrets from one character to another,everyone got one,a secret desire,obsession,that by the end of the book blows the reader's mind away. A novel full of emotions and hope. The ending is sublime,to see Raj and Annie survive and escape this disfuntional town where they grew up,of course with scars,and start a new life,a new chapter,that by the end of the last line, you know,you feel,you hope,that everything will be ok at last. And where Raj is on his way of becoming the perfect man,a good man,a single good man in the world! An awesome novel!
July 12, 2009
This book really impressed me. All of the characters, and there were many, were so well-developed and with such complexity. What was most impressive was that a lot of that character development was driven by what they didn't do or say, not what they did. It was just beautifully subtle, and it didn't shy aware from the worst aspects of humanity. The author also did a really impressive job of describing the thinking of a child who is slipping into psychosis, with a complexity and deftness that demonstrates an impressive understanding of the phenomenon.
The story revolves around a murder in a small town in Missouri and its aftermath on all those even tangentially touched by it. You never know exactly what happened until the very end of the book. But the real story is the friendship between three kids in the town, including one who is originally from India. It takes place in the 50s so seeing how this town responds to this very dark Indian kid is also interesting. I can't remember the last time I read a book with such complex character development. Really well-done. (And I say this despite the fact that he makes my profession look horrible.) :)
The story revolves around a murder in a small town in Missouri and its aftermath on all those even tangentially touched by it. You never know exactly what happened until the very end of the book. But the real story is the friendship between three kids in the town, including one who is originally from India. It takes place in the 50s so seeing how this town responds to this very dark Indian kid is also interesting. I can't remember the last time I read a book with such complex character development. Really well-done. (And I say this despite the fact that he makes my profession look horrible.) :)
June 16, 2008
When I joined a book club with a friend and was made aware of this selection, at first I was afraid that it was a saccharin love story/romance. Nothing could be farther from the truth! I had a tough time believing that a man wrote this book, since almost every male character in it is a complete waste of oxygen! And the ones who are not complete jerks are sad sacks, either alcoholics or social phobics or mentally ill.
So I then became afraid, part of the way into this novel, that this author had bitten off a bit too much with this novel. How the heck was he going to wrap this up in 400+ pages, all the mystery, the secrets, the not-so-happy endings? But he does, and while it was never an easy book to read, thanks to some of the characters' revealing the ugliest parts of human nature, I actually liked the book. We'll see what the rest of my book club has to say about it, but it was definitely thought provoking, and I was sufficiently impressed by the author's style and talent that I'd now like to read his other novels.
So I then became afraid, part of the way into this novel, that this author had bitten off a bit too much with this novel. How the heck was he going to wrap this up in 400+ pages, all the mystery, the secrets, the not-so-happy endings? But he does, and while it was never an easy book to read, thanks to some of the characters' revealing the ugliest parts of human nature, I actually liked the book. We'll see what the rest of my book club has to say about it, but it was definitely thought provoking, and I was sufficiently impressed by the author's style and talent that I'd now like to read his other novels.
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June 24, 2007A bit choppy - moves briskly in parts then drags - the writing is also a bit sporadic - in parts it flows beautifully, other parts it is as if the author has challenged himself to be as obtuse or high falutin' as possible - these parts I skim (but my vocabulary is improving despite my efforts to avoid).
Also, seems to be afflicted with a bit of the "everyone has a deep, dark, past or odd sexual tendencies" Oprah drama.
The negatives said, the characters are sharp and interesting, most of the writing is excellent and it is building to one hell of a climax. At this point (start of second half the book) the stage has been set for horrific disaster (very ala Oprah) but like watching a train wreck - you just can't turn away even if you suspect it is going to leave you unhappy and unsatisfied (but grateful that your own life is different).
Also, seems to be afflicted with a bit of the "everyone has a deep, dark, past or odd sexual tendencies" Oprah drama.
The negatives said, the characters are sharp and interesting, most of the writing is excellent and it is building to one hell of a climax. At this point (start of second half the book) the stage has been set for horrific disaster (very ala Oprah) but like watching a train wreck - you just can't turn away even if you suspect it is going to leave you unhappy and unsatisfied (but grateful that your own life is different).
May 5, 2009
I read this a full year ago. I can't remember what I thought. That's not a good sign. A gmail search finds me telling one friend, "It hurts my head, all those characters with all those wacky problems! I smell a minor Hollywood ending for the only two left standing, though, we'll see. TOO MANY METAPHORS AND SIMILES! Never thought it was possible." So, this doesn't sound like I liked it a whole lot. And I do love a good metaphor.
So I flipped through to see what I marked up. There are some doozies. I'll just give you one example:
"He seemed happy all the time, though she suspected it was a happiness riding like a rodeo cowboy upon a huge bull of unhappiness. It never threw him. He rode it whooping, spinning, and grinning, the strain of it only rarely coming through. In this he was heroic..." Huge bull.
So I flipped through to see what I marked up. There are some doozies. I'll just give you one example:
"He seemed happy all the time, though she suspected it was a happiness riding like a rodeo cowboy upon a huge bull of unhappiness. It never threw him. He rode it whooping, spinning, and grinning, the strain of it only rarely coming through. In this he was heroic..." Huge bull.
December 5, 2010
The story of fitting in, pleasing others and managing the expectations your family has for you and childhood molding your future. I think that Raj seems like the perfect man in his character. These characters all come from broken homes and lives much like the real world. They must decide who they are and what is right for them. I don't agree that Annie made a good decision to stay with Leu because he was mentally ill. Not a sacrifice I would make. I guess there was no real decision to be made. Go away and he would perish, wonder off, worsen in his mind or stay and find for his functionality? Raj is the perfect friend and gentleman, never talking Annie into leaving with him. I still feel the end seemed to fit, they would both never feel as though their lives, their relationship was right when they thought of Leu.
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