The beauty of this book lies not in the plot, which the writer slowly meanders through, but more in the individual unfolding stories of intensely lifelike characters. Although at first the novel appears to be a typical romance, as the story unwinds we find that this aspect of the book is not the focus at all. The story begins with Karl, an 18 year old dyslexic boy who visits to his girlfriend’s favorite writer for help with his own writing; as his girlfriend is desperate to know more about cagey Karl and thinks this can be achieved through writing letters to her. However she is completely oblivious to the fact that he is dyslexic, so ironically this is actually the hardest way she could have chosen for him to express himself.
It is this task that brews a friendship between Karl and the
elderly writer. Over time they learn about each other and find that
surprisingly the two people of such different generations have a lot more in common
than they expected. It is book that reflects the behaviorism of human nature in a
realistically raw way, which reaches out to the reader as it’s something everyone
can relate to. Chambers also has a skill with picking out mannerisms of people
which most would overlook, this adds to the quirkiness of the book and makes it
an even more interesting read. It’s also quite an inspiring book, as Karl travel’s
his journey to find a way to express himself and work out his aims; the reader
simultaneously goes right along with him. The fact that you know very little
about Karl and the narrator isn’t a drawback because it makes the moments when
they do have rare emotional dialogues even more poignant. I would say this book
is definitely one to read, as its powerful story is one
that will stay with you well after you read the last page.
