Retrato do autor

James Charlesworth

Autor(a) de The Patricide of George Benjamin Hill

3 Works 21 Membros 3 Críticas

About the Author

Disambiguation Notice:

(eng) James Charlesworth, born 1977, and James H. Charlesworth, born 1940, are different authors. Please do not combine them.

Obras por James Charlesworth

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Nome legal
Charlesworth, James [no middle name]
Data de nascimento
1977-05-26
Local de nascimento
Pennsylvania, USA
Locais de residência
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
State College, Pennsylvania, USA
Educação
Emerson College (MFA)
Penn State University (AB)
Nota de desambiguação
James Charlesworth, born 1977, and James H. Charlesworth, born 1940, are different authors. Please do not combine them.

Membros

Críticas

Three sons and a daughter are born to a narcissistic, ambitious man, George Benjamin Hill. None of them achieve happiness, and the novel is primarily about them and how the single-minded, selfishness of their father impacted each of their lives to the point where, ultimately, a confrontation seems inevitable.

This book is an impressive literary debut. I love a dark story, and this one fits that category. If you need to love your characters in order to love the book, this one may not be for you, but all of them are well developed with interesting storylines. Their professions include a minor league baseball player, a stripper, and a bush pilot. The titular character is not so much an abusive man, but one who is neglectful of his offspring’s emotional needs and uncaring about their desires (or anyone’s that stand in his way of financial success).

This book is surprisingly feminist for a male writer, and distinctly questions the American capitalistic ideals while at the same time is an ode to place. Geography plays a huge role in the story. In fact, perhaps, it plays too big a role. The descriptions of place are extremely well done and evocative, but they also impede the pace to the point where I was tempted to skim (which I resisted).

My other concern while reading this book is that the narration often takes place in the present, but has characters recalling the past. These past events, unfortunately, are often a lot more interesting than the present day. By relating them in this way, they lose the impact and immediacy they otherwise would have had. There’s some very good, original scenes in here that deserved more time, more detail, and more dialogue than they were afforded.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Anita_Pomerantz | 2 outras críticas | Mar 23, 2023 |
 
Assinalado
ibkennedy | 2 outras críticas | Oct 15, 2021 |
The Patricide of George Benjamin Hill
by James Charlesworth

Dysfunctional family – to put it mildly. I am not sure ANYONE in this story was “normal” or that they had the chance to be so. I am not sure if it was nature or nurture that caused the fractures and issues but boy did this story provide some strange characters with unusual issues and outlooks on life. The fact that most of the people blamed one person for their problems and all that negative happenings in their lives made me wonder why they didn’t accept some of the blame themselves.

The story has many characters with one central figure, George Benjamin Hill, that the others were related to. There were two wives and four children all of whom were greatly impacted by that central figure. The story begins with George and how he ended up in California with a few clues provided as to why he became the man he did. It then moves on to his first wife and the children he had with her and how he and those two sons ended up in a larger family with another woman and two more children. From California to Alaska and what happened there and then on to how George’s adult children turned out and what they were up to as they neared the half century mark of their own lives is all part and parcel of this sweeping story. Whether or not the greed of one man, George, is the reason so many lives turned out less than desirable is a question only the reader can decide.

This book was a bit disconnected feeling at times with so many people to follow and with their stories unfolding in a non-linear way. Also, tidbits that would have made the story clear and actions more understood by the reader were at times not made apparent till further along in the story. I almost gave up a few times but there was something compelling about the family that kept me reading...only to come to the end wishing many of the people I had read about could have had a different end to their stories.

This is not light easy reading and does make the reader think not only about places but about people, motivation, family, mental health, choices one makes and the impact those choices have on self and others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing – Arcade for the ARC- This is my honest review.

4 Stars
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
CathyGeha | 2 outras críticas | Jan 8, 2019 |

Estatísticas

Obras
3
Membros
21
Popularidade
#570,576
Avaliação
3.8
Críticas
3
ISBN
3