About the Book
-
Author:
- Denis Wright
- Genre:
- Contemporary
- Voices:
- Cis Boy
- White (Non-Specified)
BFF Charm: A Wary Yay?
Swoonworthy Scale: 0
Talky Talk: Julie/Julia
Bonus Factors: The Art of War, The Idiocy of Youth, Droogs, New Zealand
Anti-Bonus Factor: Bret Easton Ellis
Relationship Status: The Clarice To This Book’s Hannibal
The Deal:
Hamish Graham is not invited to my slumber party. Mostly because Hamish, a whip-smart young man, is a violent little fucker. So violent, in fact, that he’s been kicked out of every reform school he’s been sentenced to. See, at 14, Hamish is too young to be sentenced to prison, even though he’s killed a person and several animals, assaulted many others, set fires, broken into homes and schools, and committed various other acts of malfeasance. So instead he gets shuffled into schools for wayward boys, until he gets kicked out again.
He ends up at New Horizons, and most of the staff is at a loss with how to deal with him. They urge him to keep a journal, and it’s there where all of the inner-workings of this troubled child are laid bare, in a chilling but ultimately hopeful account of just what makes the bad boys tick.
BFF Charm: A Wary Yes?
When I started reading this book, I got to page four and thought, “Oh. Great. Another book about privileged white dudes and their masturbatory thoughts on violence. Yippee.” But I pressed on, and I’m glad I did, because even though Hamish has no consideration for the suffering of others, will torture people or animals just to see what happens and would probably kill me in my sleep if he thought it served a purpose, he’s also clever and funny and determined. And mixed up. And, yes, misunderstood, but also ignorant of the fact that everyone’s misunderstood. It’s part of the human condition.
And while I don’t want to braid his hair and talk about that boy who’s face he curb-stomped, I do sort of want to pull Sassy Gay Friend on him and try to help him a little. Because unlike your more tiresome psychos, Hamish doesn’t go for self-pity. He understands that he’s screwed up. What he doesn’t understand is other people, and why they do the things they do. I could help him with that! From a safe distance. And possibly while wearing body armor.
Swoonworthy Scale: 0
Okay, I said I wanted to help him, but I’m not counseling him with my ladybits. Nor is anyone else, because would anyone really want to date a dude who waxes on about eugenics, tortures animals and people and idolizes war?
Well, I mean, clearly some ladies do.
Talky Talk: Julie/Julia
Where this book really frustrated me was in the multiple narratives. Usually I’m a fan of books with multiple narratives, but only if each narrative is independently solid and engaging. And anytime the author switched focus from Hamish’s journal to the staff’s thoughts, I just cringed.
It’s not Wright’s fault, but compared to the vibrant, multi-faceted, engaging Hamish, the thoughts of some boring ol’ adults who are just trying to do their jobs don’t stand a chance. It was the book equivalent of watching Julie and Julia – every time the scene switched from the colorful, scarf-wearing, butter-loving giantess Julia Child to another boring-ass scene watching Julie Powell whine about something, I just sighed and buried my face in my hands. And Violence 101 was a bit like that – I felt irritated at being pulled out of Hamish’s head.
Why? Well, because despite his violent tendencies and graphic representations of his truly terrible behavior, Hamish is just so . . . funny. His attitude plus his complete lack of knowledge of how the world works adds up to an explanation of events that you can’t help but laugh at, even as you are cringing. Check it:
I once suggested to a clever boy at primary school that we become blood brothers by cutting our palms and clasping hands so our blood mingled. He thought this sounded like a great idea, until I put the plan into action. I had this razor blade and cut my palm with it, but the coward wouldn’t let me cut his palm and ran away crying. When I eventually caught him, I held him down and just cut him a little bit and tried to join our blood, but of course the teachers misunderstood the whole thing and I got suspended.
And, on Jesus:
I have considered letting Jesus join my team (Alexander the Great, Charles Upham and Te Rauparaha) because by all accounts he was an excellent leader, but he was mostly into the peace and love scene and I doubt he would approve of stuff like mass slaughter, even if it was really justified.
And his thoughts on Joan of Arc:
I think I might have admitted Joan into my team if it hadn’t been for the stuff about the visitations. She could have just said, “Listen up, people. The English are a bunch of bastards and we need to get our shit together to force them out of the country. If none of you pussies are willing to get this under way, then I, Joan the maid, will lead the way!”
I mean . . . how can you help but smile?
Bonus Factor: The Art of War
Hamish idolizes war and war heroes. He feels that war will solve pretty much every problem. While I disagree with him there, I can’t help but find wars to be endlessly fascinating . . . as long as I divorce myself from my humanity beforehand.
Bonus Factor: The Idiocy of Youth
I love books that are bold enough to have unlikeable protagonists, and I particularly love YA books that feature teenagers doing or saying stupid things. I don’t mean “stupid,” as in, “I was giving a speech in science class and accidentally said ‘orgasm’ instead of ‘organism,'” because that sort of thing is common amongst all ages. I’m talking the truly dumb stuff that teens and college students tend to do – like reading The Communist Manifesto and then treating their parents to endless diatribes about the evils of capitalism, or breaking and entering into animal research facilities to protest animal testing, or loftily proclaiming that they’ll never sacrifice their ideals to make a living, or talking about how Hitler was a “brilliant strategist whose policies were misinterpreted,” all things that I was personally witness to as a teenager. (Well, the ideals thing was something I actually said, often.) The reason for this type of behavior is fairly simple – most teens are at a precipice in which they feel ready to think and act globally but have only ever lived locally, and even as they strain for freedom and independence, they have the cushion of not having to pay the bills.
(By the way, stupidity does not end when one hits one’s 20s. No; as far as I can tell, it lasts your entire life, and you’ll always be making dumb mistakes. But people who continue to espouse the self-absorbed views they held as teenagers tend to end up as eco-warriors, racists or Libertarians, so they’re typically easily avoidable.)
It’s refreshing to see this in YA books, because even if it’s not noble, it’s authentic. And for those of us who are a little more A than Y, it gives us an opportunity to shake our heads in second-hand embarrassment and call up our parents to apologize for being such shits when we were kids.
Bonus Factor: Droogs
I firmly feel there are two types of people in this world: people who love every bloody page of A Clockwork Orange, and weirdos.
Bonus Factor: New Zealand
What I know about New Zealand could fit into a 9-hour long LOTR trilogy or a couple of seasons of Flight of the Conchords, but it was lovely to spend some time there, in book form. One day, New Zealand! You and I are going to party.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Bret Easton Ellis
If I were the type of person who joined dating websites (I am not this type of person, mainly because I’m not interested in getting to know people, and also because it’s bad enough when you can’t go to a particular bar or festival or city without running into the dreaded ex, but if things went south with someone from a dating website, I might lose the whole internet!! NO.), under deal-breakers, I would list: “People who use the phrase ‘making love.’ Furries. Bret Easton Ellis fanboys.” I ain’t saying there’s anything wrong with these types of people, only that I don’t want them anywhere near my naughty bits.
While I loved Violence 101 for lots of reasons, I can also see someone loving Violence 101 for opposite reasons; that is, idolizing Hamish and his views on violence and people, and thinking he speaks truth to power. Typically these people are also obsessed with BEE and Chuck Palahniuk books, and like to tell me how the protagonists are great guys who are just free of “society’s limitations” and how I don’t get it, cause I’m a woman, blah blah blah entitlement cakes. Guys? I get it. I just don’t think it’s that good.
Relationship Status: The Clarice Starling To This Book’s Hannibal Lecter
When I first opened this book, I pulled a Fred Savage (“Is this a rich white dude book?”) and nearly put it down again. But I had to stick with it, so that I could stop Buffalo Bill for the good of FYA! And I found myself quite quickly absorbed in its tales of bravery and horror. I knew I shouldn’t let down my guard around this book, but it was just so charming and rogueish. Next thing I knew, I was actually looking forward to our visits, and analyzing my own life, while also ultimately realizing that I couldn’t allow myself to be played.
And I just have to say, while I completely respect this book and deeply enjoyed – in a twisted way – our time together, and I feel very connected to it and will always remember it with twisted fondness, no way am I letting it lick champagne off my tits in Rio.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received my review copy from Penguin. I received neither money nor cocktails for writing this review (dammit!).Violence 101 is now available.
(And normally I’d say I had a copy to give away, but, well, I really liked this book. So, sorry, folks, I’m going to keep it and force it on everyone I know. Buy your own copy so you can do the same!)
