Why do we read? The commonest answer is to escape. Escape from the drudgery, the ceaseless worry, the endless heartbreak of life. That's good. We need that. Readers like to identify with a superhero for an hour or so. Decent citizens get the thrill of committing a crime from a mystery or suspense story, without taking the risk. We love to escape the tedious world we live in and take off to one of gods and monsters.
Yet sometimes we read for another reason: To confront. To confront our demons. To examine ourselves, our lives, and the lives of those we love. It often isn't pretty. In fact, it can get downright grueling.
Bill Pronzini's newest stand-alone novel is called The Hidden, and reading it was a grueling experience for me. The first half of The Hidden is virtually indistinguishable from a mainstream, literary novel. In it, we meet a good, decent man who has been handed bad hand after bad hand from life. Jay Macklin's dreams of owning a business have failed, He lost the job that gave him the self-respect that a man needs. His marriage is crumbling and there seems to be nothing he can do about it. And Jay has been hiding a secret from his wife.
Shelby Macklin is a strong woman. Resourceful. She is an EMT in an emergency room and is used to handling crises on a regular basis. Her husband leans upon her for emotional and financial support. She is losing her respect for him, as well as for herself as long as she stays with him. She knows the marriage is crumbling too.
Jay insists that he and Shelby spend the New Years holiday at a friend's cottage in a sparsely populated coastal area. He seems to think it will help rekindle their affection toward each other.
The interactions between Jay and Shelby are painfully real. Having come off of a recent divorce myself, I know all too well what it's like. The innocent comments that turn combative. The tension so thick you almost choke on it. The heartbreaking knowledge that the institution you gave your heart and life to, the partnership you vowed to stay with for life, is sinking as surely as The Titanic. The utter helplessness of it.
Bill Pronzini knows these things. I can think of no other writer that so deftly gets into the minds of his characters. Sometimes, as with The Hidden, it's almost too deep into their heads.
But Bill Pronzini is known as a suspense writer, and the second half of The Hidden is a nail-biting story of a mentally unhinged killer that erupts the uneasy holiday that The Macklins are not enjoying. An emotionally eruptive party at a nearby house further complicates things. And frustrated, ineffectual Jay Macklin finds inner reserves of fortitude against bitter odds that threaten his and his wife's lives, his vastly stronger spouse must confront her own fear of the dark in order to survive.
I hope that I didn't scare you off from reading The Hidden with this review. Yes, I found it to be an arduous journey, but I also was exhilarated by it. This is one of the finest novels that Bill Pronzini has written yet. Be sure not to miss it.
Yet sometimes we read for another reason: To confront. To confront our demons. To examine ourselves, our lives, and the lives of those we love. It often isn't pretty. In fact, it can get downright grueling.
Bill Pronzini's newest stand-alone novel is called The Hidden, and reading it was a grueling experience for me. The first half of The Hidden is virtually indistinguishable from a mainstream, literary novel. In it, we meet a good, decent man who has been handed bad hand after bad hand from life. Jay Macklin's dreams of owning a business have failed, He lost the job that gave him the self-respect that a man needs. His marriage is crumbling and there seems to be nothing he can do about it. And Jay has been hiding a secret from his wife.
Shelby Macklin is a strong woman. Resourceful. She is an EMT in an emergency room and is used to handling crises on a regular basis. Her husband leans upon her for emotional and financial support. She is losing her respect for him, as well as for herself as long as she stays with him. She knows the marriage is crumbling too.
Jay insists that he and Shelby spend the New Years holiday at a friend's cottage in a sparsely populated coastal area. He seems to think it will help rekindle their affection toward each other.
The interactions between Jay and Shelby are painfully real. Having come off of a recent divorce myself, I know all too well what it's like. The innocent comments that turn combative. The tension so thick you almost choke on it. The heartbreaking knowledge that the institution you gave your heart and life to, the partnership you vowed to stay with for life, is sinking as surely as The Titanic. The utter helplessness of it.
Bill Pronzini knows these things. I can think of no other writer that so deftly gets into the minds of his characters. Sometimes, as with The Hidden, it's almost too deep into their heads.
But Bill Pronzini is known as a suspense writer, and the second half of The Hidden is a nail-biting story of a mentally unhinged killer that erupts the uneasy holiday that The Macklins are not enjoying. An emotionally eruptive party at a nearby house further complicates things. And frustrated, ineffectual Jay Macklin finds inner reserves of fortitude against bitter odds that threaten his and his wife's lives, his vastly stronger spouse must confront her own fear of the dark in order to survive.
I hope that I didn't scare you off from reading The Hidden with this review. Yes, I found it to be an arduous journey, but I also was exhilarated by it. This is one of the finest novels that Bill Pronzini has written yet. Be sure not to miss it.
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