Customer Reviews

The Ecstatic

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If ever I have felt a love/hate relationship with a book, The Ecstatic would be the book that deserves this honor. I'm still reeling from the pages and the life that main character, Anthony Jones, lives. Anthony is a 318-pound schizophrenic, who is plagued with the same affliction that affects his grandmother, mother and little sister. The story centers on the mental journey surrounding food addiction and the lack of treatment for the families' mental afflictions. On the one hand, I see why Anthony weighed as much as he did; on the other hand it was disgusting how his extreme low self-esteem affected him physically and mentally.

The Ecstatic will definitely take the reader on a ride. Starting with the extraction of Anthony from his college apartment where he was living in mental collapse while attending Cornell University, the story finds Anthony living in the basement of the home his mother, grandmother and sister share. Faring no better in these circumstances, where his family has imposed severe eating restrictions on him, Anthony seeks friendship and counsel from one Ishkabibble, the neighborhood street banker...(read loan shark here). Everybody in the neighborhood has something owed Ishkabibble (I loved the name, say it 3 times fast) and he takes advantage of this and Anthony by loaning him money to write a book, and using him as his heavy. The home life fares no better when Anthony's little sister participates in a beauty pageant for vestal virgins and they quite literally lose their mother while on this trek to the south. How can I forget to discuss Anthony's friend who infuses himself with a case of botulism to induce rapid weight loss and tries to get Anthony to join in. Just who is schizophrenic in this instance?

The Ecstatic takes a myriad of twists and turns that I found to be quite confusing. However, the dark humor in the book sent me into sidesplitting fits of laughter on several occasions. This isn't a book to pick up you're looking for comedic relief but it is a pleasant aside. If you are searching for an in depth exploration into a weakened mind, this book can take you there. The unique characterization of Anthony and the adventures his life follows really makes you wonder how many people are suffering as he. I found that I loved the comedy, hated the reality but understood the quandary both created to make The Ecstatic a well-written novel.

I'm writing because I'm just concerned, straight up, with some of the reviews this novel has been given by people who meant well but, if I'm being honest, simply can't give other people a fair minded picture of this spectacular novel. First of all, IT'S NOT CONFUSING!!!!!!!! I can't say that enough. The problem is that if you've only been used to eating candy your whole life you're not going to know how to take a steak. Some of the people who've posted before me have been talking about how the novel loses them at times, but if you're used to reading smart fiction, even slightly literary, then you can breeze through this book. In fact, at times you'll have to slow down because you're enjoying the poetry of the language so much that you forget to take notice of the story. Are we ever going to just come out and say you should have to take an IQ test in order to read certain books? Probably not, but maybe we should. I mean, I don't think great literature means that it's got to be confusing, but I get mad when I see good, decent folks trying to pretend that just because there's not a straightforward romance going on the book is Finnegan's Wake! Of course, I realize that now I've made nothing but an in joke, but what saddens me the most is that there are people for whom that reference was over their heads. My god, the state of American readers is dismal. Okay, I shouldn't turn this review into nothing but a big complaining session so let me tell you that I haven't read a book this ambitious and profound in ten years. Imagine a novel that tries to be funny and heartbreaking at the same time, sometimes in the same line. I put this book down feeling like I'd discovered my eyes after years of being blind. It just made me so happy to see that this painful and touching novel was actually published.

Picked this book up after hearing about it at school, there were two grad students talking about how the book was really special. I got it and read it in a weekend and then reread it the weekend after that. The first time through I was just laughing and laughing. It's pretty funny. Okay, it's hilarious. Then there'd be these moments where some big heartbreaking thing happens and you'd be so surprised because the whole time it felt like a comedy. I found that it was written in poetic language, but that it wasn't difficult to understand. Which is rare. It was literary book that didn't make me want to throw up from all the pretentions. How many times can I say that I enjoyed it? A thousand times wouldn't be enough. Truly spectacular.

Victor Lavalle's The Ecstatic left me feeling ambivalent. I found the novel to be well written, original, and crafty; but at times I also felt lost and confused. Perhaps the latter is intentional since the story is narrated by Anthony Jones, an obese schizophrenic, who lives with his equally schizophrenic relatives. Anthony is rapidly deteriorating and although he seems relatively in control at the beginning of the novel, it is quite clear that he has lost all of his mental faculties at the end.

The book is divided into three sections. In "The Whale" segment, Lavelle opens with Anthony's younger sister, mother, and grandmother rescuing him from Cornell University. He has not attended classes in a couple of years, is living in squalor, and has supported himself with menial jobs. He returns home to live in the basement and reacquaint himself with the old neighborhood. It is in this section that we learn about Anthony's atrocious eating habits, his mother's mental disorder, and his family's relationship with the neighbors. He tries to reinsert himself into society by losing weight, dating, and getting a job. Sadly, he is exploited by his employers and neighborhood thugs, fails at weight loss, and is jilted by his love interest. In the "Miss Innocence" segment, a family road trip to the sister's beauty pageant goes awry, largely due to Anthony's worsening condition. They meet a few questionable characters along the way that seem equally insane as the Jones clan. The last segment, "The Hounds" is Anthony's final descent into dementia where he becomes a danger to himself and others. He is literally trapped physically in his neighborhood by the patrolling dogs and mentally in his weakened mind.

At most, The Ecstatic is entertaining. As mentioned earlier, Lavalle lost me on a few twists and turns, but I continued reading to see how it would end. I think the pacing of the story was solid, but character development was somewhat lacking. Anthony's character was the most developed and that is putting it mildly; the other characters were lightly sketched and void of any real definition. There were plenty of dark comedic episodes sprinkled throughout that caused me to laugh aloud, but more importantly, I felt pity for the central character as he surrendered to his illness. I would not recommend this novel to everyone, only those who are curious and courageous enough to venture down a dark and disheartening literary side street.

Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club

I'm honestly not sure how I felt about this book. They're some hilariously cunning moments, but overall the book was pretty weird and a little confusing. I finished it because, frankly, I started it. It definitely wasn't a page turner or a book I lost sleep over. Overall, I think that the writer's style just couldn't hold my interest, others that read it obviously thought it was good...but, I beg to differ!

The Ecstatic is one of those novels that should not be read by anyone outside of the intended audience and I believe in this instance that audience is comprised of english majors, aspiring writers, professional book reviewers, and others like me who function under the delusion they are much more erudite than the evidence would otherwise suggest. While I have reservations regarding comparisons of authors and texts, the primary character of this story, Anthony James, is reminiscent of other literary creations such as Winston Foshay from Paul Beatty's Tuff, Ignatius Reilly of Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, and even Salinger's Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye.

Anthony is an imposing characterization in every sense. As we learn early on, he has inherited the family's singular legacy - mental illness- and the story takes the reader along on the tragic-comic journey to the affliction's inevitable victory over that which most of us would view as normalized existence. By mere size (substantially north of 300 pounds), Anthony has the capacity to intimidate, but often in his self-conscious, introspectively critical manner, he is oblivious to that fact. He is brilliant yet only tangentially functional in any environment, living in the basement of the home owned by his 93 year old grandmother and also inhabited by his equally instable mother and Nabisase, his constantly seeking and searching 13 year old sister.

Along the way, a mélange of inarguably dysfunctional, most often darkly humorous people are introduced however not surprisingly, only superficially expanded in a story narrated by a twenty-three year old, increasingly non-plussed by the reactions of others but equally as ill-prepared to personally take any steps to extricate himself from the widening abyss. And it does not take long to realize that if he is destined to recover, his assistance will not come from his immediate family, each of whom is clearly too consumed with their personal battles, literal and figurative, to offer any more assistance than the initial act of spiriting him away from reclusiveness in Ithaca, N.Y. would demand.

As demonstrated in Slapboxing with Jesus, Victor Lavalle's perceptive view of society and culture is on display here. Through utilization of simile, allegorical imagery and in many cases, unencumbered declaratives, he brings a searing beam to a wide range of subjects including poverty, education, societal obsession, marginalization, multiculturalism, familial dynamics and most prominently, the concept of sanity.

The Ecstatic is a wonderful read for anyone seeking intelligent writing with enticing phrasing in a linear story filled with sub-text. Conversely, if your tastes gravitate towards a feel good tale where resolution is never in doubt, there are plenty of other works out there for sampling.

The first thing that struck me about "The Ecstatic" is that the writing is really of very high quality. Lavalle is a master of character description, and brings the eccentric characters in this story vividly to life. I suppose the backbone of the plot is that our hero is on a journey of self-discovery, and in the process finds himself in some hilarious and sometimes dangerous situations. I don't know to what extent this novel is actually autobiographical, but it makes me wonder. Overall, a very entertaining and somewhat surreal read. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".

This book hit me so hard, but I couldn't put it down. What is it about families that keeps creating great literature. They just contain this energy. Victor LaValle tapped into that and put it on the page. What I liked was that sometimes I was laughing along, thinking this was just a big book of jokes and then, BIF! BAM! BOOM! he'd have a scene that broke my heart. Then he'd go right back to the funny stuff. Wow. I never really thought you could do that without losing the momentum. I missed the people in it right after I closed the book. It's just a book for anyone who cares at all about seeing real human beings in fiction.

This was a very interesting novel. The style, transition, characters, dialogue, realism and humor make this a stand out read. I was initially compelled to read this novel based on the synopsis, but from page one I was hooked!

The author was able to reveal the antics of life for a very dysfunctional family and let us ride the insanity with the main character, Anthony. Anthony is the 300+ pound paranoid schizophrenic. We journey with Anthony and his family as they try to live life, but are compounded with obstacles such as insanity.

The story has a myriad of characters who kinda come into Anthony's life for several reasons, but they add to the dark humor that is consistently displayed throughout the novel. The author's play with humor and realism of insanity was compelling and scary at the same time.

This book is dark. That is the one word that for me relates this story. As the story continues, the darkness continues which makes the humor almost horrifying.

The author's use of the English language is beautiful. His style is very different, but quite refreshing. The characters are well-developed and thorough characters. The story is a mirage of several incidents that take place in Anthony's life and this is a literal perception of how one is mentally ill, but can do nothing to stop the insanity. It is like a roller coaster ride of the insane.

I do wish for a different ending, but because of the subject matter no other ending would probably work. This is one novel everyone should pick up and read if for nothing more than a change and read something that is brilliantly written.

This is one of the best books I've read in quite some time. Experiencing an individuals descent into madness is a topic not often handled with such grace and dark humor it's done here with the off-handed skill of a great talent I look forward to reading future works by this author.