Customer Reviews

Hank (Gunpowder Trilogy)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A sixth grade student of mine brought this book to me, as he had read it, and been somewhat disturbed by it. First off, let me say this is NOT a book that would interest kids under, say, 15.

Then again, I doubt this book would interest anybody. The fact is, it's boring. There is no discernable arc to the story, simply a group of events and a late-breaking attempt at a plot. The dialogue is clumsy and long-winded. I found myself alternately disgusted and bored by the characters. All of them are difficult to sympathize with, but are not fleshed out enough to be unpleasant in the charming way of Catcher in the Rye or Confederacy of Dunces. The politics are also troubling, while the intention is obviously good, the execution makes all the characters distasteful.

The author is a headmaster of a school in North Carolina, and I found myself wondering how his community reacted to this book. It is nothing short of bizarre.

As a former student of the high school where the author was formerly the principal, I approached Hank with a sense of both eagerness and wariness. Did the man who ruled the halls of my old school have a creative bone in his body? I had to be careful not to let my admiration and fondness for the man get in the way of forming my own opinions about this book. This could very well have been nothing more than a feckless labor of love by a man in a mid-life crisis.

In many ways, I was blown away by Hank. Months after reading it, I still sometimes think back to particularly accurate and touching depictions of a young teenager's life. I even crack a smile when I think about Hank's poor verbal skills with a member of the opposite sex. The boy's insecurities, uncaring parents, and hunger for a role model, while certainly not new circumstances to coming-of-age stories, are nonetheless written skillfully into the fabric of a tragic character with whom we all sympathize. Hank is remarkably easy to like, even though he does not possess the charisma, magnetic personality, or precociousness that were trademarks of Holden Caulfield. The last quarter of the book is so frantic, disorganized, and bizarre that the reader may wonder if Hank's resolution is one that they even want to bother reading. But in the end, a hero comes along, in the form of (who else?) a teacher. At this point, I was left to simply chuckle. Of course, Arch (or should I still call him Mr. Montgomery?) would make the boy's saving grace a quiet, humble teacher who the boy admired. Neither what this teacher says or does is remarkable, but he is still the hero of the story, warming our hearts for the first and last time in the book.

It's easy to see the many raving reviews on the back cover and expect to read the next Catcher in the Rye. They lead you on to believe that this is a spectacular novel. Well, Hank is not a spectacular novel. In many ways, it fails to assert its uniqueness among the ranks of other films, short stories, and novels of the same genre. However, it is an enjoyable read that will surprise many at some points and satisfy even more at the end.

This book will interest anyone who has a teenager or has been a teenager. Hank is a kid who is just trying to survive the awkward years of adolescence, while he balances the emotional extremes of his parents' homes. He gets himself into some unattractive situations but does well for someone who has no support system.

Hooking up with someone who is willing to give him a little love with a little discipline sets the stage for the next 'chapter' in this boy's life.

This is the best book i have ever read in my life. Parents should read this book if they really want to know what goes on with kids. I'm a 17 yearold boy and its true.

I know the author personally, and let me say that this book is only the beginning of what he is capable. I enjoyed reading it, and i look forward to the rest of the trilogy.