Customer Reviews

The Minus Man

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

 

 

I have read this book when it was published 4 or 5 years ago. It was Anne Rice (!) that praised the novel in the New York Times Review talking about great fiction and regreting that modern fiction was poorly written (she has since denied herself by writing poor executed popular fiction for teenagers). Anyway, the point is that this book feels like nothing you've read about the subject -serial killer- before. It is more like an inside monologue. Don't expect cheap thrills, or killer-on-the-loose-page-turner.

Sometimes weird, often hypnotizing,The Minus Man deserves to be successful. I hope that the movie coming out (good or bad) will give this book a second chance.

It's so simple and that is scary.With this story we get to see inside the mind of a simple man.A simple man that simply kills.His habit of killing is the equivalent to a nicotine addiction.He simply needs his fix and he doesn't have to go to great lengths to get it.A drop of some poison as easy as buying a pack of cigarettes. I loved this book but I have to admit that I had the ADVANTAGE of seeing the movie first.Owen Wilson is so damn lovable and cute and that made the story so damn terrifying.It is a completely believable work of fiction.I'm not sure what you should do first---rent the movie or read the book. Whichever order, make sure you do both.

It's unlikely that you've ever read anything quite like The Minus Man, a book about a serial killer that plays out more like a quietly unsettling drama than a thriller. The Minus Man is narrated by Vann Siegert, a quiet, likeable loner who carries a poisoned flask with him in his glove compartment. McCreary has created a fascinating, enigmatic character in Siegert, whose stream-of-consciousness thought processes are filled with philosophical musings, self-awareness, a damaged psyche, and yet a quiet humanity as well. This is not a plot-driven tale or a gripping thriller; rather, it's a psychological study of a deeply damaged human being, one who acts in a way he himself does not always understand, even as he finds himself driven to kill again and again. Siegert's mind is a fascinating place, and McCreary's beautiful and poetic writing gives the book an unsettling and eerie mood that lingers long after the last page is turned. There's a story here, about Siegert's stay in a small town and his relationship with his landlords and their co-workers, but that's never the book's focus; instead, we follow Vann's wanderings and musings, ranging from his childhood to his imagined interrogation by detectives who will one day capture him. The Minus Man is definitely not a book for all tastes; many will find it dull, or complain that nothing happens, or be frustrated by how oblique Vann remains, even after spending so much time in his head. But for those who are up for its subtle, strange charms, it's a quiet masterpiece of psychological drama, a beautiful piece of writing, and a quietly unnerving tale.

People who were let down by this novel, I think, don't appreciate the keen psychological insights that make this novel truly disturbing. I think they'd rather read works in which the villains are over-the-top and, therefore, not plausible, to validate their own rigidly held beliefs about people and the nature of evil. Vann's character goes in the complete opposite direction. He is, in the truest sense, an "anti-hero," a nobody, and the nothingness he feels--and the odd intimate connections he gets from killing--has a lot to say about the disconnect felt by so many Americans, which they try to mask with drugs, mindless entertainment, and religion. Vann is a true existentialist ghost. He reminds me a lot of Meursault, in Camus's The Stranger.

The main character is a serial killer. I didn't identify with him, feel sympathy for him, or like him. The author complicates the novel by throwing in timecrawls -- sudden flashbacks with no warning. They make a bad novel worse.

The plot explores how the killer goes wandering the country, killing at random. The author writes a thin veneer of charming sociopath, which isn't even correct from a psychological standpoint.

My recommendation: burn this book for warmth while reading a good Stephen King novel.

I love this serial killer on the road genre...well, he's not on the road much in this book, but he is at the beginning so I think i'm vindicated in my use of terms.

The idea behind the plot seems to come more from 'Mysteries' than stuff like 'Ripley'...and I'm talking about Knut Hamsum's 'Mysteries' not some rubbish TV show. That also has a main character with some poison [or acid] on his person, only this one is more about the random killing, and also a sense of creepiness around the main character.

It's very well-written, with the main character conveying a sense of normalcy for most of the book...he'll talk to someone then poison them and you're never really sure why. And that's the only way to play the serial killer genre in my opinion. You can give hints, but a full-on backstory reveal is irrelevant and shouldn't be attempted. Like that terrible Halloween remake.

In short, this is very good.

The Minus Man is a harrowing journey into the mind of a mild mannered man who happens to be a psychopath. His method of killing is a quiet one, poison laced Southern Comfort. Lew McCreary's novel is spellbinding, using a finely tuned skill to make the reader care for, if not love a murderer. And a mass murderer at that. Van Siegert is one of the most fascinating characters I've come across in recent memory. His calm descriptions of killing are intended to convey a sense of normalcy in murder. The fact that he kills for no reason is scary enough, the idea that he can easily validate his murders is terrifying. If you are a fan of novels about psycho killers but want something that's not a slasherflick on the page, check out this book!

The Minus Man was made into an excellent film starring Owen Wilson (in a sorely overlooked performance) as the quiet, yet lethal Van Siegert. Read the book, watch the movie, and don't drink from a stranger's flask.

Watch out for Vann Siegert. 'He isn't short and he isn't tall, he isn't anything at all.' But he is waiting. I hate to say it, the ending to the movie was better than the book, but for everything else, read the book. If you want to find out Vann's philosophy on life and death, read the book. Want to find out why 'The Minus Man', read the book, but, if you want Janeane, watch the movie.

I really had to think about giving this book a 4 star rating.

While I found the book to be mostly enjoyable, it was obvious that Mr. McCreary is not an accomplished writer. I also did not like how one of the supporting characters in the book murders his wife. I found this to be a little to unbelievable.

However, I must admit that the narrative of the serial killer is quite interesting. It was interesting to hear the mind of someone who barely feels. Someone who just moves throughout life with hardly any planning of the future being made.

I will give this book 4 stars out of 5. Just barely though.

First book I've read done in first person, I liked it.