In This Way I Was Saved: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

DeLeeuw's spellbinding debut is told from the point of view of a being who assumes the persona and desires of a boy's repressed self. The mysterious narrator encounters six-year-old Luke in Central Park, where Luke gives him a life and a name, Daniel. Daniel has no memory of consciousness before meeting Luke, but as the story moves forward into Luke's college years, it becomes clear that he has a history distinct from Luke's own. He quickly learns that he's stronger when Luke is troubled, and, luckily, there's much in Luke's life to distress him. Meanwhile, Claire, Luke's divorced mother, runs a publishing company founded by her mother, and when Luke comes across a novel about a doppelgänger the company published decades earlier, Daniel realizes it may offer clues to his own secrets and persuades Luke to destroy it, much to Claire's despair. DeLeeuw delivers a neat bundling of the classic story of a spirit possessing an innocent with the Jungian shadow self, but in the end readers will be somewhat disappointed that he neglects to answer some of the more intriguing questions he poses about Luke's family. (Aug.)
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Review

"Elegant, unsettling and wildly original, In This Way I Was Saved reads like a coming-of-age-story with the heart of a nasty thriller."-- Gillian Flynn, author of Sharp Objects and Dark Places

"In This Way I Was Saved gave me chills, not only for its dead-on depiction of the searing loneliness of a hermetically sealed mind, but because it is so thrillingly well-executed. A superb first novel." -- Kate Christensen, author of Trouble and The Great Man

"More than brothers, less than friends, linked for life: the relationship between Daniel and Luke is unique in the annals of literature, and will keep you guessing right until the book reaches its inevitable conclusion. I haven't been this entertained by a debut novel in years." -- Dale Peck, author of What We Lost and Body Surfing

"Original, subversive, funny, twisted, and totally engrossing, In This Way I Was Saved is a mind-bending tour de force. I read the last page, flipped back to the beginning, and immediately started it again." -- Chelsea Cain, author of New York Times bestsellers Heartsick and Sweetheart

"In This Way I Was Saved is a frightening, gripping tale about a sadistic secret sharer, a shadow self who is ready to devour its host. This is one of the most fascinating and controlled first novels I've ever read -- a sustained performance that hypnotizes and terrifies the reader." -- Edmund White, author of A Boy's Own Story

"In this original, inventive debut, Brian DeLeeuw delivers a suspenseful and surprisingly tender psychological thriller that gives physical shape to the torment of isolation." -- Helen Schulman, author of A Day At The Beach

"DeLeeuw debuts with a strange tale seething with disturbing psychological overtones.... Hitchcock would have loved the premise."-- Kirkus

"DeLeeuw's debut novel is a riveting exploration of the dark side of self....Suspenseful and terrifying, this tale about one's shadow self running rampant is highly recommended."-- Library Journal (starred review)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439103135
• ISBN-13: 978-1439103135
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #171,953 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bound to be a bestseller or movie, June 30, 2009

By	Joan Johnson "average reader" (WC, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

Every once in awhile a book comes along that grabs you from the very first paragraph. IN THIS WAY I WAS SAVED by Brian DeLeeuw is THAT kind of book, to the tenth degree.

Main characters Daniel and Luke establish a relationship at the tender age of six years old. They instantly become inseparable and, at times, undistinguishable one from the other. As they grow from child to adult, both battle and manipulate to gain control over their own relationship, as well as their dual relationships with Luke's mother, father and step-sister.

It's not rare that a book brings you along on it's journey, but it is very rare the way IN THIS WAY I WAS SAVED gets you so enmeshed in the story and the characters that there are times when you are actually removed from your own reality and into the fiction-reality of the book. The story has fascinating twists and turns, but all the while stays focused on the relationship between Luke and Daniel. It is easy to see how this title might at some point be turned into a major motion picture.

Author Brian DeLeeuw has a gift of storytelling, and I already look forward to future titles from this author. Plain and simple. Buy this book. It's worth every penny.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written debut; imaginary friends are not to be trusted., July 4, 2009

By	P. Blackburn "mr. right now" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

"In This Way I Was Saved" describes a descent into madness and whose interpretation is somewhat left to the reader. Author Brian DeLeeuw's writing style is very easy to read, presenting an ambiguous identity in the form of Daniel, whose first-person narration guides us through the repressed mind of Luke Nightingale, whom he first meets as a six year-old boy on a New York City playground. Although Daniel's exact identity is never fully revealed, a possible implication is an alter-ego born of schizophrenia whose sinister intentions prey on Luke's weaknesses, exacerbated by his family's history of mental frailty. A simpler explanation is that of an evil spirit seeking a host.

Presented in three parts, the story both examines and implies several interesting angles. All through the novel, Daniel is working on Luke's mind, giving voice to his immediate, negative reactions, encouraging him to engage in risky, anti-social behavior, and timing and scheming his influence over Luke in order to gain control of him. Since Daniel is clearly a product of Luke's mind, the reader is able to view Luke from inside and outside simultaneously. Through Daniel's narration, Luke's interactions with others, particularly those with his dysfunctional family, reveal Luke's repressed honesty, particularly his anger and pain. As Luke gradually succumbs to the urge to express himself, Daniel is strengthened. However, Luke's passivity underlines the delineation of the two personalities. For example, a sex scene between Luke and a college acquaintance initially presents Daniel as an observer, but eventually Daniel aggressively consummates the scene in a display of base physicality, leaving Luke to observe the crude satisfaction of both Daniel and the girl. Without giving away the novel's ending, this scene is an effective foreshadowing and asks whether Luke's repression is a symptom of his illness or a sign of health. Can we measure mental stability by expression (Daniel) or by repression (Luke)?

Although the subject matter could certainly justify a denser, more psychologically penetrating writing style (I found the writing just a bit too conversational and everyday to be completely effective), DeLeeuw's presentation is solid and wisely presents the story's inherent ambiguity in a direct, forward-moving manner devoid of Creative Writing mannerisms, with the exception of the occasional banal simile and the unnecessary pages devoted to announcing the novel's separate parts. However, the novel spends quite a bit of time with Luke's family, particularly his mother Claire, whose own mental illness, while important to the novel's plot, could have been adequately described in fewer words and represents the novel's slower, less interesting sections. Luke's relationship with Dr. Claymore, his psychiatrist, has great potential for tension, particularly a possible battle of wits between Daniel and Claymore for Luke's mind; here, there is a real threat to Daniel's growing influence, but unfortunately the doctor is presented as an addendum to his ill mother's litany of parental inability and failure. And while the ending is somewhat effective, for once DeLeeuw is perhaps a bit too ambiguous, just at the part of the novel where the reader might expect a bit more clarity.

Although "In This Way I Was Saved" travels familiar ground exemplified in novels as disparate as "Fight Club" and the vampire series of Anne Rice, it is an interesting debut by a talented author. Recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Saw it coming from the first few chapters., July 30, 2009

By	R. Bullock (Phila, PA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

Just a little on the predictable side, "In This Way I Was Saved" was a pretty expected read. We already know there's something up after maybe a few chapters, and when we do get a bigger bite, we're not as surprised by the taste as maybe we should be. That truly is a shame, actually. This novel does have incredible potential, and there are portions that are simply creepy without becoming too much of a cliche.

Honestly, I'm reluctant to review this any deeper, because on the possibility that some of the events are not quite as evident to some as to others, I do not want to ruin the story for anyone. Just know that it's a good tale, and definitely worth the time. It's an excellent first novel, and I look forward to more.