Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Master of inner-monologue, May 30, 2004
After a tragic childhood accident, Lenny has become mentally disabled and emotionally dependent on others. This includes his frustrated mother Alice, who believes her son's condition can be cured if he "sees the light," Maude, the older and inquisitive neighbor down the street whom he believes he will one day bed, and Jimmy, his best friend and co-worker who gives him bad advice about women and dating, provides him with skin flicks, and even teaches him how to masturbate to them properly. When Alice hatches a plan for Lenny to kidnap her estranged son Jack, a policeman, the plot thickens. Lenny has no idea he's kidnapping his own brother, not only because his sibling left home over ten years prior but also because his mental capacity will not allow him to remember. Lenny's only concern is pleasing his mother, who threatens him with a game of "Careful," which usually involves some form of physical abuse or mental torture towards him. Alice's agenda is to get Jack to admit why he left and to have him help Lenny see the light. That is, after she decides to release him from being bound and gagged in the attic. Meanwhile, Jack has an astonishing secret that must be revealed before the story ends. "Careful!" is told with breakneck pacing and incredible fervor. First time author Richard Madelin, who resides in England, weaves in and out of monologue with style and control. The protagonist is a fascinating character, reminiscent of Steinbeck's main character in "Of Mice and Men." The author's unique style of writing, mostly in inner-monologue, creates a fresh and original experience for the reader. After reading it, you will not forget the name of this book. "Careful!" is superb and easily makes my top ten list for the year. Highly recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
With Family Like this..., September 11, 2004
Think of this book as The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time's evil twin. A densely crafted and compelling look into two minds--a brain damaged son and an emotionally damaged mother--Careful! is a disturbing book, yet an enthralling one as well. By writing the whole book in interior monologue, Madelin really allows you to understand the motivations and choices of the characters, despite how brutal and misguided these choices wind up being. You often see people in the world who seem so messed up, and a book like Careful! helps you understand why that can happen. A modern classic of family disfunction.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
spellbinding, October 27, 2004
Alice named her sons Jack and Lenny. Jack for Kerouac, which aptly fits, as he took off ten years ago and hasn't been heard from since. Lenny for Lenny Bruce, though he more closely resembles Steinbeck's Lennie from Of Mice and Men. As a young child, Lenny suffered an accident which has left him mentally challenged. Not only does he have trouble learning complex tasks, but he lives in a repeated refrain where "white spaces" push through and mix him up. He has a friend at work who teaches him all the wrong things about women and whose boots he admires, and a neighbor up the road who he's convinced is going to allow him to have sex with her. Other than that, his world centers around his mother, Alice. And Alice's ideas of being a mother and caring for him include teaching him - Careful! - by snuffing cigarettes on his hand. Things take a mreviewed byore ominous turn when the prodigal son Jack, now a policeman, returns to town. Alice instructs Lenny to kidnap the brother he doesn't even remember, let alone recognize, and this sets in motion a chain of devastating realizations in this family.
Madelin tells this story in rotating third person limited POV, but it's so focused that it feels like first person intimate storytelling. He does an admirable job of not only sustaining the eerie inner voices and thoughts of both Alice and Lenny, but also of sustaining the reader and heightening curiosity with these challenging perspectives. This stylized inner POV could easily become a gimmick - or annoying - if not well written. But it's so deftly handled that's it not only brutally intriguing but also becomes downright riveting as the revelations pile up. It's a forceful and complex debut from Madelin.
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