4 Stars
Charlie and Whiskey are twin brothers, once inseparable but
now barely speaking. As the result of an accident, Whiskey is in a coma. As the
chances of Whiskey’s recovery wane, Charlie is forced to reflect on his
relationship with his brother and examine his role in their estrangement.
This novel describes Charlie’s journey of self-discovery.
Charlie has always seen his brother as bold and carefree, someone who steals
the limelight and always gets what he wants. He certainly blames his twin for
their problematic relationship. Gradually, however, he comes to realize that
perhaps he himself is not blameless and bears some responsibility for the
situation.
Characterization is a definite strength, particularly that
of Charlie. The use of a foil helps develop Charlie’s character through
contrast. Rosa, Whiskey’s wife, is Charlie’s opposite. She is very forthright
and “’looks for the good in people and doesn’t worry about the rest.’” Charlie
is a very realistic character with both flaws and positive qualities. There are
instances when the reader will understand his behaviour and fully sympathize
with Charlie and yet at other times will want to slap him for his
self-righteous judgements of others. Charlie tends to see the flaws in others
rather than in himself, but then that is human nature. I found myself both
liking and disliking him; in other words, he arouses contradictory emotions
like many people one encounters in life.
There are 29 chapters with titles taken from the two-way
radio phonetic alphabet, beginning with Alpha and ending with Zulu. Charlie and
Whiskey used this alphabet on the walkie-talkies they had as children and used
to talk to each other. This structure is very effective and appropriate. Not
only does the word of the title feature in the chapter, but a major theme is
that of communication.
It becomes clear that one of the major reasons for the
dysfunctional family dynamics is the lack of communication. Difficult subjects
are never discussed. Even with his mother, Charlie “dreads the thought of
having to talk to her about the situation or, worse still, talk around it.
Easier to avoid her altogether.” And when Whiskey is in a coma, Charlie makes
excuses not to talk to him, and he admits that if someone did something he
didn’t like or approve of, “’I stopped talking to him.’” A member of Whiskey’s
medical staff speaks about how he would have to relearn how to talk should be
awake from the coma: “’Talking is, of course, a learned response. . . . talking
is an extraordinarily complex process.’” And one that Charlie must learn.
The style of the book makes it very readable. The tone is
conversational. Though there are frequent flashbacks, they do not jar. The
point of view is consistent: third person limited omniscient focusing on
Charlie’s viewpoint. This point of view means that the reader is faced with
determining the accuracy of Charlie’s portrayal of his brother, but a
discerning reader will soon realize that Charlie is insecure and not very
self-aware so his conclusions about his brother should not be taken at face
value. This point of view adds to the interest of the narrative.
I definitely recommend this book. It is skillfully written
and has believable characters. The topic will be relatable for most readers
since sibling rivalry is not an uncommon experience, and it could be argued
that everyone’s family is probably dysfunctional to at least some extent.
No comments:
Post a Comment