Some Hell

December 11, 2017
Nathan’s dark debut novel weaves violent sexual fantasies and aggressively self-destructive behavior into a harrowing character study. Thirteen-year old Minnesotan Colin blames himself after his father commits suicide. He gains no comfort from his distant older sister, his volatile autistic brother, or his deeply depressed, newly chain-smoking mother as he reads his father’s convoluted journals in search of an explanation for his father’s death. At this vulnerable time, his best friend, Andy, coerces him into sex and then immediately ostracizes him, confirming Colin’s worst fears about his budding desires. As he continues to wallow and berate himself for not being normal, his young, charming science teacher offers his support. Their relationship quickly moves beyond appropriate but doesn’t fulfill Colin’s self-destructive fantasy of being kidnapped and murdered. Nathan flits across the next two years and intersperses the recovery of Colin’s mother Diane, who finally attends bereavement counseling only to develop a strong, possibly reciprocated crush on her therapist. Mother and son, both willfully ignoring their continued psychological fragility, embark on a long-planned cross-country vacation to California, building to the book’s unsettling conclusion. Though difficult subject matter pervades the work, some readers will find moments of beauty in the rawness of grief’s confusions and yearning.

Narrator Graham Halstead offers compelling portrayals of the unreliable teen and his mother who are at the center of Patrick Nathan's novel. By keeping a steady and deliberate pace, Halstead finds a path through the melodramatic plot, which could be a difficult listen--or a difficult read in print. Colin's world overflows with dangerous male figures--from his suicidal father to his predatory teacher, nasty "friend," and cruel lover. His depression and his mother's self-absorption are fully credible, especially in Halstead's delivery of dialogue. F.M.R.G. � AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine