Official Review: Carpenter's Bluff by James G. Sanders
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Official Review: Carpenter's Bluff by James G. Sanders
Hank Anawatty has spent the last few years consumed by his work as a commercial litigation lawyer, holding few meaningful relationships and steering clear of past ties, including old friends and family. Everything changes when he meets an enigmatic woman who rekindles his spirit and makes him feel like a teenager again. Far from granting him an easy escape from his problems, however, this encounter eventually leads to confrontations with repressed memories and inner demons.
James G. Sanders' Carpenter's Bluff is a fascinating novel that touches on themes such as trauma, grief, and regret, emphasizing how the past always catches up, even when we think we've left it behind. Set in 1987, the story starts as Hank sees a psychiatrist due to the recent downward spiral in his professional and private lives. The book is divided into four parts, each covering a portion of the main character's life from 1968 to 1987.
Despite its relatively straightforward premise, the novel delivers a rich story filled with complex characterization, various psychological layers, and inventive ways of exploring seemingly mundane interactions to reveal deeper aspects about the characters. For example, I really enjoyed how the second chapter introduced Hank's family while highlighting the toxic dynamics that turn even harmless family meals into high-stakes games with tension, calculated moves, and spoken and unspoken rules. "In doing so, she draws out the ordering process in order to maximize Ellen's time to make her decision and minimize the chance that her husband might comment about Ellen's inability to make a simple decision about what she will eat for dinner" (location 230).
Other aspects I found intriguing are, sadly, difficult to discuss without spoiling important plot points. That said, the author does a great job keeping the reader wondering and eager to read further, especially towards the conclusion, which wraps up everything nicely but leaves some room for different interpretations and possibilities. Indeed, I feel inclined to read the novel again to spot details I didn't notice or didn't fully appreciate without full knowledge of the events and characters.
The somewhat dry, stiff paragraphs consisting of short sentences and sentence fragments punctuated by periods might be off-putting for some readers, especially in the beginning. "He's a good basketball player. He's smart like Paddy, but a poor student. He never studies. Jack is also musically talented. He has never had any instruction, but he can play the piano and the guitar" (location 274). The style quickly grew on me, however, especially since it gives Hank a very fitting inner voice that matches his self-consciousness, awkwardness, and tense home environment as a young man.
Unfortunately, the book features several typographical errors, missing punctuation, and misspelled words. Most readers likely won't feel too bothered since the novel is, in general, well written, but it's a shame that an otherwise great story is tarnished by so many basic issues. I also found the author's comma placement a bit odd and distracting at times, but that's a matter of stylistic preference.
I highly recommend Carpenter's Bluff to readers who enjoy character-driven narratives with strong psychological exploration. I would love to give the novel a perfect rating, but due to the poor editing, my final rating is 3 out of 4 stars. For the most part, this is a fairly slow, down-to-earth read, so readers hoping for intense and frequent dramatic shifts will likely wish to look elsewhere.
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Carpenter's Bluff
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