1 out of 4 stars
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At six-foot-five and 300 pounds, the protagonist of Harvey Havel’s latest novel Mister Big lives up to his titular nickname. But DeShawn Biggs' physical appearance does not match his personality. He’s painfully shy. Meanwhile, DeShawn’s parents, Didi and Crosby, are torn over how to handle their giant of a son. Thanks to low-paying jobs, they can’t afford to feed this growing boy forever. And while shipping him off to college would almost certainly mean the beginning of DeShawn’s NFL career, it will also mean saying goodbye to their baby.
Eventually, DeShawn goes off to prep school and then to college. Readers follow DeShawn as he wrestles with his attraction to white women, despite the fact that his own skin is black. Away from the protective shelter of his parents, he must battle questions of morality, come face-to-face with a racist world, and most importantly, decide what kind of man he will be in the midst of it all.
The novel is split in three books: Book 1 contains the prologue and first three chapters, Book 2 contains two chapters, and Book 3 contains the final three chapters along with an epilogue. At 887 pages, Mister Big is a hefty read, and unfortunately, I found the long chapters difficult to wade through. The novel introduces many interesting and relevant themes, such as race, gender, family dynamics, and the culture of American sports. However, the characters were undeveloped, and the dialogue fell flat. Here’s an example of an exchange between DeShawn and two teachers shortly after he arrives at school:
I found it difficult to connect with DeShawn. Despite being the protagonist, he remained static throughout much of the book. In the beginning, his naivety and self-consciousness were winsome, and I hoped that Havel would expand on his emotional development. But DeShawn's naivety drags on throughout the novel, even as he gets caught up in mature schemes, and constant references to his oversized physical stature grew tiresome.“DeShawn - how’s your mind doing?” asked Mr. Lamb.
“Virgin territory,” said Coach Cal.
“It’s fine, sir. I am ready to learn Math.” (Havel 74)
I was also disappointed by the conversation on race relations that is pervasive throughout the novel. DeShawn faces frequent racism, and constantly grapples with the racism that exists in himself. Again, I hoped that the novel would explore this further, but because the storyline wasn't anchored to any dynamic characters, commentary on race relations read more like an essay.
Frequent grammatical errors—particularly a misuse of the word “you’re”—distracted me during this reading. I was also left confused by several plot holes. For example, one of the central cruxes of the story is the fact that DeShawn’s parents cannot contact him after they drop him off at the prep school. However, we never learn why they can’t reach out. We’re told that they don’t have the money to support DeShawn anymore, but I’m not quite sure why they can’t see him on holidays or give him a phone call.
Due to these factors, I’m giving Mister Big a 1 out of 4 rating. I enjoyed the way Havel started the novel from Crosby and Didi’s perspectives. Although they were not significant characters in the rest of the novel, I found this dialogue the most relatable. I really wanted to connect with DeShawn as a character, as his backstory and personality were inviting, but frequent exposition and flat dialogue kept me from connecting with this story. Still, Mister Big contains an interesting premise, and I’d be interested to read it again after a more thorough edit.
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Mister Big
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