Review of Take a Look at Me Now
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Hilary Cooke
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- Latest Review: Take a Look at Me Now by Robert P Crane
Review of Take a Look at Me Now
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Take a Look at Me Now" by Robert P Crane.]
“Take a Look at Me Now” by Robert P. Crane tells the story of Brandon ‘Bubby’ Welter and the people around him. Publicised as a coming-of-age book, the story explores the extreme difficulties experienced by this young man alongside his navigation of the more usual challenges of growing up. The people around him are in various stages of crisis, all of which impact upon him.
Crane’s writing style works well for this structure, particularly in the first part of the book. His use of short sentences written in simple language adds to the impression of Bubby as a reserved character, traumatised by the events of his childhood. The defining decisions of his life are underplayed, showing how he slides into difficulties almost without realising. Even Abe, the gentle voice of calm and sense, goes virtually unnoticed in Bubby’s self-preserving fug of simplicity. Similarly, Crane effectively communicates the pain of Tony, the neighbour, as well as the difficulties of Carrie, Bubby’s mother. Her struggles with her own problems, combined with her attempts to be a good parent to Bubby, leave us genuinely uncertain of what she will do. The pains and insecurities of them all are palpable.
Crane labels Part One of his book “Wallowing.” This seems unduly harsh, as it hints at self-indulgence. While the characters here can be considered as being self-focused, there is little indulgence in them. Their fragility, pain, insecurity, and suffering present them as drowning or sinking rather than wallowing. This is powerful writing that captures the constant anxiety of the characters.
In Part Two of the book, the author continues to develop the pressures being applied to Bubby. They have shifted but are no less problematic for him. Unfortunately, the story arc starts to become patchy in this section. Where Crane had written from the viewpoints of the three major characters in Part One, in Part Two, he all but discards Tony’s and Carrie’s storylines. The focus is now primarily on Bubby. Whilst Bubby is the central character of the book, previous attention to the other characters has invested the reader in their lives. To suddenly ignore them leaves a hole.
Crane repeats the situation with a new character, Ashley, who appears in this section. Her backstory is illustrated by insights into her behaviour away from Bubby, only for this attention to be abandoned when she is no longer of use to Bubby’s storyline.
This is not a pattern the author follows universally. There are other characters, Bubby’s aunt Brandy and his friend Abe, for example, who are not explored in anything like the same level of detail. The reader feels their presence, but we are not drawn into their lives in the same way.
As the book moves into Part Three, the energy seems to leave Crane’s writing. Having pushed Bubby to absolute crisis point, the author skips any effort to chronicle his handling of life by opening Part Three with the evasive statement, “Two years rocketed by.” In the turn of a page, this troubled youth has grown up, got fit, and graduated. What follows is a lacklustre search for his estranged father. There is some teasing of the reader with a “will they, won’t they” approach to their meeting.
Ultimately, the end of the book left me feeling deflated and a little cheated. The first section of the book is so strong and holds so much promise, but the following parts fail to match the quality. There are also far more errors and typos than there should be.
Had Crane maintained the writing energy of Part One, this would have been an outstandingly powerful book. As it stands, it is a book with some outstanding potential, and well worth reading.
For these reasons, I would give it a mark of 4 out of 5 stars.
******
Take a Look at Me Now
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
“Take a Look at Me Now” by Robert P. Crane tells the story of Brandon ‘Bubby’ Welter and the people around him. Publicised as a coming-of-age book, the story explores the extreme difficulties experienced by this young man alongside his navigation of the more usual challenges of growing up. The people around him are in various stages of crisis, all of which impact upon him.
Crane’s writing style works well for this structure, particularly in the first part of the book. His use of short sentences written in simple language adds to the impression of Bubby as a reserved character, traumatised by the events of his childhood. The defining decisions of his life are underplayed, showing how he slides into difficulties almost without realising. Even Abe, the gentle voice of calm and sense, goes virtually unnoticed in Bubby’s self-preserving fug of simplicity. Similarly, Crane effectively communicates the pain of Tony, the neighbour, as well as the difficulties of Carrie, Bubby’s mother. Her struggles with her own problems, combined with her attempts to be a good parent to Bubby, leave us genuinely uncertain of what she will do. The pains and insecurities of them all are palpable.
Crane labels Part One of his book “Wallowing.” This seems unduly harsh, as it hints at self-indulgence. While the characters here can be considered as being self-focused, there is little indulgence in them. Their fragility, pain, insecurity, and suffering present them as drowning or sinking rather than wallowing. This is powerful writing that captures the constant anxiety of the characters.
In Part Two of the book, the author continues to develop the pressures being applied to Bubby. They have shifted but are no less problematic for him. Unfortunately, the story arc starts to become patchy in this section. Where Crane had written from the viewpoints of the three major characters in Part One, in Part Two, he all but discards Tony’s and Carrie’s storylines. The focus is now primarily on Bubby. Whilst Bubby is the central character of the book, previous attention to the other characters has invested the reader in their lives. To suddenly ignore them leaves a hole.
Crane repeats the situation with a new character, Ashley, who appears in this section. Her backstory is illustrated by insights into her behaviour away from Bubby, only for this attention to be abandoned when she is no longer of use to Bubby’s storyline.
This is not a pattern the author follows universally. There are other characters, Bubby’s aunt Brandy and his friend Abe, for example, who are not explored in anything like the same level of detail. The reader feels their presence, but we are not drawn into their lives in the same way.
As the book moves into Part Three, the energy seems to leave Crane’s writing. Having pushed Bubby to absolute crisis point, the author skips any effort to chronicle his handling of life by opening Part Three with the evasive statement, “Two years rocketed by.” In the turn of a page, this troubled youth has grown up, got fit, and graduated. What follows is a lacklustre search for his estranged father. There is some teasing of the reader with a “will they, won’t they” approach to their meeting.
Ultimately, the end of the book left me feeling deflated and a little cheated. The first section of the book is so strong and holds so much promise, but the following parts fail to match the quality. There are also far more errors and typos than there should be.
Had Crane maintained the writing energy of Part One, this would have been an outstandingly powerful book. As it stands, it is a book with some outstanding potential, and well worth reading.
For these reasons, I would give it a mark of 4 out of 5 stars.
******
Take a Look at Me Now
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Take a Look at Me Now by Robert P Crane
