Review of Blockhead

Ludovica Peruzzi · Post by **Ludovica Peruzzi** » 26 May 2024, 10:48

[Following is a volunteer review of "Blockhead" by Kyle J.S. Bardell.]

2 out of 5 stars

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Blockhead by Kyle Bardell had the potential to be an interesting allegorical novel, perhaps in the style of Alice in Wonderland or Gulliver’s Travels, allegedly inspired by the author’s own experiences: as the author’s note explains, “each character, plot, and setting mirrors a shadow I see in society”.

I deeply appreciate this kind of book for the same reason I enjoy dystopia: the estrangement factor allows us to see things about our reality that we wouldn’t notice otherwise for being too accustomed to everyday life. Therefore, I was ready to keep an open mind and read between the lines. It’s very much possible that there are metaphors I just didn’t grasp, and that the book really was much deeper than I could see, but I was overall disappointed in the shallow execution of such a promising concept.

The story is about a girl named Bronco, who lives on a mechanical horse farm along with her caretakers (or, as they're referred to in the text, "Governors"), Rue and Jericho, and her brother Lockett, who she is charged with looking after. The themes in this first part of the story are clear to the point of sometimes being on the nose, from parental abuse to the way capitalism and profit are taking over every aspect of our lives (as suggested by mechanical horses being much more efficient for production and thus preferred to actual flesh-and-blood horses). But after Bronco and her brother meet Wolfrum, a kid living under another Governor, the story seems to become downright incomprehensible, always hinting at a bigger context that we are never filled in on.

I don’t have a problem with immersive writing and letting readers figure things out on their own; in fact, I find it much more stimulating than reading pages upon pages of exposition. But you still need to maintain a balance so that people don’t feel utterly lost, and in this case, we didn’t get nearly enough information to make sense of this book. It felt less like we were expected to actively engage with the text, and more like the author was constantly taunting us with how much we didn’t know.

I figured maybe the intent was to put us in Bronco’s shoes and make us as lost as she is as she discovers the world beyond her farm and eventually goes to the capital, where she’s meant to find her rightful place in the system. If this was the case, though, then I’m even more confused, because I couldn’t connect to her character at all. I often didn’t understand how Bronco jumped to certain conclusions or made a certain decision; her choices seemed entirely random and, if anything, solely motivated by where the plot needed her to go next.

Is it possible my alienation from the story and the characters was the whole point, then? I can’t discount it, but there’s nothing, really, that leads me to think that. The author’s note suggests we’re meant to think hard about what each character represents and learn something from them, and besides, there are ways to write a book with surreal atmospheres where every word and detail counts, and filling pages upon pages with nothing is not one of them. I could never tell if there actually was any insightful commentary under all the nonsense, and I just had to look harder, or if the themes were just that shallow.

Essentially, I couldn’t connect to any character, nor make sense of the worldbuilding; every plot point I was interested in was hinted at and subsequently dropped, with the ending amounting to “This thing that’s been mentioned throughout the story and which we know nothing about is related to this other thing which we also know nothing about and which won’t be explained any further. Crazy, right?”. On a more stylistic note, the dialogue was incredibly difficult to follow—you could never keep track of who was speaking at any given time, and you could go an entire page without seeing a single action beat. I also found way too many typos and punctuation errors, which, to be fair, didn’t impede my reading too much, as I was already too busy being bothered by everything else.

I can’t say I hated the book, because it would mean it incited any sort of emotion in me whatsoever—which it didn’t. What it did is leave me absolutely nonplussed, something which a book should never do; that’s why I’m only rating it 2 out of 5 stars.

******
Blockhead
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Gerry Steen · Post by **Gerry Steen** » 01 Jun 2024, 15:07

I guess this novel turned out to be allegorical in the extreme. If there is no hint to what the hidden message is, how can the story hold the interest of the reader? Thank you for pointing this out in your review. I can avoid being disappointed.

Post by **Tomy Chandrafrost** » 01 Jun 2024, 19:25

Thanks for the note. Maybe I will re consider to choose the book in the future. What a great review

Alissa Nesson · Post by **Alissa Nesson** » 06 Jun 2024, 13:44

Thanks for the warning about this book! It sounds incredibly frustrating. A hidden message in a book is all well and good as long as it goes somewhere. There definitely needs to be a balance between what information is given, and what we’re left to figure out for ourselves. Nobody wants to finish a book and be completely lost. Thanks for your honest review

Ludovica Peruzzi · Post by **Ludovica Peruzzi** » 23 Jun 2024, 18:35

Gerry Steen wrote: ↑01 Jun 2024, 15:07 I guess this novel turned out to be allegorical in the extreme. If there is no hint to what the hidden message is, how can the story hold the interest of the reader? Thank you for pointing this out in your review. I can avoid being disappointed.

Thanks for commenting, Gerry. Maybe there just was no hidden message, and I was supposed to take everything at face value - but that makes me even more confused about what I've read. I don't know which one I'd rather think, honestly!

Ludovica Peruzzi · Post by **Ludovica Peruzzi** » 23 Jun 2024, 18:37

Tomy Chandrafrost wrote: ↑01 Jun 2024, 19:25 Thanks for the note. Maybe I will re consider to choose the book in the future. What a great review

The story had potential, but I think it went about it in a really weird way, which is a shame. Thanks for commenting!

Ludovica Peruzzi · Post by **Ludovica Peruzzi** » 23 Jun 2024, 18:57

Alissa Nesson wrote: ↑06 Jun 2024, 13:44 Thanks for the warning about this book! It sounds incredibly frustrating. A hidden message in a book is all well and good as long as it goes somewhere. There definitely needs to be a balance between what information is given, and what we’re left to figure out for ourselves. Nobody wants to finish a book and be completely lost. Thanks for your honest review

I don't even know if there was a hidden message - that's what I'd like to think, because if there's no secret hidden message that helps make sense of everything, then what was the point? I definitely think the book had potential, but it needed some strong editing. Thanks for commenting!