No light snack, 'Kelland' is a novel you can sink your teeth into, chew on for a good while, and still have more for later. This is good news, since its dark, mysterious, smoky flavor is worth savoring.
Bens introduces us to a collection of disparate characters. Led by his confident, unobtrusive prose, we follow their stories, seeking a reason for bringing this seemingly random grab-bag of people and events together.
The key to the mystery is Kelland, a protean being who appears in each character’s life in some unexpected way. As various strands of narrative are pulled artfully together, the story reaches a climax in which a violent act expresses the grief and rage and guilt of these characters, and brings a different outcome to each.
It is up to the reader, finally, to decide who or what Kelland is. Nemesis? Agent of change? Fate personified? It says a lot for this novel that it leaves us with questions that are well worth pondering.
'Kelland' did contain some disappointments for me. A few scenes had a perfunctory feel, as if the author were rushing to establish some plot points and move on. And I ached for Lucas, a 15-year-old, to show some trace of personality in his online journal, which is quoted numerous times. I would have loved to come away from the book with a sense of Lucas as a memorable character.
The most developed character in the book is Toan, a Vietnamese immigrant with a difficult past and uncertain future. A gay man and a musician, his life is going about show more as well as can be expected when more misfortune strikes.
Toan works and lives in a Hollywood neighborhood that is rich in detail and atmosphere; If the novel consisted solely of his story, it would be well worth reading. We’re lucky that Bens gives us more—much more—in this generous and ambitious book. show less
Bens introduces us to a collection of disparate characters. Led by his confident, unobtrusive prose, we follow their stories, seeking a reason for bringing this seemingly random grab-bag of people and events together.
The key to the mystery is Kelland, a protean being who appears in each character’s life in some unexpected way. As various strands of narrative are pulled artfully together, the story reaches a climax in which a violent act expresses the grief and rage and guilt of these characters, and brings a different outcome to each.
It is up to the reader, finally, to decide who or what Kelland is. Nemesis? Agent of change? Fate personified? It says a lot for this novel that it leaves us with questions that are well worth pondering.
'Kelland' did contain some disappointments for me. A few scenes had a perfunctory feel, as if the author were rushing to establish some plot points and move on. And I ached for Lucas, a 15-year-old, to show some trace of personality in his online journal, which is quoted numerous times. I would have loved to come away from the book with a sense of Lucas as a memorable character.
The most developed character in the book is Toan, a Vietnamese immigrant with a difficult past and uncertain future. A gay man and a musician, his life is going about show more as well as can be expected when more misfortune strikes.
Toan works and lives in a Hollywood neighborhood that is rich in detail and atmosphere; If the novel consisted solely of his story, it would be well worth reading. We’re lucky that Bens gives us more—much more—in this generous and ambitious book. show less