Bad Signs

Every now and then, along comes one of those books. The sort that makes you look at people who make statements like "I NEVER read genre fiction" with just that little bit of sadness for what they are missing. That's not to say that BAD SIGNS is the sort of book that everyone is going to enjoy, but for any readers looking for something that will really make you think, take you into some very uncomfortable places, and be profoundly challenged, then it will be an outstanding book.

Strange as it may seem from the blurb, this is a book about hope. Albeit brutally wrapped up in human frailty. Returning to themes that Ellory has explored in earlier books - this is the story of young men confronted with an impossible situation, informed only by show more a deprived and desperate background, and the choices that they make. BAD SIGNS gives us two young boys, half-brothers, raised by the same mother, witnesses to the same violence and experiencing the desperation and degradation of State Care together, who make independent choices when pushed to the extreme. Fuelled by their respective ages, tempered undoubtedly by their allotted "roles" in their relationship, Clarence (Clay) Luckman and Elliott Danziger fight their dark stars in their own particular ways.

BAD SIGNS is populated by difficult people to read about - be it because of who they are, what they become, or what could happen to them. Psychopathic serial killer Earl Sheridan is a violent, out of control madman, who for some reason chooses not to kill the brothers in the aftermath of his escape. Which makes reading about their present in his thrall terrifying. What happens to those two boys while they are dragged across the country by this lunatic, violently killing just about everybody he encounters is profoundly discomforting reading. As each of the early chapters end by flagging the horror that is about to occur, it's really difficult to see where any hope is going to come from. Until the boys make their own choices, and the affects of that start to play out. Even then, the tension remains as you worry about how this will play out for the boys. The story remains disturbing and confronting, and the tension is ramped up even more as the reader is dragged, kicking and screaming into the minds of these two boys. Somehow, it's not long before a sense of hope does rise, and with that the tension gets even worse as the reader is left fighting a range of emotions - identification, terror, worry for the future, nervous about the potential resolutions.

It's clever this BAD SIGNS. It's incredibly clever. It's dark and dire, and frightening, disturbing and hypnotic. It's only when you've finished reading, when the resolution is known and the tension can finally abate, that there's a chance for this reader to look back and consider. What the book has done is take two characters from the same mother and childhood, with that slightly different genetic background, put them in dire circumstances and look closely, forensically at what becomes of each person. Whilst not everything is completely hopeless, and there are glimpses of bravery, belief, care, love, defiance and empathy, it is a careful study in human frailty, in madness, mistakes and the power of connections. It's a sobering reminder of how a single encounter can twist a life forever - good or bad, it just depends on how each individual plays the cards they are handed.

There were points where I had to step away for a little while. The violence, the psychopathy of Earl Sheridan, the circumstances of these two young boys, it's in your face. It's pointed, almost grotesque. It's frequently overwhelming. But it's not gratuitous, it draws a very clear picture of the peril of Clay and Elliott, as well as anyone who innocently comes across the worst of them.

Make no mistake, BAD SIGNS is not an easy book to read, it is, however, one hell of a very very very good book. show less

Bad Signs is a terrific interpretation of the American 'killer on the loose' road movie, set in an expertly realised, rolling landscape of wide horizons and hidden, intimate horrors. Each sleepy small town presents itself to the travellers as the superficial embodiment of the American dream; each conceals the potential for brutality, hopelessness and despair.

If that sounds too grim for you then fear not; RJ Ellory is an optimist at heart, it seems, and throughout his tapestry of anger, abandonment, pain and aggression he has woven a subtle but supportive thread of redemption and the possibility of goodness.

Set in the 1960s, the action concerns institutionalised orphaned half-brothers on the cusp of adulthood. The younger boy has long show more been dependent on and protected by his robust, bullish older brother while they've survived bitter lives in young offenders' institutes. Swept up in a jailbreak they each must confront a coming-of-age initiation which carries with it the bleakest consequences possible. The boys have a straightforward choice between right and wrong: between love and hate; and, ultimately, between life and death.

The catalyst for the plot is a superb concoction of a character, an utterly reprehensible psycho-killer-scum who first takes the lads as hostages and then seemingly 'adopts' them, almost as pets as much as potential protégés. Earl Sheriden stands out as one of those most memorable fictional creations - an embodiment of everything awful who is capable of any outrage. The scenes with him at their core are the most powerful in the whole novel. It is his influence which will corrupt completely - or perhaps convince the boys to travel the path of righteousness.

And it is the moral choices of the two brothers which form the backbone of the story as the action travels along dusty highways through California and Texas, hauling ass between all-day diners and gas stations and leaving a trail of corpses and shattered families in its wake. Ellory explores how two similar people can diverge at a critical point; how people can choose to become good, or choose the alternative. Bad Signs is all about becoming: becoming a man, becoming a good man... or becoming something else.

This isn't a ripping, rapid read or a quick thriller with a cut-price payoff. It rewards those readers who can become absorbed by the story, who are happy to spend a few days disappearing into this reality. Bad Signs is packed with dense description and careful character development set in a credible environment: you can almost smell the coffee brewing (...although a couple of chapters did feel as if they were written from a road map!).

The atmosphere overwhelmingly reminded me of Natural Born Killers, and Bad Signs is every bit as violent in places as the mayhem created by Micky and Mallory. But `Bad Signs' doesn't succumb to the nihilistic sentiment which underpins NBK. Instead it holds out hope, even for those individuals who are most sorely abused by society and circumstance.

And it would make a cracking road movie, too.
8/10 show less

Another great story by Ellory. Set in Southern USA, the action never stops and is a classic good v evil story with tragic consequences for many of the characters. I’ve loved every one of his books & this is no exception.

Good book. Interesting, unpredictable, exciting, quite a quick read, unpredictable and the end was satisfactory, although all threads were quite nicely followed & attached.
How two boys head to their respective destinations, it certainly felt like it was all predestined while I was reading. While reading I didn't have a clue where the story was taking me and that was very nice.

Clarence Luckman (Clay)en Elliot Danzinger (Digger)zijn halfbroers. Ze hebben dezelfde moeder maar verschillende vaders. Nadat Clarence's vader de moeder met een honkbalknuppel heeft doodgeslagen, worden de jongens, die dan vijf en zes jaar oud zijn, ondergebracht in verschillende instituten voor jeugdzorg en uiteindelijk komen ze terecht in een jeugdgevangenis. Ze verschillen nogal van elkaar, Digger is degene die problemen oplost met vechten terwijl Clay een rustige jongen is die de dingen die om hen heen gebeuren met een berustende gelatenheid accepteert.

Door een toeval moet de psychopaat Earl Sheridan, die onderweg is naar de plek waar de doodstraf waartoe hij is veroordeeld wordt voltrokken, de nacht doorbrengen in de show more jeugdgevangenis waar Clay en Digger verblijven. Sheridan weet echter te ontsnappen en neemt de twee jongens als gijzelaar mee. Dit is het begin van een vlucht die gepaard gaat met heel veel buitensporig en zinloos geweld. Een vlucht die bepalend zal worden voor de toekomst van de twee nu bijna volwassen jongens.

Bekraste zielen is een misdaadroman van de Engelse schrijver R.J. Ellory die al heel veel furore heeft gemaakt met boeken als Een stil geloof in engelen, Een volmaakte vendetta, De helden van New York en Een mooie dag om te sterven. Bekraste zielen is gesitueerd in het zuiden van de Verenigde Staten in de jaren zestig van de vorige eeuw en het verhaal beslaat een periode van ruim een week.

R.J. Ellory heeft een rijke schrijfstijl. Ieder personage in het verhaal is zorgvuldig opgebouwd, de sfeertekeningen zijn overtuigend en beeldend en hetzelfde geldt voor de beschrijving van de gebeurtenissen die zich in die week voltrekken. Het ene moment ontroert Ellory met prachtig proza, het andere moment schokt hij met rauw, buitensporig en zinloos geweld. Op andere momenten doet hij op nuchtere wijze verslag van zaken alsof het lijkt alsof hij voor een krant schrijft. Al deze verschillende stijlen beheerst hij tot in de perfectie.

Hij herinnert je er constant aan dat het leven kostbaar is en dat er maar een gek nodig is om aan dat leven een einde te maken. Zijn visie op mensen stemt niet vrolijk omdat hij van mening is dat het menselijk handelen al bij geboorte in een soort van blauwdruk vastligt en dat omgevingsfactoren, zoals opvoeding en opleiding dit eigenlijk nauwelijks nog kunnen beinvloeden. Daarom loopt het met Digger en Clay ook af zoals het afloopt.

Toen ik het boek uit had was mijn eerste idee om het vijf sterren te geven maar dat heb ik uiteindelijk niet gedaan. Het zijn er vier geworden. De reden daarvoor is dat ik onderscheid wil maken met een ander boek van R.J. Ellory nl. Een stil geloof in engelen. De schrijfstijl in dat boek vind ik net iets mooier en indringender dan in Bekraste zielen en daarom heb ik voor dat boek vijf sterren gegeven. Dit neemt niet weg dat Bekraste zielen een geweldige en uitermate boeiende misdaadroman is die iedere liefhebber van het spannende boek zou moeten lezen. show less

De halfbroertjes Clarence en Elliot wonen in een weeshuis sinds hun moeder door geweld omkwam. Hun veilige leven neemt een bizarre wending wanneer ze gegijzeld worden door Earl Sheridan, een veroordeelde moordenaar en psychopaat van het ergste soort.
Het trio trekt door Californië en Texas, op de vlucht voor de autoriteiten. De jongens worden geconfronteerd met een groeiende stroom van geweld waar ze beiden totaal anders mee omgaan. De keuzes die ze maken zullen hun levens voor altijd veranderen, evenals hun onderlinge relatie.

Ultraviolent, sombre, surprenant...