Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You

Here's a quick story about how one comes across a new author. Several months ago, I was trying to track down some gay YA books, and I ran across this book. Somehow, despite my intentions, the description of this book as really only qualifying as a YA novel because its protagonist is a teenager got my attention. Despite the fact that I started the search looking specifically for YA stuff, I ended up with this book on the strength of those reviews that it wasn't really meant for that audience. Curious, right? I think, though, that the book works both ways, and could probably be appreciated by anyone from their teens right on up.

So yes, we do have our teenaged protagonist, James Sveck, a high-schooler getting ready to apply for university, show more but feeling ambivalent about the prospect. He lives in New York, some number of years after September 11, but finds himself intrigued by breaking out of the regular molds, and perhaps just going and buying up a house in the Midwest, cheap and easy, and live out there. The story, then, follows him finding himself and where he wants to go in his life.

That's all easy to say, but the cast of characters here is really winning, even beyond James. The book is slim, and you get the story from James's point of view, but you still get a good sense of the reality of the other people in his world: his older sister, at university already and dating an affable professor; his divorcee mother, an art gallery owner who is getting married to her new beau; his father, the sort of executive that thinks ordering steak is definitely the manly thing to do; John Webster, the black gay gallery manager that helps run his mother's gallery. They all feel real, and motivated by their own desires and thoughts, even through James's filter, which is pretty remarkable for the space.

But the stars of this piece are James, a really fully realized, conflicted teenager, and the dialogue. Oh my, the dialogue. I love it to bits. The book flies by quickly, because you just get lost in the talking. James in particular is that kind of sharp, smart, vulnerable teenager who pokes holes in things with his words, and Cameron nails it.

I wanted to hold off saying it until I checked my list, and I have read a good number of good books this year, but I think this was probably my favorite. Not necessarily the best, but my favorite. I would recommend it most highly. show less

Young man decides he does not want to go to college; wants to buy an old home in the Midwest. Butts heads with his gallery owner mom and lawyer dad. He disdains society and only enjoys either being by himself or drinking coffee with his nana. Others think he's troubled. He is, but in a way I find lovable. He is a voice for rebellion, even among people like me who are mostly happy. He's also too smart , and stupid in the ways he treats others. But he's learning.

Cameron scrive bene, secondo titolo e solita sensazione di fatica a chiudere il libro per fare altro.
Detto questo, come già evidenziato da altri che lo hanno letto, il finale è bruttino bruttino e manca qualcosa. Mi ricorda un po' l'elefante scomparso e altri racconti di Murakami, in cui ci sono una serie di racconti che sono poi il germe di romanzi più corposi. La sensazione è stata quindi: bene, dov'è il resto?

Detto questo, come già per il primo approccio con Cameron, mi sa che piano piano me lo leggerò tutto.

Cameron's book is truly a fantastic book. Not only is the story well done, but the writing is brilliant. Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You is the story of James, an 18 year old boy trying to figure out, well, life. He's not sure he wants to go to college, he's not really sure about much of anything, except that he wants to be alone and he hates people his own age. Cameron handles everything perfectly -- the several time married mother, the distant and yet controlling father, the implied crush on the older coworker, and the love that James is seeking without really knowing it. I say perfectly because he manages to capture how our lives (the lives of the family, of teenagers, of college students, of everyone) are not perfect at all. show more James' view is one that anyone can relate too, not just teens. This isn't just because he's such a universal character in many ways, it's also because Cameron proves to be a sublime writer. James is smarter than many people (perhaps smarter than we are) and while in many books (YA or otherwise) this would be a turn off, it's the opposite. James doesn't lord it over his readers, just the people he encounters. And often, it's not even on purpose. While this book isn't about me, reading it I felt it had been written for me. It's an incredibly emotional (and emotionally driven) story about what it's like to grow up when you're already halfway there. show less

One of my favorite books of all time. It's been three years since I last read it now, but I think about it pretty regularly. There's a lot of emotional depth in this book, and certain passages are better descriptions of feelings I've had in my life than I've found anywhere else.

The summary here, IMO, doesn't capture the vibe of the book correctly. For example, the book James's grandmother as an annoying "D-list celebrity". She's the person he loves the most.

"An archly comic gem"
By sally tarbox on 30 May 2017
Format: Paperback
Narrated by sensitive and intelligent eighteen-year old James Sveck, this was quite a compelling read. His art-dealer mother has just remarried; his father won't hear of his not going to college - but James yearns to buy himself a house in the Midwest and keep away from his peer group. Meantime he works in his mother's gallery, falls for a co-worker and starts seeing a therapist. Both sad and funny, this is a little gem - a 21st century Catcher in the Rye.

The writing is very competent, but the story just never comes together. I get that this may be the author's intent, and if so then it works. As a reader, though, I expected more of a pay off for having to deal with a fairly abrasive character. The novel seems more to just stop than end. The high point, though, is that this is one of the few novels I've read that contains interaction between therapist and patient that rings true.