Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock - Matthew Quick
Published: 15/08/13
Publisher: Headline Review
Pages: 273
After I finished The Silver Linings Playbook this morning I had the chance to grab Matthew’s latest novel from my TBR pile and bury my nose in it for the afternoon. It took me under three hours to read and I cannot quite believe it has taken me this long to find Quick’s novels.
Forgive Me Leonard Peacock, whilst an amazing novel on the surface, would make for SUCH an interesting study. I can envisage this book being taught in schools in the near future. It touches on so many issues and the writing techniques that Quick uses are incredibly effective and enable the reader to gain a sense of exactly how Leonard is feeling at certain times within the novel.
The use of footnotes, abnormal line spacing and placing allude to the true mental torment and distress Leonard is in. The disorganised thoughts, characterized by the footnotes made for really interesting character development and as the book went on they began to feel even more important.
Leonard is lost. He is lonely, angry at the world and wants to so goodbye to his handful of friends for the last time. He spends his day distributing presents to those who mean the most to him; his neighbour who he watched Bogart films with, Lauren who is a devout Christian girl with whom he shared his first kiss, a violin player and his teacher Herr Silverman. By the end of the day he is ready to say goodbye to everything and give up on the rubbish life he has been given.
This novel is powerful in so many ways. It explores difficult topics in sensitive and sensible ways through the eyes of a character than I’m sure the reader will no doubt be able to relate to in some way. Being a teenager and facing the inevitable fact you have to become an adult is daunting for everyone and I’m sure anyone could relate to a point in their life where they felt lost.
The characters within this book are eclectic and each bring something completely different to the table that shows Leonard a unique friendship and respect. Leonard himself is just an absolute joy to read about. Whilst he faces some huge stuggles at times and you just want to pull him out of the pages and hug him, you will not fail to admire his strength, courage and pure determination.
A moving and thought-provoking novel about how the transition from adolescent to adult can be tricky in normal circumstances but sometimes can be made even trickier by past events.
Publisher: Headline Review
Pages: 273
After I finished The Silver Linings Playbook this morning I had the chance to grab Matthew’s latest novel from my TBR pile and bury my nose in it for the afternoon. It took me under three hours to read and I cannot quite believe it has taken me this long to find Quick’s novels.
Forgive Me Leonard Peacock, whilst an amazing novel on the surface, would make for SUCH an interesting study. I can envisage this book being taught in schools in the near future. It touches on so many issues and the writing techniques that Quick uses are incredibly effective and enable the reader to gain a sense of exactly how Leonard is feeling at certain times within the novel.
The use of footnotes, abnormal line spacing and placing allude to the true mental torment and distress Leonard is in. The disorganised thoughts, characterized by the footnotes made for really interesting character development and as the book went on they began to feel even more important.
Leonard is lost. He is lonely, angry at the world and wants to so goodbye to his handful of friends for the last time. He spends his day distributing presents to those who mean the most to him; his neighbour who he watched Bogart films with, Lauren who is a devout Christian girl with whom he shared his first kiss, a violin player and his teacher Herr Silverman. By the end of the day he is ready to say goodbye to everything and give up on the rubbish life he has been given.
This novel is powerful in so many ways. It explores difficult topics in sensitive and sensible ways through the eyes of a character than I’m sure the reader will no doubt be able to relate to in some way. Being a teenager and facing the inevitable fact you have to become an adult is daunting for everyone and I’m sure anyone could relate to a point in their life where they felt lost.
The characters within this book are eclectic and each bring something completely different to the table that shows Leonard a unique friendship and respect. Leonard himself is just an absolute joy to read about. Whilst he faces some huge stuggles at times and you just want to pull him out of the pages and hug him, you will not fail to admire his strength, courage and pure determination.
A moving and thought-provoking novel about how the transition from adolescent to adult can be tricky in normal circumstances but sometimes can be made even trickier by past events.
Laura