I learned about the author, John Wray through a VeryShortList posting. The brief (VeryShort) description of this novel intrigued me, and I obtained a copy of Lowboy.
The story takes place mostly in the subterranean depths of the tunnels of the New York City subway system. Those intricately interwoven channels also serve as a metaphor for the labyrinthine thought patterns of the novel’s protagonist, Will Heller, a sixteen year-old paranoid schizophrenic.
Wray’s has a keen ear and eye for the detail of what life must look and feel like to a young man filled with paranoid delusions. His writing voice beautifully reflects the varied subcultures of New York. The pace of the action is breathtaking, as detective Ali Lateef and Violet, Heller’s mother, set out to find the troubled boy before he has the possibility of harming a young woman with whom he is infatuated and whom, he believes, holds the key to his being able to save the world from global warming.
I liked this book enough that I immediately ordered another of Wray’s novels, Canaan’s Tongue.
Take a ride with Heller and Wray on the A Train of a troubled mind.
Enjoy!
Al
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