In the Forest : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Hmm.
Review: I'm a voracious, indiscriminate reader who enjoys virtually everything I come across, and I could barely get through this book. I found it difficult to follow and not at all engaging. The story would have been interesting if written in a different style; however, her prose was wandering and vague, and she introduced far too many characters for such a short book. I never got to know any of them, including O'Kane, and ended up feeling nothing but relief when the book finally ended.

Rating:
Summary: In The Forest, a tasty treat
Review: In The Forest tells a story of a boy who has gone astray from his flock. The main character who happens to be this stories antagonist reminds me most of a mix between Michael Myers and Amelie, he has a very planed out way in which things should happen much like Amelie, but he does seem to enjoy killing and maiming as only Michael Myers could. Michen O'Kane also known as the kinderschreck (someone small children are afraid of) starts out as mildly insane, like someone preparing for an AP test. However his madness slowly becomes very apperent when the voices in his head begin to tell him to do things. One of this novels most interesting aspects is that it's narration is so diverse. Most of the book is told by good old 3rd person somebody, but every four or so chapters the narration will switch to one of the characters. What this allows for the reader is a much stronger knowledge of what is going on in the story because you not only get the view of the narrator who gives the all encompassing view, but you also get the view of the people the story revolves around. The fear within this town caused by the kinderschreck is truly felt. The only real disappointment I had in this book was what so many of today's stories suffer from, a disease I call authorshavetohaveeverythingokayism. Symptoms of this disease are mainly the villain in the story being shown to be quite evil, and then turning out to regret his actions. Some stories can get away with this like star wars, where Darth Vader ends up saving his son and killing the imbalance in the force. However in In The Forest this "dramatic" turn around doesn't make me feel for the now non-violent character, it makes me want to eat the book. So to finish up my review this book made me hungry . . . uuummmmmm paper (a 4 out 5 on the taste-o-meter).

Rating:
Summary: Don't read it alone in bed on a stormy night
Review: Into the Forest is a disturbing look into the tortured soul of a man haunted by his past. He, is drawn into deeper evils that suck him ever deeper and deeper, not releasing him - or we readers - till the very last page. Based on a true-life triple homicide in Ireland in 1994, O'Brien's tale takes us into the hunted and haunted mind of O'Kane, the murderer. This story deals with acts of naked violence and is not for the faint of heart. No sunny conclusion, either.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: It seems that Ms. O'Brian did not bother to adequately research the story of Brendan O'Donnell, the real killer on whom she based the antihero of her novel. If you care about accuracy, wait for the local release of the number two Irish best-seller "A Tragedy Waiting to Happen," the account of Tony and J.J. Muggivan, who were not only closely acquainted with Brendan and his family, but were actively involved in trying to prevent these tragedies. Their stories document their struggles to help the mentally ill Brendan, and the system that failed them all.

Rating:
Summary: A walk through the haunted woods
Review: O'Brien's dark jewel of a novel packs a wallop. There are plenty of social explanations for Michan O'Kane's psychotic behavior, but what lingers is our primary experience with his dark desires, his tormenting voices, and his innocent victims. Cloosh Wood may be set in Ireland, but as we read its branches seem to be scraping at the very window. O'Kane's violence seems independent of specific weaponry or motivation - it's a primal force that brushes by us in a crowd and gives us goosebumps or wakes us in the night and sends us downstairs to make sure the children are safe. Forgiveness and understanding are present in this novel, but finally no human characters seem capable of delivering us from evil. We end up simply praying that it passes us by.