disclaimer: i am a friend of the publisher of this book, david s wills of beatdom books. we share some interests in literature and when he told me about a book he was editing, i offered to review it. this is the first time i’ve been personally affiliated with a publisher or author of the books on this blog, but, as always, i’ll be honest.
the sane asylum is the story of an african-american member of the us military in a time that is uncertain. there are references to george w bush, but it is unclear how many years have passed since his time as president mercifully came to an end.
the theme of the book is confusion, and the author has formed the narrative to follow that theme. it is, in a word, confusing. i don’t mean that she has told the story badly, but rather that the reader and the protagonist – called “coop” – are equally baffled by the events right up until the end.
the book begins with a brutal murder, which sends the protagonist insane. he is surrounded by insanity, too. the military and the anti-war movement are depicted with equal hostility, and morality is suspended.
in my previous reviews i’ve focused entirely on alt lit, which this is not. yet it searches along similar themes. coop is disaffected and confused, and there is a sense of nihilism that permeates the text as the author refrains from jumping and casting judgement.
the sane asylum is a short read and probably deserves to be called a “novella” rather than a “novel”. it’s out soon and i highly recommend it.
only indie review 