Naeem Murr

Primera novela de Naeem Murr que deslumbra por su enorme persuasión y por el trazo perfecto de sus personajes. Toda la obra gira en torno a un único eje vertebrador, el chico, un hermoso adolescente en el que se aúnan las cualidades hipnóticas de un Tadzio (protagonista de 'Muerte en Venecia'), con el exilio interior del protagonista de 'La ley de la calle' de Coppola. La novela arranca con la visita de Sean Hennesey a un hogar de acogida en el que espera reencontrarse con el chico, quien, sin embargo, hace tiempo que escapó y se dedica ahora a la prostitución. A partir de aquí se irá formando una trama compleja y sutil, llena de acción y suspense, en torno a esa criatura, tan diabólica como fascinante, que ha decidido utilizar sus dotes extraordinarias -belleza e inteligencia- para vengarse del destino. Mitad thriller, mitad novela psicológica, 'El chico' nos seduce por la fuerza de sus personajes y por la calidad hipnótica de unas páginas que nos mantienen en vilo hasta el sorprendente desenlace de la historia.
El chico deslumbra por su enorme persuasión y por el trazo perfecto de sus personajes. Toda la obra gira en torno a un único eje vertebrador, el chico, un hermoso adolescente en el que se aúnan las cualidades hipnóticas de un Tadzio (protagonista de Muerte en Venecia) con el exilio interior del protagonista de La ley de la calle de Francis Ford Coppola.… (mer)

I read all the amazing reviews of this book and thought the premise was very interesting: young unwanted boy from India winding up in small Missouri town. The writing is excellent, but I just could not really connect with the characters and found some of the lesser characters simply unbelievable. I tried very hard to "get into" this book, but it just didn't click.

Raj's transformation from a naive young boy to a professional man who seems to know exactly who he is and what he wants is interesting but I don't find it extraordinatry. I'm pretty familiar with small Missouri towns having grown up there, and I never felt that the town with its rather strange assortment of people was realistic; some of the events bordered on "soap-operaish." And the switching back and forth between time frames was confusing although I can see how it did add to the suspense of the story.

Still, the concept of the book is engaging and I'm glad I read it. I would recommend it just because I do think it is a book that can envoke a variety of responses.… (mer)

thrilling, mysterious, disturbing, beautiful: I just read "The Perfect Man" on the recommendation of a friend from the UK (it came out there last year). I sat on the couch for hours and hours, unable to put it down. You're introduced to this forlorn, unwanted child who is dragged from India to Britain to the small-town U.S., and as he gets to know the complexities of this little Missouri backwater (its crimes and sexual secrets and interrelationships and rumors and histories), you get to know them, too. You end up longing for the happiness of some characters and the downfall of others, and wanting desperately to know WHAT HAPPENED to a little boy who died years before. There are many twining stories over the course of many years, but you never get lost or bored. The people all have such vividness, with so much at stake--especially the survival of vulnerable children through pain, neglect, confusion and love. And there's such a rich sense of the cycle of life. I was tearful a number times while reading. I highly recommend it.… (mer)