Review
I finsihed the novel, with some work, and will be on the other side of the fence. I did not enjoy it as many of my classmates claim to. By his own admission, Chacon says the first drafts "were all over the place". Though not the worst book ever asked to read, it still had a choppy structure to it, not transitioning from one of Joey's dual storyline/lifelines as smoothly as I would have liked.
Character development could have provided a bit more. Billy was somewhat of a ghost in the story, not providing much influence on Joey as an older brother would. Everyone else was able to influence Joey in the story- he flitted to a fro, trying to please people at every turn. Billy should have had a bigger presence. Some reference even to Vero by any character may have suited a more realistic parallel. She disappeared almost all together. Although sometimes one-dimensional, William was portrayed as an abuser fairly well. Violent at times, and then bribing with gifts and kindness to gain back favor. Rachel appeared the most well developed and changed character in the story; but her part was, well, in the shadows. Joey, so unsure of himself in life, hid behind acting even in real life as an escape from dealing with anything. He let others rule his life and its direction, taking no responsibility for himself. He had high hopes as an actor when people talked of his "potential". He tried to do right by Rachel when she had the rare heart-to-heart talks.
If there was any allusion to the true future and nature of Joey- and to provide the only influence Billy had on Joey- was the picture of "Fat Boy Molina" at 26, eating empanadas. Gluttonous Joey, with image and esteem problems, and a bleak look at life and the future.
The ending, however, I did not have an issue of contention with. Billy left the family long ago. Rachel finally made the decision to live for herself and left her private hell behind. William never changed, and remained the same character throughout the novel. And Joey continued to fulfill the grim future he was set for. Fat Boy Molina, living only for the moment, went home and continued to destroy whatever life he may have had to act through.
Character development could have provided a bit more. Billy was somewhat of a ghost in the story, not providing much influence on Joey as an older brother would. Everyone else was able to influence Joey in the story- he flitted to a fro, trying to please people at every turn. Billy should have had a bigger presence. Some reference even to Vero by any character may have suited a more realistic parallel. She disappeared almost all together. Although sometimes one-dimensional, William was portrayed as an abuser fairly well. Violent at times, and then bribing with gifts and kindness to gain back favor. Rachel appeared the most well developed and changed character in the story; but her part was, well, in the shadows. Joey, so unsure of himself in life, hid behind acting even in real life as an escape from dealing with anything. He let others rule his life and its direction, taking no responsibility for himself. He had high hopes as an actor when people talked of his "potential". He tried to do right by Rachel when she had the rare heart-to-heart talks.
If there was any allusion to the true future and nature of Joey- and to provide the only influence Billy had on Joey- was the picture of "Fat Boy Molina" at 26, eating empanadas. Gluttonous Joey, with image and esteem problems, and a bleak look at life and the future.
The ending, however, I did not have an issue of contention with. Billy left the family long ago. Rachel finally made the decision to live for herself and left her private hell behind. William never changed, and remained the same character throughout the novel. And Joey continued to fulfill the grim future he was set for. Fat Boy Molina, living only for the moment, went home and continued to destroy whatever life he may have had to act through.
posted by Dano Brocchini at 12:01 AM
5 Comments:
Interesting comments, Dano. I agree that we got very little in terms of Billy's character. I look forward to reading your review!
I kind of felt the same way. I felt the entire book was just jumpy, going from one aspect to the next. I didn't dislike it as much as you did, but I think it still needed some work.
After reading Chacon’s novel I felt disappointed with the ending. I felt that it didn’t give me the answers I was looking for as far as what happened to Joey and his family. However, after reading Chacon’s post I understand why he didn’t include an ending that answered all of these questions. After reading the novel I thought about what I felt happened in Joeys life after the novel ended. If Chacon had included an ending that answered all of the questions that we were left with I may have been disappointed because it didn’t end the way I expected it to. I think if it ended with Joey turning out to be jus like his father I would have been disappointed. I like to believe that Joey ended up moving away from his father and becoming a successful actor.
One of the things that I really liked about “and the Shadows took him” was that Chacon described events and places vividly. When I was reading the book there were many times that I could visualize what was happening and what places looked like. When he described going to visit Sheri Garcia at her apartment, when he described what Medford looked like when they were driving into town for the first time, when he described the fight between Joey’s friends and the kids at school. These were all things that were described so vividly that you actually felt like you were there watching them take place.
While reading Chacon’s novel I couldn’t help but to feel sorry for Joey and his family. William was a horrible husband and father. I felt that Joey struggled so much with his identity mainly because of his fathers abuse. William constantly put down Joey, his siblings, and his mother. It wasn’t a shock when I read about William raping Amy. I was shocked however, when Joey didn’t say anything to his father about it when Amy told him what had happened.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Even though I felt a little disappointed with the ending it was a really good book. I had a hard time putting the book down until I was finished reading it. I was always wondering what would happen next.
Elizabth Ciuffo
Yes, it's interesting to ponder the different possibilities we might have envisioned actually being written into the text. The ending leaves the reader with the possibility for optimism. Chacon left me feeling hopeful for Joey.
I was dissapointed with the ending of the book. I wanted to know if Joey went back to Fresno or not. I thought it was interesting that he smashed all his dad's heads that he created. I was glad Rachel moved back to Fresno with Vero. Rachel had put up with William's attitude for way too long. She had to sneak to go to school which in a healthy marriage you wouldn't hide something like that. It is silly to sneak around his back but he always seemed to be worried about money since they hardly ever ate out at resturants.
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