Bonita Avenue, by Peter Buwalda, translated from the Dutch by Jonathan Reeder is not an easy book. None of the three main characters, who narrate the story, are reliable. Siem Segerius, the math prodigy, near Olympian judoka heads a blended family of passionate, quirky and completely crazy characters. (Even the “normal” characters are so well drawn that their appearance doesn’t give us much relief from the non-stop descent into the inevitable tragedy.) But Siem’s actions, though not rational, at least make logical sense. Contrast his telling of the story with poor Aaron, the would be son-in-law, whose extreme jealousy over Joni, Siem’s step daughter push him completely over the edge, despite his eager participation in a scheme that actually pimps Joni out on an internet porn site. And then there is Joni, who is beautiful, smart and quite likable, but for her extreme exhibitionist needs.
Once you get into the rhythm of the
book, it is quite readable, though toward the end I really just wanted to look
away. My biggest problem with it was
that the chronology was so “creative” that we actually got the end of the book,
the most recent in time, midway through the book from the current stories of
both Aaron and Joni. But it is Siems story that fuels the action, and we bounce
around with his youthful backstory, to times after his death, to the crisis
that ruins them all.
The writing is superb; the characters
unforgettable and if you are patient, the complex plot unwinds to an artful and
urgent finish. Bonita Avenue is original,
well drawn, but just a bit too much crazy for me, and not something I feel I
can recommend to mainstream readers.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
1 comment:
I like the way you wrote this review, how you focused on structure and character with only a dollop of plot.
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