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4.0 out of 5 stars
Living with Nightmares and Villains, Oct 19 2001
Caution: This book deals with some pretty ugly subjects including spousal and child abuse, and contains much coarse and foul language. The crimes are pretty graphically described, which may also make this book a little too gritty for sensitive readers. As a movie, this material would definitely earn the book an R rating. The Face on the Wall is the most subtle and rewarding Homer and Mary Kelly story in many years. I particularly liked the build up of suspense and tension as one calamity after another befalls children's book illustrator, Annie Swann, who is the Kelly's niece (on Mary's side of the family). Usually, the sense of drama in Ms. Langton's work is not nearly so palpable. The plot is much more complicated than usual, and intelligently involves a large number of interesting characters. As a result, the action moves along faster and in more interesting ways than we have come to expect from Ms. Langton's fiction. The book's major theme is about the vulnerabilities of innocence and goodness to those who are determined to do whatever it takes to succeed. In fact, the whole story can be read almost as though it is a morality play from the Middle Ages. As you may know, Ms. Langton likes to let her readers in on who the murderer is early on. So the mystery is often mostly of how the mystery will be solved or the misdirection overcome. In this book, there are many more mysteries that do not necessarily match up with murder. The book builds upon an opening in which Annie Swann is at the acme of her life. She has fame, fortune, talent, and rewarding work. Like many artists, she has conceived of a great masterpiece, a mural on the interior wall of a new wing she has built on her house. Obsessed with her creation, she finds herself pulled away from her goal by mysterious occurrences involving Eddy Gast, an 8 year-old boy with fine artistic talent who was born with Down's syndrome, and the unexplained appearances of menacing faces in her mural. Like an unstable scaffolding, the pieces of this self-perceived perfection suddenly begin to disintegrate around her. After finishing this book, think about those you know who are most popular. Why do you think they are popular? Do they ever misuse this popularity? Have you ever misused your popularity? How can we help those who are popular to play a more positive role? Seek first to do the right thing!
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