Being Henry David, written by Cal Armistead
Who: Okay, so this is the grab of the story. The main character of the story doesn't actually know who he is, so he goes through multiple names and personalities, one of them being the incarnate of Henry David Thoreau. Cool right?
What: So, for the sake of this, we'll call the main character Henry David. The ploy is that Henry David wakes up at a train station with a copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau in his hand, no wallet or anything, and absolutely NO recollection of who he really is. The novel is a chronicle of his journey to finding his life and accepting who he was and who he will become.
When: The story is set in the present, with flashbacks to Henry David's past life, and a boatload of Walden reference.
Where: Henry David pretty much gallivants all over the place, but the bulk of the novel is concentrated in Concord, Massachusetts where Walden pond is.
Why: I think this novel is trying to connect a classic piece of transcendentalists literature with modern teenage life. But the main issue I had with this is that to fully understand and really have any interest at ALL in the story requires prior knowledge of Henry David Thoreau and the Transcendentalism movement. I was fortunate enough to have just completed US History before picking up this book, but to those who know nothing about Thoreau, Walden, or Transcendentalism, you will probably find yourself confused and frustrated. Also, if you have any interest in reading Walden by Thoreau, this is probably not the book for you because there's a quote from and explanation of the book in every chapter, which can be exhausting and kind of annoying if you're like me and want to focus on one story at a time.
I give this book 3 STARS for 5 W's. I found it was really hard to connect with the main character because the reader is clueless as to who he is, other than a teenage boy. And I am in no way against amnesia stories, but this one just wasn't sine correctly, it jumped around and none of the threads seemed to connect. I became quickly annoyed that the author kept inserting Henry David Thoreau quotes from Walden, confusing me between his story and Thoreau's story.
But the one thing that overall bummed me out about this book, was that the story built up brilliantly, and I was sure that there would be some ingenious plot twist or climax that would make me eek in surprise and make up for all the other things I didn't like, but no. There was no climax, no plot twist, the story was so predictable and it really bugged me that it took the entire book to get to the point, and the point wasn't even good, if there was any point at all. I remember finishing the book and going, “Ugh, that was underwhelming to say the least." I expected a lot from this book and I felt really let down by it.
Though I will say, the supporting characters were fantastically written and I loved each and every one of them, the setting was vivid, and the dialogue was believable teenaged dialogue. I also enjoyed the attitude of Henry David, and his spit-fire comments.
Overall, this book simply didn't do anything for me, it didn't surprise me, intrigue me, or even make me mad. I felt nothing, honestly, I felt like I wasted my time. But, this being Armistead's debut novel, I will overlook the actual story and probably read his next book because his writing is so effortless and witty. He has a lot of potential and promise, and hopefully he'll deliver next time. I think with the right story, he could produce an incredible book, with great structure and unique characters. I have hope for his future and will definitely watch out for him.
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