The above illustration, "Blowing Bubbles," has been adapted for use here by generous permission from the artist, Cyril Rolando.

July 30, 2009

REVIEW: SLAMMER by Allan Guthrie

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
November 18, 2009 (US)

SYNOPSIS:
Prison guard Nick Glass is new to the job, and he's completely unsuited to it. He's an obvious mark for both the hardened cons and the veteran guards alike. When his wife and child are threatened, Nick agrees to do one favor for the cons. Of course, one favor turns into many and soon the pressure of trying to hold together and protect his family, as well as do his job, pushes Nick closer to his breaking point and a chain of events that no one, least of all Nick Glass, could have predicted.

REVIEW: After reading the synopsis, you may think you know what this book is about and you may even think you have some idea of how it will progress. You'd be dead wrong. In fact, this isn't even a prison story in the usual sense of that term. 'Slammer' isn't just about a physical prison; it's about all the prisons, external and internal, that confine a young man who suffers bullying and abuse and extortion. While some events occur within the prison where Nick works, Nick himself becomes the figurative prisoner of more forceful characters, and he's also a prisoner to those he loves. This is a dark jigsaw-puzzle of a book where mirrors and memories are not to be trusted anymore than Nick can trust the prisoners out to take advantage of his weaknesses.

Author Allan Guthrie does a staggering job of creating a Nick Glass who is irritating in his weakness but is also pitiable and likeable, a man as fragile as his name. Nick has murky depths beyond his primary character flaw, and Guthrie irrevocably adjusts, sometimes violently and sometimes indirectly, the lights and mirrors to reveal what's swimming in those depths. To say more would be to give away important elements of the story, and this book is too good to mistreat.

Adding to the vise-like pressure of Nick's situation are the claustrophobic scenes occurring either within the confines of the prison or the small house Nick shares with his wife and child. Nick becomes a black hole of pressure, where tension goes in but cannot be released. The author doesn't so much raise the level of tension as he compresses it around and into Nick personally, and the scenes begin to feel more and more confined until it's as if everything that is happening is entirely internal to Nick.

Readers should be prepared to give Nick's story full time and attention because events move quickly and there are time shifts. Casual references made early assume greater significance as the book progresses. Even so, expect moments of 'oh, I see!' mingled with sharp sadness. Nick Glass is an unforgettable protagonist and Guthrie has placed him in a darkly tragic, poignant, and ultimately satisfying psychological thriller.

7 comments:

  1. Your review makes the story sound downright claustrophobic and panicky (in a good way... and that's saying a lot for someone who doesn't like confined spaces). The pressure/bullying setup here could be quite gripping to the reader. Interesting that the cover artwork you use here differs significantly from the one the major online resellers are using. Do either give something away in the story? Wonderful review, Corey.

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  2. Thanks for pointing out the two covers, Michael. I've added the photo to the post to amend my error. I should have been paying attention since my ARC has the eye-catching skull cover! Does either cover give something away? I'd have to say no regarding the keys cover. The skull cover hints maybe, but doesn't give away anything major. It gains in significance after reading though.

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  3. Great review! Sounds just like the kind of books I love. I'll put it on my TBR list.

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  4. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, CT.

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  5. Ooooo, I hadn't heard of this one, Corey. I definitely have to stick this one on the TBR list.

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  6. Finished it last week. A GGREAT book. Maybe my book of the year, which, up until now was Beast Of Burden.

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  7. Ah, now I need to find Beast of Burden.

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