Someone gave me a copy of A CHANGED MAN by Francine Prose and I read it over the holidays.
I can't say it's one of the best books I've ever read but there's a lot to like in this dark comedy.
The title refers to the character of Vincent Nolan, the changed man, who is a thirty-two year old repentant neo-Nazi skinhead.
He shows up at the offices of the World Brotherhood Watch in New York, a human rights agency headed by Meyer Maslow, a Holocaust survivor.
Vincent had been living with his cousin Raymond, a member of the Aryan Resistance Movement.
He took some drugs and had an epiphany, running off with Raymond's truck and drugs.
His cousin is after him but Vincent doesn't care.
He wants to work with the foundation convincing others to transform themselves like he did.
Maslow's book sales have been slow and tickets to a planned fundraiser are not selling.
He takes Nolan on, planning to make him a poster boy for change and use his transformation to bolster the foundation's funds.
Brotherhood Watch will attract wealthy donors only as long as it is newsworthy.
Vincent has shown up at just the right time.
Bonnie Kalen a Jewish single mother and the foundation's development director, puts Vincent up in her home.
In spite of herself she's drawn to him providing some romantic tension in the book.
This is serious stuff, but Francine Prose injects it with humor and biting satire.
Her writing is impressive and her observations are spot on.
The characters are great, a bit caricatured, but Prose really gets in their heads.
Her psychological insights are sharply drawn and readers get impressions from several viewpoints.
Unfortunately I found the plot to be unconvincing overall.
My biggest problem was with Vincent, the protagonist, who it turns out was not much of neo-Nazi in the first place.
He only went along with it because he needed a place to live and had to appease his cousin.
And it appears that his conversion is just another ploy to get a roof over his head.
Vincent seems to adopt whatever ideology suits his purpose.
But the premise is fresh and thought provoking and Prose touches on some interesting moral dilemmas including altruism, hypocrisy and divorce.
The story is entertaining and has some good twists and turns.
Kudos goes to Francine Prose for being able to climb inside the minds of racist skin-heads and a Holocaust survivor and produce a witty and insightful read.
I can't say it's one of the best books I've ever read but there's a lot to like in this dark comedy.
The title refers to the character of Vincent Nolan, the changed man, who is a thirty-two year old repentant neo-Nazi skinhead.
He shows up at the offices of the World Brotherhood Watch in New York, a human rights agency headed by Meyer Maslow, a Holocaust survivor.
Vincent had been living with his cousin Raymond, a member of the Aryan Resistance Movement.
He took some drugs and had an epiphany, running off with Raymond's truck and drugs.
His cousin is after him but Vincent doesn't care.
He wants to work with the foundation convincing others to transform themselves like he did.
Maslow's book sales have been slow and tickets to a planned fundraiser are not selling.
He takes Nolan on, planning to make him a poster boy for change and use his transformation to bolster the foundation's funds.
Brotherhood Watch will attract wealthy donors only as long as it is newsworthy.
Vincent has shown up at just the right time.
Bonnie Kalen a Jewish single mother and the foundation's development director, puts Vincent up in her home.
In spite of herself she's drawn to him providing some romantic tension in the book.
This is serious stuff, but Francine Prose injects it with humor and biting satire.
Her writing is impressive and her observations are spot on.
The characters are great, a bit caricatured, but Prose really gets in their heads.
Her psychological insights are sharply drawn and readers get impressions from several viewpoints.
Unfortunately I found the plot to be unconvincing overall.
My biggest problem was with Vincent, the protagonist, who it turns out was not much of neo-Nazi in the first place.
He only went along with it because he needed a place to live and had to appease his cousin.
And it appears that his conversion is just another ploy to get a roof over his head.
Vincent seems to adopt whatever ideology suits his purpose.
But the premise is fresh and thought provoking and Prose touches on some interesting moral dilemmas including altruism, hypocrisy and divorce.
The story is entertaining and has some good twists and turns.
Kudos goes to Francine Prose for being able to climb inside the minds of racist skin-heads and a Holocaust survivor and produce a witty and insightful read.
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