Aaron C. Bennett's Writing Journal

Boys from Brazil

I finally finished Levin's Boys From Brazil. Insomnia does have its benefits sometimes. It was ok, but not all that great. I caught on to the plot very early on. He didn't hide it very well. When it took characters who knew a lot about Hitler and his cronnies a while, it got trite. When they realized the type of home setting the boys were placed into, they should have known. The dialogue where they discussed them being Mengele's clones was over the top. I think the entire novel could have been shortened to a tight novella. It should be wrought with suspense and leave the reader gasping for air. Instead of a page-turner, I was actually bored at many points. I could see what was going to happen, and then watched as it happened. The ending was a little different than I had expected, but it still wasn't satisfying. I didn't really care that much. I think part of it was I knew Lieberman wouldn't allow the boys to be killed. I knew the plot would be stopped. Levin did set up an interesting scenario though as there were 18 fathers killed, and more would have their fathers die of natural causes just by the law of averages. I don't think that would turn them into Hitler, but it at least leaves it open. I think the postscript actually detracts from the book. I think ending with the filmaker is even more striking. This kid could go on to do great things, a kind of second chance to do right. The kid in the postscript seemed a little too Hitler. There are many things that were overlooked to plot this book. How were they going to get the kid into a war as gruesome as WWI where he will be gassed? How are they going to make sure the kid is a good artist, but never actually succeed in it? How will they get him into minor political office? Many of these things had a much greater impact than the death of his father. It would have been nice to hear a bit about some of those plans. As it was written, it seemed as if this was the final straw that would form Hitler's character. I can't bring myself to believe that.
I'm starting The Manitou now. With my insomnia, I might finish it tonight. We just had a big snow storm and I have no school tomorrow. I do need to brave the snow to pick up a good copy of Elmore Leonard's book. I kinda want a nice edition for him to sign on Sat. I hope his lecture is worth missing a critique group meeting.