bgardner's Full Review: Dean R. Koontz - From the Corner of His Eye
Throughout Dean R. Koontz’s career, several themes repeat. FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE represents the successful merger of two of his long-standing explorations: the spiritual search for the meaning of God and life and the ability of man to overcome tragedy and loss. A number of Koontz’s early science fiction novels are extraordinarily mystical, and the young writer’s personal search for God and meaning is clear and strong. As he moved into more mainstream fiction, spirituality took a back seat to mayhem.
But with his latest novel, Koontz has found what he once so diligently searched for. FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE is a great writer’s greatest novel, a soaring combination of quiet spirituality, chilling psychosis and quantum physics. Only Koontz could meld such elements together into a coherent whole.
The cast is unforgettable, a living, breathing collection of people you wish you knew. The writing is compelling, propelling this merger of science fiction, suspense and spirituality along at an easy lope. Koontz alternately teases and reveals, letting the story unfold for the reader as it does for the characters. How the quiet disparate characters come together is a marvel to discover, and it all makes such sense that you wonder why you never saw it coming.
Describing what this novel is about represents a tremendous challenge, for too much description would rob the reader of the joy of discovery. Simply put, it’s the story of a deranged killer, who hears the name "Bartholomew" in his delirium while hospitalized, and his quest to find and kill Bartholomew. But it’s also the story of a little boy named Barty, a little girl named Angel and the people whose lives are dedicated to their protection and nurturing. And, it’s a parable about Bartholomew. Who is Bartholomew? If you answered one of the apostles, you’re obviously more up on the Bible that most people. He was, perhaps, the least of the disciples in terms of fame. But as an example of a quiet life of service to others, he may be a beacon.
Let’s meet some of the cast:
Enoch Cain — This Biblically named weirdo is the sickest psycho killer ever envisioned. Shortly after killing his beautiful young wife, who adores him and whom he also loves, Enoch is seized with vomiting so violent he almost dies. Each time he kills, he is visited with physical pains as extreme as Biblical plagues. But, he is totally self-absorbed, absolutely amoral and totally dedicated to his own comfort and advancement. A truly chilling villain.
Bartholomew (Barty) — Born in tragedy, capable of instinctive use of the laws of quantum physics to walk where the rain isn’t, Barty is a compelling creation. You revel in his talents, laugh at his insights and cry at his losses. His role is to be the primary motivator of the story, but not its main character.
The Pie Lady — Barty’s mother and sister to two of the strangest men ever to trod the earth. Raised by a whacked-out religious extremist, she rises above the pain of childhood to become a kind-hearted woman, who brings pies and a kind touch to the poor and suffering. And, in this simple kindness, epitomizes the life of Bartholomew.
Angel — Born in the aftermath of rape and tragedy, she is the distaff Barty, a life full of promise and hope, if she can just survive the killer who seeks her life.
Thomas Vanadium — A priest/magician/detective. What a novel combination he is! A man disfigured by a birthmark, but marked by a good soul and a relentless pursuit of justice. He works magic with his hands and his heart and he pursues Enoch Cain and protects the other characters from him.
And, there are more: the gentle pharmacist who goes on walkabout ala Forrest Gump; the Pie Lady’s brothers, who hide from the past and the present behind their fascination with disasters both natural and man-made; the artist who raises her dead sister’s baby like her own daughter; the doctor who gives up his practice to follow the example of Bartholomew.
Such characters are needed to make FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE work as a thought-provoking event. Without them, you would have a simple novel of yet another psycho killer after yet another innocent. With them, you have a major work of fiction that moves and teaches as well it thrills.
This is the story of a young boy who loses his sight and then mysteriously regains it. It is the story of a courageous band of seekers, and a relentle...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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