Mad Boys

Ernest Hebert says in an author's note that "Mad Boys" was inspired by the rape and murder of a boy. "I thought: this is the Huck Finn of our time; what if he got away?" His boy rises from a swamp, mud caked and without memory. His mind works in movie scenes, complete with director. In the hospital he makes up vivid tales for the doctors and newspaper reporters - he was a boy in a germ-free bubble who escaped, he was kidnapped by aliens, his parents are dead. With all the media attention, his father turns up, a burnt-out hippie alcoholic who lives in a bus, logs wood intermittently and beats his son for fun. The boy, Langdon Webster, or Web, sees visions of a separate self, dead, a free spirit who may be a guardian angel, may be a demon. He's visited by another boy, his cousin Royal, who lives in a flashy car and has the world by the tail. Web longs for his wonderful light-filled mother, and uncovers his father's craven betrayal. Eventually Web's on his own again, following Royal to New York. There, he's caught up in gang fights and drug deals. Royal, accumulating wealth, plays both sides against the middle. After this, the novel grows increasingly surrealistic. Web, on the road, is caught up in other's lives and motives. He's a dupe, a pawn, a player in a virtual reality game which may be deadly. Everything he yearns for is snatched from him and his world is increasingly confused with fantasy and movie plots. Hebert's writing is electric and his character aims right for the heart even if the plot sometimes careens too wildly for the reader to hold on. A very different novel for Hebert ("The Passion of Estelle Jordan") in which bleakness takes a roller coaster ride into the future.

this was a real surprise, I walk into the mind of a child gone mad... A survivor of an attempted murder,this young child goes into another world of reality. I loved this book,it almost explains how someone can survive a truly horrendous life..every shrink on the planet should have to read this one..then maybe they would not have to ask How do you feel...this book makes you feel it,and maybe you wont like it:you will never forget that you read it... Pick this book up and open your mind because once your into this story you will not put it down or ever forget it.

A wild ride through the supraconsciousness of a an orphaned pre-teen.

A strange trip through the fantasies of a young boy's mind. I highly recommend it. It is creative and spell-binding.