Ravens

When I first started reading George Dawes Green's new novel, I thought it was going to bear a lot of resemblance to a Coen brothers movie. You know what I'm talking about --- either the type where some ambitious but bumbling would-be criminals completely botch a scam, or the kind where those same criminals discover their brutally violent sides when a crime goes horribly wrong. Or the kind where both humor and brutality become bizarrely intertwined. Now, although this last description might sum up RAVENS on the surface, the book itself gains a kind of psychological intensity and complexity that ushers it out of slapstick and into far deeper, more compelling territory. The novel takes place in the small town of Brunswick, Georgia, where community college student Tara Boatwright's mother, Patsy, lives for the weekly Max-a-Million lottery jackpot drawing. The weekly cycle of anticipation and crushing disappointment inevitably drives Patsy into a drunken fit followed by a stupor. But on this particular Wednesday night, Patsy's dream comes true, as she's the proud possessor of the one and only winning lottery ticket, with a cash prize of $318 million. But the Boatwrights are about to find that their dream come true unleashes a living nightmare, when disaffected computer technicians Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko (on their way from Ohio to Florida for vacation) happen to stop at the very same convenience store where Mitch Boatwright bought the winning lottery ticket --- and overhear enough information to lead them right to the Boatwrights' front door. Shaw hatches a plan to get his hands on half of the Boatwrights' millions. He'll weasel his way into their family, pretending to be an old friend of Mitch's who went in on the ticket purchase with him. Meanwhile, Romeo will endlessly circle the streets of tiny Brunswick, under strict orders to kill key members of the Boatwrights' extended family if the Boatwrights call the police or harm Shaw in any way. When, during a press conference, Shaw expresses a desire to give his multi-millions away, his completely fabricated story of redemption and generosity garners him thousands of admirers and pilgrims from around the country. Meanwhile, reluctant heavy Romeo is torn between lifelong loyalty to Shaw and his growing sympathy for residents of the small town. As Shaw insinuates himself ever more deeply into the Boatwrights' lives, his hold over them --- and their responses to him --- become ever more twisted and complex. And we start seeing how sudden wealth and celebrity begin to change even the most unexpected players in this increasingly tense drama. This rapidly expanding range and psychological depth of RAVENS, along with the undercurrents of religious faith and distortion, take the novel from the territory of farce into something more complex, more profound, and, ultimately, more terrifying. The rapidly shifting glimpses into the characters' points of view --- their hopes, dreams, fears and preoccupation

Ravens is a psychological suspense novel that will keep you hooked until the end. Patsy Boatwright has just won the Georgia State Lottery, a total of 318 million dollars,something that she has been dreaming about forever but it has turned out to be a nightmare. Two young men passing through the Boatwright's home of Brunswick hear about the win and Shaw McBride has a plan. Romeo Zderko his traveling companion and faithful follower would do anything for Shaw including killing. By posing as a state lottery representative Shaw weasels his way into the Boatwrights home and proceeds to terrorize them, convincing the family that Romeo will kill their family and friends if they don't give him half of their winnings. The story builds and the reader is captive as well, wondering how it will all end. Ravens is an excellent read and even better as an audio book.

This is a riveting, comic-creepy, contemporary tale that tingles up and down your spine. Subversive, menacing, and riotously perverse, Ravens pairs and expands the concept of Stockholm Syndrome with the messiah complex while turning it on its head. Two men seize an opportunity to secretly hold a family hostage for half of a winning 312 million-dollar lottery ticket, captivating an entire town into believing that it has its own savior. In the grim and grey, blue-collar, Bible-Belt town of Brunswick, Georgia, the grim and grey Boatwrights have miraculously won the Max-A-Million lottery. Mitch Boatwright, the timorous, Scripture-bound head of the family, together with his shrewish, alcoholic wife, Patsy, live with their two children in disturbing disquiet. Believing that the jackpot is their chance to marry happiness, Mitch and Patsy swear their family to secrecy, not wanting to divulge their winnings right away to the community. The two swindlers, Shaw and Romeo, are traveling through from Piqua, Ohio. Shaw stops at the service station where the winning ticket was sold, and with the combination of right time and right place, learns of the big-ticket win. He subsequently hatches a scheme to extort half of the money from the Boatwrights, luring Romeo reluctantly into the deal. Preying on the willing vulnerabilities of Brunswick's citizens and the chronic turmoil of the Boatwrights, Shaw swoops in and frightens the family into cooperating with his plan. The prose bewitches with a heinous, acid crackle that horrifies but seduces you. Shaw's outrageous gall is convincing in dissembling a town into cult worship, paying homage to Michael Valentine Smith in Stranger in a Strange Land, but with less vision and more malice and greed. The most unforgettable character, however, is Romeo, a confused, pathetic, but reverberating mixture of self-condemnation, altruism, and rueful loyalty. The author's ingenious portrait of this doomed and contradictory man is ripe with a tragic pathos generally reserved for the hero or anti-hero. He is in a class by himself--a blighted, inchoate, but compelling mirror of skewed humanity. This strange and allegorical parody of blind faith will grip you in its talons from the opening pages and shock you; frighten you; humor you; and thrill you until its merciless end.

A day after reading this book, I am still sitting here saying to myself, "Whoa!". What a ride, what a trip the author took me on. Sometimes I had to put the book down just to catch my breath and ease my mind. I was troubled, I was outraged, I was sympathetic. I felt like I was right there watching the characters rather than simply reading a book.

Reading books...something I have not done in many years. I got wrapped up in my career and daily life, and just couldn't find the time. Until now...this book really had me hooked. When I started reading, I found time in my day that wasn't there. I finished this book in less than 24 hours. I just couldn't let myself put it down. I was so caught up in the story line and the characters...stopping wasn't an option. I am very familar with this author. I have read his other two books, and I must say..."Ravens" is the best by far. This is a "must read" book! George...promise me one thing...I won't have to wait another 10+ years before you release your next book!