Troublemaker

Earl hustles, shoots up, and drinks. He lies, robs johns, and clobbers one bad daddy with a lamp. He looks 15, passes for 18, says he's 22. But for a troublemaker, he's not a bad kid. You won't exactly like him, but he's hard to dislike. Unlike the Dixie Chics' Earl, whose just desserts are poisoned peas, Pera's peripatetic anti-hero earns sympathy, if not affection, as his thoughts erratically span his pilgrimage from Omaha to Memphis, Buford, Ark., New York, and Colorado Springs. Earl is an innocent rogue, like all those Hucks and Holdens troubled by the way the world is and unable to figure out what's wrong with it. He's so beclouded that some reviewers have mis-read his drop-out grammar, street urchin idioms, and obsession with Red/Jared/Robert--another hustler and hub of all his non-sequential thoughts--as proof he's retarded. He's not. What he is, is an actor-victim in a picaresque role he'd rather not play but can't escape. Earl's world is absurd, mean. Marvel he's so forgiving. His drunk father dies, leaving him nothing but a flask. His mother dumps him on his demented Nana. Grandma beads him with a gun, then buys him a one-way ticket to New York. There he proves too up-front for tricks, and Madam (bless her golden heart) sends him back to Omaha. His mother peeks behind the curtains but won't open the door. He drifts to a carnival and meets Red, whose savvy takes him in--though Red won't. When Red vanishes, Earl becomes obsessed with finding this slightly more-adept mirror of himself. Troublemaker is a desperate seeking for self, combing the landscape of the heart--the real geography of the novel--for someone to belong to in spite of rejection. It's this hope that, after all, makes a disjointed narrative-Earl's, not the author's; Pera is deft with voice and viewpoint as well as cinematic time and locus shifts--a Romantic act of defiance instead of a meaningless soup of alienation to drown in. Earl can't see land, but he feels it's out there, and he keeps on swimming. Despite exploitation and snuff films, Earl clings sentimentally to beauty in bad art--a photo of Red, a picture postcard, a cheap figurine of a freckled boy and his dog gone fishin'. On its surface, Troublemaker shares the world of Dennis Cooper, who inspires Pera and earned Troublemaker's grateful dedication. But beyond the seedy underworld and stylistic iconoclasm these writers share, their ends lie worlds apart. Cooper draws the ire of straight and gay readers for choosing taboo subjects and refusing to take sides--even on the most disturbing issues of sexual behavior and politics. Pera transcends the sordid and frames it between his opening and final chapters in the Gateway to the Garden of the Gods, where American Indians once got wild, saw visions, and were One within the circle. Pera's novel reiterates the wonder Bruce Springsteen finds in post-modern times: "At the end of every hard-earned day, people find some reason to believe."

Brian Pera bears watching. Not many "first novelists" will tackle a writing style that asks alot of his readers; usually first books aim at telling a good story and rely on proven techiques to coddle the unwary reader. Not Pera. "Troublemaker" is a true grit tale about a tough subject told by a less than educated backwoods mentally challenged boy. It is told in the first person and getting used to Earl's language takes practice. Accepting his nonlinear process also requires much from the reader, but it is precisely the way this main character would talk and think and to write it otherwise would not be as engrossingly effective. I praise authors who make us work...stretching our brains opens new synapses....and Pera goes at it with a vengeance. The story is well described by the editorial above. Suffice it to say that meticulously exploring how disadvantaged youths are subject to abuse and deeply needy for meaningful relationships (and love) is a subject few mature writers have approached. Pera has given us a unique journey into hell and makes us care and want to cause a sea change. I eagerly await the next challenge from Brian Pera. Good stuff, this!

Once you get use to this story's nonlinear structure this first novel by Brian Pera flows right along, and is really quite original. What a screwed-up life Earl's lives, the retarded gay hustler in his early 20's who chases after this guy named "Red", another hustler who has AIDS. Earl doesn't know it's love he is feeling for Red, and is so naïve, he doesn't even know how to please the john's that he entertains at Madam's. What an engrossing story, its so sad, dark, and touching. You want to reach out and help Earl get past the drugs, johns, and awful life he's living. WHAT a book to become absorbed in. The author really makes you feel for Earl. The books seems too short and makes you wish it was longer. It's hard to stop reading and put this book down; forget the chores and errands. This is a story that will be on your mind long after reading it. My highest recommendation, really enjoyable.

This book was selected by my book club as our monthly selection; otherwise, I might never have read this awesome book because it is misleadingly catalogued as "gay youth fiction." The fact that Earl, the protagonist of the story, is gay, has little relevancy to the underlying and deeper story of this book. The structure takes the reader on a virtual reality ride right along with Earl-jumping from one place to another-sometimes dazed and confused, allowing the reader to truly experience Earl's sense of confusion as he takes that universal journey searching for acceptance, love and a sense of stability. The author is able to incredibly utilize this structure without losing the reader's interest. The obstacles Earl faces along his journey -homelessness, drug addiction, and lack of emotional and family support- are met with his inate and unconscious sense of self worth and his strong desire for love and belonging. This is one of the most moving books I've read - it sent a chilling wake-up call as to my own participation in the judgmental and sterotyping society of today.

Bought this book after a review in Time Out which praised it without mentioning how funny it is. Yet I was laughing out loud. It's sad and everything and grim but hilarious too. The lead character has some of the funniest lines I've read. Very twisted. The way he talks gets inside your head. I thought it was a refreshing take on class, sex, and rootlessness. And anybody who's read above a grade school level should be able to keep track of things. It's set up like a mystery in a way. You keep reading wondering how it's going to pull together. I look forward to Pera's next one.