Book Review: Bad Signs
I have been a fan of R. J. Ellory right from the start since I chanced upon City of Lies. Reading Ghostheart, A Simple Act of Violence, A Quiet Belief in Angels and Saints of New York has only reaffirmed my belief in this British author who typically sets his novels against an American backdrop. His works are labeled as 'crime fiction' or 'thrillers' but don't let that tag deceive you.
I have always felt that the thriller quotient in his books is just a plot device to get along with the story, but in reality, it has always been about people, people and people. Inarguably his best book (I say that every time I read his books!) and one of my all-time favorites, Bad Signs is a terrific read and unputdownable.
Set in the 1960's USA, BS tells the tale of two half-brothers, Clarence Luckman and Eliott Danziger (aka Clay and Digger), who are orphaned at a very young age after Luckman's father bludgeons their mother to death in front of them and later gets shot dead by a cop after he is caught stealing from a liquor shop. On being discovered by her friend, the boys are packed off to state run institutions and juvenile facilities where they grow up accustomed to violence and brutality.
Clay and Digger, possessing the brain and brawn respectively, fend for each other and hope for a change to their miserable life, but their world is taken upside down after a sociopath Earl Sheridian, en route to death row, is sheltered for the night following an incessant storm. Sheridian, sensing this as a chance to escape the clutches of death, takes Clay and Digger as hostages and makes a run for freedom.
What follows next is an epic tale of hope and despair as both the boys undertake a journey to Eldorado (a great choice of a name) – a place of perfect happiness, each in their own way. The boys, forever under the spell of bad signs, seek redemption but will their fates change?
Spanning nine eventful days, Clay and Digger must make their choices as they flee the police, while Sheridian leaves a trail of violence and destruction. Digger, of an impressionable mind, is fascinated by the psychopath and begins to embrace him as his mentor, but Clay, seeing the danger, tries to dissuade his brother in vain. For Digger, Sheridian's maniacal madness reveals his true nature and leaves him unsatiated as he embarks on a killing spree of his own, whereas Clay escapes them only to be caught in a tale of mistaken identity.
The plot is dark and disturbing, and Ellory never for once shies away from showing the consequences of their choices, however uncomfortable they may be. The lives of the boys hop from one tragedy to the other with the destination 'Eldorado' being their only hope. The violence is visceral, discomforting and in your face, and the murders horrifying, but all these only add credence to the story making it all the more engaging and heart-stopping. While the situations may seem unfortunate and harrowing, there is always a strong undercurrent of hope throughout the novel.
A good story can go to the dumps in the absence of strong characterizations. Having mastered this craft to the hilt, Ellory's Clay and Digger are achingly flawed but utterly vivid and believable. Moreover I have to say this again and again, the brilliance with which Ellory reconstructs the 60's America is plain remarkable, that too for an author residing in Birmingham.
The narrative bears his unique writing style – one that's sincere and straight from the heart, and keeps you immersed in it despite its overwhelming descriptiveness. Like his other books, there is the usual reference to historical events, a parallel thread that's smartly interwoven into the main story and a great twist in the end.
Bad Signs is not your conventional thriller; it is gripping and has edge-of-the-seat moments no doubt. But all that is superficial. Intrinsically, it plays out as a human drama with emotions that are gut-wrenching and leaves you with searching questions on human nature and how good and evil play out under the hands of fate. Truly a masterpiece!
I have always felt that the thriller quotient in his books is just a plot device to get along with the story, but in reality, it has always been about people, people and people. Inarguably his best book (I say that every time I read his books!) and one of my all-time favorites, Bad Signs is a terrific read and unputdownable.
Set in the 1960's USA, BS tells the tale of two half-brothers, Clarence Luckman and Eliott Danziger (aka Clay and Digger), who are orphaned at a very young age after Luckman's father bludgeons their mother to death in front of them and later gets shot dead by a cop after he is caught stealing from a liquor shop. On being discovered by her friend, the boys are packed off to state run institutions and juvenile facilities where they grow up accustomed to violence and brutality.
Clay and Digger, possessing the brain and brawn respectively, fend for each other and hope for a change to their miserable life, but their world is taken upside down after a sociopath Earl Sheridian, en route to death row, is sheltered for the night following an incessant storm. Sheridian, sensing this as a chance to escape the clutches of death, takes Clay and Digger as hostages and makes a run for freedom.
What follows next is an epic tale of hope and despair as both the boys undertake a journey to Eldorado (a great choice of a name) – a place of perfect happiness, each in their own way. The boys, forever under the spell of bad signs, seek redemption but will their fates change?
Spanning nine eventful days, Clay and Digger must make their choices as they flee the police, while Sheridian leaves a trail of violence and destruction. Digger, of an impressionable mind, is fascinated by the psychopath and begins to embrace him as his mentor, but Clay, seeing the danger, tries to dissuade his brother in vain. For Digger, Sheridian's maniacal madness reveals his true nature and leaves him unsatiated as he embarks on a killing spree of his own, whereas Clay escapes them only to be caught in a tale of mistaken identity.
The plot is dark and disturbing, and Ellory never for once shies away from showing the consequences of their choices, however uncomfortable they may be. The lives of the boys hop from one tragedy to the other with the destination 'Eldorado' being their only hope. The violence is visceral, discomforting and in your face, and the murders horrifying, but all these only add credence to the story making it all the more engaging and heart-stopping. While the situations may seem unfortunate and harrowing, there is always a strong undercurrent of hope throughout the novel.
A good story can go to the dumps in the absence of strong characterizations. Having mastered this craft to the hilt, Ellory's Clay and Digger are achingly flawed but utterly vivid and believable. Moreover I have to say this again and again, the brilliance with which Ellory reconstructs the 60's America is plain remarkable, that too for an author residing in Birmingham.
The narrative bears his unique writing style – one that's sincere and straight from the heart, and keeps you immersed in it despite its overwhelming descriptiveness. Like his other books, there is the usual reference to historical events, a parallel thread that's smartly interwoven into the main story and a great twist in the end.
Bad Signs is not your conventional thriller; it is gripping and has edge-of-the-seat moments no doubt. But all that is superficial. Intrinsically, it plays out as a human drama with emotions that are gut-wrenching and leaves you with searching questions on human nature and how good and evil play out under the hands of fate. Truly a masterpiece!
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