August 13, 2010: In This Way I Was Saved

In This Way I Was Saved by Brian DeLeeuw

On a chilly November afternoon, six-year-old Luke Nightingale's life changes forever. On the playground across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he encounters Daniel. Soon the boys are hiding from dinosaurs and shooting sniper rifles. Within hours, Luke and his mother, Claire, are welcoming Daniel into their Upper East Side apartment -- and their lives.

Daniel and Luke are soon inseparable. With his parents divorcing, Luke takes comfort in having a near-constant playmate. But there's something strange about Daniel, who is more than happy to bind himself to the Nightingales. The divorce has cut Luke's father out of the picture, and as his increasingly fragile mother struggles with the insidious family depression, Daniel -- shrewd, adventurous, and insightful -- provides Luke both recreation and refuge.

As Luke grows from a child to an adolescent to a young man, he realizes that as much as his mother needs him, Daniel needs him more. Jealous of Luke's other attachments, Daniel moves from gestures of friendship into increasingly sinister manipulations. In the end, Luke finds himself in a daily battle for control of his own life -- wondering whether he or Daniel will emerge victorious.

Brian DeLeeuw's debut is a haunting and provocative story of a family's love and madness that you will not be able to put down. -- from Amazon.com

This turned out to be a great book!  I have to admit that I was kind of behind when it came to this book.  The cover is brilliant, but it took me about 2 weeks to realize that it was a boy swinging and that his shadow was below him - I thought it was someone walking with his middle missing and chains from his shoulders because that is totally normal, right?  Goodness, I need help!  Also, after several chapters of Daniel and Luke's antics I finally realized that Daniel was not a real person - yep, the clues were there but I was a little slow on the pick-up.  I just thought Daniel had horrible parents!


Anywho - here is my main question regarding this book (please note that it may have been stated in the book, but as you can see I don't read clues very well):  is Daniel a ghost? imaginary friend? multiple personality?  Here's the thing - I read this book as Daniel being Luke's other personality and that his medicine kind of kicked Daniel to the back-burner but at other times he seemed so real!  I think that is the beauty of this book, it's been several days and I still not quite sure and I can't stop thinking about it!

As far as the writing goes, I think that Brian DeLeeuw did a fabulous job here.  He hooked me in from the first page and left me wanting more after the last page.  I was so confused throughout the book, and I mean that in the best way possible because it kept me interested.  I don't know what else to say because I feel like I already gave too much of the book away.  I would highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to see what Brian DeLeeuw has up his sleeve for future novels.

P.S. The hardcover image really frightens me and makes me nauseous.  I know it is smoke coming out of those shoes, but everytime I see that picture, I see bloody feet exploding and I get queasy.  

P.P.S. - Sorry that this is a rambling mess.  I have so many thoughts on this book, but I don't want to give anything away.  Also this book made my brain kick into overdrive (which is probably a good thing since I've given it a vacation during the summer).

P.P.P.S. - Sorry about the wonky editing.  Blogger hates me today and is making my post look ridiculous right now.  Sorry!

*This book was provided by Simon & Schuster for review.