Missing Misfit

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You is beautifully written, often funny and sometimes touching. I laughed out loud at certain passages, and James' disinterested narration is appealing. Peter Cameron paints some great character sketches in this book, and I got the feeling each one was a labor of love and took a long time to create. James uncannily reminds me of my old friend Jonathan, but that's another story. After reading this, I started thinking, is this a new Catcher in the Rye, one for contemporary times? It's been ten years since I read that book, but I seem to remember Holden Caulfield as a rich and unenthusiastic teenager who thought those around him were irritating and dull. I might have to go back and read that book again someday soon.

Many of the books we've read this semester had characters I found it easy to identify with, despite the fact that I usually held little in common with them. Not so for this one. I did not really identify with James, but I still felt for him. It seemed to me that there was a lot of pain behind his sharp observations and superior air. He is a witty narrator, definitely intelligent and funny. "Missing Misfit?" So great.

His relationship with his grandmother is very sweet, and I love how he saved all of her belongings in storage. It really was very touching. This kid had a lot of support, although most of the people who can offer it to him are caught up with their own lives. It seemed like at the end of the book he had begun to think differently about steering clear of them and being by himself. We all have the urge to be alone, but we need support from our family and friends too. I think this book communicated that point without cheesiness or sentimentality. I will definitely be sending a copy to my friend Jonathan!