by Martin SixsmithOkay, so on the cover is a photo of a mother and a grown son, more-or-less looking at each other. And the book's cover includes "The poignant true story of a mother and the son she had to give away." It's in the non-fiction section.
Given those facts, what was I supposed to assume? All I know is that after the first few chapters, the mother's story dropped out and it became the story of the son. It includes a few attempts by him to find his mother, but otherwise was the biography of a man--and not an especially interesting biography. I apologize to his friends and lovers but it's really the author who ought to apologize. Any person--any where, any how--is intrinsically interesting, and so the failure of the author to interest me in this man is totally his blame and no reflection on the subject.
After I skimmed the last three-quarters to get to the pitifully inadequately wrapup at the end, I threw the book aside in anger. (Figuratively; library book) And now I find this review
by a person who knew the man personally and says that the dialog was mostly a lot of made-up crap and the picture of the subject was distorted and even the facts were skewed to suit the purpose of the author. The theory is that the author was trying to write a sensational story of a "tortured soul" and didn't mind making up junk to do so.
It's not just her, either. Other people who read the book without knowing Michael Hess described it as "
poorly written," or, "a fantastic true story which he totally wastes."
Apparently the movie is unforgettable. But the but is eminently avoidable. Avoid it.
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