In his debut novel, The Right Hand of Sleep, John Wray offers a historical fiction spin on the phrase you cant ever go home again. Oskar Voxlauer left his village in Austria as a teenage to fight in the Great War. Twenty years later, in 1938, he returns to his village to find a rising tide of Nazi influence, which he tries to escape by living in the woods. However, the woman he becomes involved with is the cousin of the local SS commander. There are long italicized flashbacks about both mens pasts interspersed with the goings-on in this small town. Admittedly, I was very distracted when reading this book while on the road, but I found the plot very hard to follow. The writing is ethereal, much is left unsaid, and I didnt understand the characters motivations or why certain events were happening. However, the prose was very descriptive, and I can see how literary critics could lavish praise on this book. I enjoyed Wrays third novel, Lowboy, much better.
Anthony S. (Seaguy3000) reviewed The Right Hand of Sleep : A Novel (Vintage) on + 37 more book reviews
I know it was supposed to be heralded as this great first novel, but I just couldn't get into it. I'm sure it was me, though.....
