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Review

Marshall Moore’s debut novel is a fast-faced and highly readable romance set in a psychiatric facility. Hopefully the location of this story won’t turn you off because you would miss a terrific story that combines romance, mystery and strong characterizations into one highly compelling novel. This reader raced through The Concrete Sky to see if the protagonists just might just find lasting love at the end of a damned nasty tunnel. Written with immense and hilariously bitter style, the book moves at breakneck speed first introducing us to Chad and his troubles and then almost immediately to his love interest and fellow mental patient, Jonathan. The Concrete Sky makes for an addictive read and Marshall Moore an author we will be watching out for.

The novel opens with Chad coming onto a guy with uncertain sexuality at a party where he really doesn’t know anyone. He’s uncomfortable and makes a few social gaffes. After too many glasses of wine he steps out to the balcony for some air. Here’s where our enemy makes an appearance – Chad’s brother, the homophobic stalker Martin. Somehow Martin has chased his brother to the party. Upon seeing him on the balcony he shouts Chad’s name. Losing his balance, Chad falls three stories into a prickly hedge.

Our cute young hero (aren’t they always cute?) wakes up bruised and battered in a hospital where he contemplates how he got into this particular hospital bed and the car accident that screwed his life up five years ago. After Chad is shot up with pain killers, he sleeps off the hurt and wakes to the site of a adorable, green-eyed boy who appears to be flirting with him. Jonathan, the flirter, seems a tad young, but Chad is turned on by this “cute and appealing” guy – not the usual site one has when they wake up in a hospital. While Chad is still trying remember exactly where he is, his next visitor is not nearly so pleasant. Linda tells Chad that death is growing in her vagina, something Chad wants to hear nothing about. Linda’s tale is too dark - he wonders what kind of hospital is this? He wants the boy to return to his bedside. Valerie, his next visitor seems to have more of a grip on reality, she’s a nurse. She explains to Chad that he’s in a mental facility where he has been committed by his brother. The staff has been led to believe by Martin that Chad tried to commit suicide and that it was the result of his homosexuality. While this may seem like a mouthful to digest, Chad is rushed off to his first group session where he gets a taste of life in the psycho ward.

There is a bright side to this hospital stay, and that is Jonathan. It turns out that this boy is quite gay and very attracted to Chad. That very night Jonathan (not Jon and certainly not Johnny) sneaks into Chad’s room for some cuddling and sex. Their relationship, while forbidden, becomes a source for gossip almost immediately. In group therapy Linda declares that she is disgusted with their public displays of affection “they’re practically fisting” she proclaims in a group meeting. Sometime later that night Linda goes down the elevator shaft where her vaginal problems end. All fingers seem to point in 17 year-old Jonathan’s direction and the police question the boy. When another death occurs, the action goes into high gear and there’s a chase – lots of fun. The reader really doesn’t know exactly where the story is going next and that’s a good thing.

Powerful characterizations are the strength of Marshall Moore’s book. Chad is a confused guy in his late twenties who doesn’t have a career or goals, can’t pay the bills, hasn’t found love yet and has a problematic family relationship. While we all know people like this, Moore adds humor and insight to this guy making us root for him to get his feet on the ground. While his love interest, the possibly homicidal Jonathan, doesn’t seem like a perfect choice, at least he has a goal and some ideas. These characters are presented in great detail, they become our friends as we read the book. It’s great to read a novel with only a few sharply drawn portraits, rather than many sketches.

While there are a few small literary holes, it all stays together with the superb writing, off-key humor and character development as glue. When was the last story you read about a boy who falls in love in the mental hospital? Top off the intense, Prozac-fueled romance with a few murders and you’ve got one of our favorite novels of the year.

From the novel:
“We know it's late and you've had a difficult day,” the hospital’s intake psychiatrist said. “But we'd like for you to talk just a little about why you're here. We have to make just a few decisions before we let you go to bed.”
Chad nodded. He had been given several shots. His head was full of beautiful billowing cumulus clouds. They looked great and felt wonderful, but they got in the way when he tried to think. “I'm pumped full of drugs. You know that, don't you?” Of course they knew that. They had done the pumping.
The nurse said, “Your brother filed papers this morning to do several things. He wants to have you declared incompetent, with himself appointed as your guardian. The rationale he gave was your alleged drug abuse and suicidal behavior. He wants to have you committed for at least six months. It's unlikely your insurance will cover a private placement. . . . More than likely, he's going to try to have you transferred to St. Elizabeth's.”
“Holy fucking shit,” said Chad. He had never seen St. Elizabeth's, but imagined the place was a dungeon. Kind of like the facility in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, only less cheerful. At least here he was in a private facility with more or less functional people. Some of them were openly nuts but the place didn't stink of piss and shit. The idea of being locked up in St. Elizabeth's made Chad's guts writhe.”