David Whitehouse possesses a wonderful gift of language. Unfortunately, in BED, his gift serves little purpose other than to garner praise for his syntax. You find yourself focusing with admiration on his descriptions. Even that becomes a chore as you struggle to the end because the story, what little there is of it, lies inert like 1,400 lbs. Mal on his bed. As to the point of Mal's discontent, it might be that there is no point to life, so why live it? Or, perhaps, if you can't rise above the crowd on merit, try getting into the Guinness Book of World Records with absurd, self-destructive behavior. Along the way, wreck the lives of your parents, your brother, and your best girl. But, then, they should know better than to sacrifice themselves to a fellow who sees no future for himself. It will be interesting to see if Whitehouse can use his very powerful fund of words and skills at arranging them in inventive ways to tell a compelling story the next time out. You'll be happy with BED if you read it for the language and for the prospect that David Whitehouse might evolve into a good novelist. Read in Dutch. I also originally wrote the review in Dutch, but Goodreads lost it because it had logged me out overnight. I'd already deleted the Dutch, but still had the English in a Word document. Not very happy! So here is the English review for the time being.Despite the disturbing descriptions of the more than obese Mal, I couldn’t put this book down. We know from the word go that Mal has stayed in bed for years. The flashbacks and stories from the past build up an incremental picture of the motivations of the people in his family and their various ways of dealing with the situation. His father retreats to his workroom in the attic; his mother becomes his personal cook, nurse and carer; his girlfriend Lou stays away, but is unable to break free. The story is told from the viewpoint of his younger brother who is also in love with Lou and keeps hoping that she will finally leave Mal behind her and notice him.The central question of the book is why Mal takes his radical decision. If we look back at the boys’ childhood, we see that Mal behaves strangely and negatively influences the lives of his family. I had a strong suspicion that Mal had a form of autism, with his hate of wearing clothes and his extreme reactions, his stubbornness and his obsessive behaviour. He wanted to be the first one who did things, not only at home or school, but the first in the world.” If he does something, he does it to the extreme, including becoming fat, including never getting out of bed again. In spite of this, he was flexible enough to adjust himself to an office job and a relationship with Lou, but when the job turned out to be boring and his relationship hit problems, he withdrew in the most radical way possible. His later explanation that he sacrificed himself to save others seems simply an excuse to excuse his own selfishness.As the book progresses, various reasons emerge which explain the behaviour of the people who are close to Mal. His mother has a pathological need to take care of somebody, his father is trying to free himself from the shadow of a terrible event; Lou needs somebody to need her. Mal’s brother is trapped by his unreasonable love for Lou, paralysed and without feeling, unable to choose a career or a direction, eternally waiting for Mal’s permission to continue his life and waiting until Lou finally notices him.All the relationships in this book are unhealthy and nobody stays happy. The story isn’t about somebody with extreme obesity. It is about depression and obsessive love, love which strangles, hopeless love, unrequited love. About how love can destroy.Well-written and well-observed. A book which leaves an impression. I enjoyed it.
What do You think about Buon Compleanno Malcolm (2010)?
Unfortunately I didn't like anything about this book. Unconvincing characters and plot.
—JessicaXxX
Beautifully written with aching simile. Reminiscent of Palahniuk but more forgiving.
—kristal
Very annoying characters who all need a good shake but well written and interesting
—michelegallo
