Muscling Through by J. L. Merrow
(2011, Contemporary) 2/20/13
Grade: 4
Al may not have a degree or a fancy job, but he’s intrigued by college professor Larry Morton - even after Larry mistakes him for a mugger. Everyone around Al and Larry see their relationship as unequal, but Larry sees something in Al that no one else can see - his kind heart.
This was an intriguing writing experiment that mostly worked. The story is told from the perspective of Al, who isn’t particularly perceptive or self-aware. But the reader starts to understand Al by seeing how other people react to him - we get a perspective on Larry based on his actions, even though we don’t get to hear his thoughts. I sometimes found this frustrating, because I wanted to know more - Al is a nice enough character but he’s limited as a narrator - but in the context of a novella it worked. The frequent sex scenes also limited the character development - at first they helped explain the relationship but after a while they just became repetitive. If the book had been longer I think I would have given up but at this length, it worked. It was interesting to read a book with such a different perspective.
I read this book on my Kindle and I didn't see the cover art until after I finished the book. I think the cover would have added to my reading experience - I had a hard time visualizing Al and the cover definitely makes him more intriguing. More Larry's view of Al rather than his own.
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