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The Boy Who Could See Demons
"I first met my demon the morning that Mum said Dad had gone."
Alex Connolly is ten years old, likes onions on toast, and can balance on the back legs of his chair for fourteen minutes. His best friend is a 9000-year-old demon called Ruen. When his depressive mother attempts suicide yet again, Alex meets child psychiatrist Anya. Still bearing the scars of her own daughter's battle with schizophrenia, Anya fears for Alex's mental health and attempts to convince him that Ruen doesn't exist. But as she runs out of medical proof for many of Alex's claims, she is faced with a question: does Alex suffer from schizophrenia, or can he really see demons?
Alex Connolly is ten years old, likes onions on toast, and can balance on the back legs of his chair for fourteen minutes. His best friend is a 9000-year-old demon called Ruen. When his depressive mother attempts suicide yet again, Alex meets child psychiatrist Anya. Still bearing the scars of her own daughter's battle with schizophrenia, Anya fears for Alex's mental health and attempts to convince him that Ruen doesn't exist. But as she runs out of medical proof for many of Alex's claims, she is faced with a question: does Alex suffer from schizophrenia, or can he really see demons?
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2012
About the author
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
16 books181 followersI'm the author of the award-winning poetry collection INROADS (Seren, 2010) and THE GUARDIAN ANGEL'S JOURNAL, published by Little, Brown in the UK and Guideposts Books in the US, as well as 22 other languages. My second novel, THE BOY WHO COULD SEE DEMONS, was released in May 2012. I have also written/co-edited four academic books in the fields of Shakespeare and film. The US version of THE BOY WHO COULD SEE DEMONS is released August 2013 by Random House, and my second poetry collection BOOM! was published in 2014. As CJ Cooke I have published I KNOW MY NAME (HarperCollins, 2017), THE BLAME GAME (HarperCollins, 2019), and THE NESTING (2020).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 739 reviews
September 25, 2018
There's an Irishman, an Englishman, and a Scottish bloke washing the side of a skyscraper. Every day at lunchtime they sit on their balcony overlooking the city and eat their sandwiches. One day the Englishman opens his lunchbox and gets really angry. "Ham again!" he says. "If my wife packs me one more ham sandwich I'm going to throw myself off this balcony." The Scottish bloke opens his lunchbox and finds a cheese sandwich. "Cheese sarnies again!" he says. "If my wife packs me one more cheese sarnie I'm going to throw myself off this balcony." The Irishman opens his box and finds a tuna sandwich, and he threatens to throw himself off, too.
The next day, the Englishman opens his lunchbox and finds a ham sandwich. "That's it," he says, and he throws himself off the balcony.
The Scottish bloke opens his lunchbox and finds a cheese sandwich, and he throws himself off the balcony. The Irishman finds a tuna sandwich and shouts "you stupid woman!" before throwing himself off, too.
At the funeral, the English, Scottish, and Irish wives are consoling each other. "I thought he loved ham," says the English wife. "And i thought my husband loved cheese," says the Scottish wife. "I don't understand it," sobs the Irish wife. "He always packed his own lunch."
this is now one of my favorite jokes. it does what i like my humor to do; contain a little truth and a little darkness. it is a perfect way to start off this impossible book review, as the book, which does indeed contain this joke, is very much preoccupied with the prevailing irish temperament, and the effects of the violence of northern ireland on the psyche of its inhabitants.
but, of course, i am also a bit hobbled. i feel like anything i write in this review is going to make a liar out of me, because of what this book is and isn't. and that's fine, but it does problematize my process.
again, it is about the effect that violence has on the behavior and development of children. here, the violence is specifically the residue of the violence in belfast just after the troubles, and the child is alex.
alex is a ten-year-old boy who sees demons. he has seen them since the day he learned his largely absent father was killed. his own personal demon, who is 9,000 years old and named ruen, has different forms with different temperaments and roles. sometimes he is in the form of an old man, sometimes a boy who looks like alex, sometimes a horned monster, and sometimes something worse. alex and his mother are very close and loving, despite living in poverty in deplorable conditions and subsisting solely on fried onions on toast. oh, and also her five failed suicide attempts. after her most recent attempt, alex is brought in to be examined by anya, a gifted therapist who has her own demons, in the form of her memories of a schizophrenic daughter who suicided right in front of her, and the helplessness she feels at not having been able to save her from herself.
naturally, the question of the book is whether alex is really seeing demons, or if they are a product of a mental disorder, or an overactive imagination or a defense mechanism. and also whether ruen is a positive force, helping him navigate the troubles of his life, or if he is bent on alex's destruction.
you will have answers, but they might not be to the questions you were asking.
reading reviews of this on here, in order to see how other people avoided playing jumping games on landmines, i am utterly perplexed, because the complaints seem to completely ignore the ending of the book.
spoilers for real, seriously, and if you click this before you read the book i shall have to take you off the holiday card list. i know it is tempting to see me mock other people, but i promise i will entertain you in another way if you exercise restraint..
now i feel better.
so, where was i after all of that? oh, right, how to write this review.
so, anya begins treating alex under the assumption that his demons are a manifestation of his disordered life, witnessing violence, and having had to carry his mother through her perpetual grief. anya finds him to be wise beyond his years, articulate and affable, but also very lonely, having only his mother, his dog woof, and his demon for companionship. however, as the treatment continues, alex's demons begin to share things with him that there is no way he could know: arcane theological concepts, accurate predictions of future events, complicated compositions for the piano with no musical training, and details from anya's personal life. truth and reality get a little blurry, and will continue to do so until the very end.
the backdrop of this is the story of a theatrical modernization of hamlet, where alex has been cast as horatio. the play has been adapted to reflect irish political and religious unrest, but hamlet is also about ghosts and fathers and misguided violence, so it does serve to add some texture onto alex's story which is mostly successful.
and i think that is all i want to say. i mean, i want to say loads and loads more, but i am being cautious. there were just fantastically bleak scenes and equally touching ones, and the characters felt fresh and believable. was the ending perfect and entirely appropriate? no, but it was surprising and solid enough that i am not squinting at its cracks. i thought it was spectacular, and i keep my minor "wait, but…"s to myself
i will say that for a first novel by a published poet, i was surprised to find it didn't fall into that poetic-prose novel that seems to happen to a lot of authors who follow that path. it was remarkably grounded and direct and not so purple. i will absolutely read more books by her, should the opportunity arise.
come to my blog!
April 18, 2013
This is an easy read about a difficult topic. It explores the demons of the mind rather than the demons of fantasy and horror novels. Make no mistake, these demons are terrifyingly real to those suffering from mental illness. Using the alternating voices of a ten-year-old boy and a middle-aged child psychiatrist, author Carolyn Jess-Cooke touches on issues of schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and the burden of trauma that continues to weigh on those who grew up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.
The chapters switch back and forth between the precocious and charming diary of Alex, the boy who sees demons, and the clinical narrative of Anya Molokova, a Belfast native who has returned to Ireland to facilitate healing for children now that peace has at last been established. Anya has demons of her own, brought on by the death of her daughter Poppy as well as by her own memories of growing up in a city plagued by constant unrest and violence.
I enjoyed reading this novel, and was especially interested in the concept of how a lifetime of coping with The Troubles left some people so unstable as adults that they're incapable of raising children without passing on that fear and insecurity and mental instability. I would have welcomed a more in-depth exploration of that topic, but this is a story told in simple language that opens a lot of doors for further study.
Readers who enjoy child narrators will delight in Alex's chapters, despite the dark nature of his condition. Overall this is an intriguing and rather startling read that may feel somewhat unfinished if you're a reader who likes a tidy ending.
One thing I should mention is that throughout much of the book, what's happening with Alex seems to strain credulity. If you stay with it until you find out what's really going on, the whole thing becomes more plausible.
The chapters switch back and forth between the precocious and charming diary of Alex, the boy who sees demons, and the clinical narrative of Anya Molokova, a Belfast native who has returned to Ireland to facilitate healing for children now that peace has at last been established. Anya has demons of her own, brought on by the death of her daughter Poppy as well as by her own memories of growing up in a city plagued by constant unrest and violence.
I enjoyed reading this novel, and was especially interested in the concept of how a lifetime of coping with The Troubles left some people so unstable as adults that they're incapable of raising children without passing on that fear and insecurity and mental instability. I would have welcomed a more in-depth exploration of that topic, but this is a story told in simple language that opens a lot of doors for further study.
Readers who enjoy child narrators will delight in Alex's chapters, despite the dark nature of his condition. Overall this is an intriguing and rather startling read that may feel somewhat unfinished if you're a reader who likes a tidy ending.
One thing I should mention is that throughout much of the book, what's happening with Alex seems to strain credulity. If you stay with it until you find out what's really going on, the whole thing becomes more plausible.
August 13, 2013
3.5
Though structured and paced like a thriller, what this book really is, is a finely sketched portrait of pain. And I don't mean the passive kind, where you feel for characters because they have tragic back-stories. No, this pain is personal; it's deeper, more penetrating and quietly horrifying. When the finale played out, I swear my heart skipped a beat because I was so shocked, and then it just broke.
The Boy Who Could See Demons was a book I requested on a whim. I had no major expectations going in, which is probably why I'm so impressed with it. It's gratifying to read something totally un-hyped and then get to say "Wow, that was good!" And this was really good. Not the best psychological thriller I've ever read but very gripping and memorable. It kept me guessing throughout and just when I thought I knew the answers, I realized I was asking the wrong questions.
The narration alternates between Anya, the psychiatrist, and Alex, the patient, who claims his best friend Ruen is a demon only he can see. The strength of this book lies in the characterization. Not only are Alex and Anya's individual voices very genuine and well-done, even the secondary characters like Alex's depressed mom Cindy, his social worker Michael, and even his demon friend Ruen, are finely etched. This is a very easy book to read because the writing is straightforward and simple, maybe a little too simple at times.
There is a big twist at the end. I did not see it coming but what's really amazing is how, looking back, I cannot imagine it playing out any other way.
The Boy Who Could See Demons is a dark, disturbing exploration of a traumatized human mind. It's disconcerting to think that something associated with rational thought and reason can make you see and believe in things that defy logic. Echoing the lines Anya comes across in Milton's Paradise Lost:
So true.
*With thanks to Netgalley for the free digital copy*
Though structured and paced like a thriller, what this book really is, is a finely sketched portrait of pain. And I don't mean the passive kind, where you feel for characters because they have tragic back-stories. No, this pain is personal; it's deeper, more penetrating and quietly horrifying. When the finale played out, I swear my heart skipped a beat because I was so shocked, and then it just broke.
The Boy Who Could See Demons was a book I requested on a whim. I had no major expectations going in, which is probably why I'm so impressed with it. It's gratifying to read something totally un-hyped and then get to say "Wow, that was good!" And this was really good. Not the best psychological thriller I've ever read but very gripping and memorable. It kept me guessing throughout and just when I thought I knew the answers, I realized I was asking the wrong questions.
The narration alternates between Anya, the psychiatrist, and Alex, the patient, who claims his best friend Ruen is a demon only he can see. The strength of this book lies in the characterization. Not only are Alex and Anya's individual voices very genuine and well-done, even the secondary characters like Alex's depressed mom Cindy, his social worker Michael, and even his demon friend Ruen, are finely etched. This is a very easy book to read because the writing is straightforward and simple, maybe a little too simple at times.
There is a big twist at the end. I did not see it coming but what's really amazing is how, looking back, I cannot imagine it playing out any other way.
The Boy Who Could See Demons is a dark, disturbing exploration of a traumatized human mind. It's disconcerting to think that something associated with rational thought and reason can make you see and believe in things that defy logic. Echoing the lines Anya comes across in Milton's Paradise Lost:
"The mind is its own place, and in itself,
Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n."
So true.
*With thanks to Netgalley for the free digital copy*
October 13, 2016
What a refreshing story this is! The Boy Who Could See Demons is told in alternating chapters from the perspective of Alex Broccoli, a 10 year old boy who speaks maturely for his age and of Dr. Anya Molokova, a child psychologist who is grieving over the death of her daughter, Poppy, who killed herself because she was suffering from schizophrenia.
Alex lives with his mother, Cindy in Belfast who has attempted suicide few times. I would say that Alex seemed like an intriguing character. He is matured yet geeky. Since the death of his father, Alex has been having a good friend, Ruen. Unfortunately, Ruen is a demon! At first I thought that Ruen must be an imaginary friend, but as the story progresses, I couldn’t decide whether he was real or not. At times Ruen appears to be quite menacing in his hold over Alex. He can be very persuasive when getting Alex to do his bidding.
This is an easy read about a difficult topic. The content deals heavily with child schizophrenia and I found it really left me feeling uncomfortable at times. It shows just how thin the line between reality and psychosis is. As a mother, I can’t imagine watching your child struggle with schizophrenia. The author, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, describes the emotion of a mother brilliantly, especially that helplessness seeing your child lose touch with reality and moving into his/her own world.
Other than that, I enjoyed the characters, and especially liked Alex. The story is fascinating, sometimes funny and sometimes moving. The author carried out extensive research while writing this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Carolyn Jess-Cooke. It’s well written and richly imaginative. The attention to detail was excellent I feel. Sometimes you have to glance past the haze of reality; to examine the grey areas of life where you are unsure of the truth that even science cannot fathom.
If you like to delve into the mind of those suffering from mental illness and enjoy a good mystery and suspenseful plot twist, then you need to grab yourself a copy of this book! :D
Alex lives with his mother, Cindy in Belfast who has attempted suicide few times. I would say that Alex seemed like an intriguing character. He is matured yet geeky. Since the death of his father, Alex has been having a good friend, Ruen. Unfortunately, Ruen is a demon! At first I thought that Ruen must be an imaginary friend, but as the story progresses, I couldn’t decide whether he was real or not. At times Ruen appears to be quite menacing in his hold over Alex. He can be very persuasive when getting Alex to do his bidding.
This is an easy read about a difficult topic. The content deals heavily with child schizophrenia and I found it really left me feeling uncomfortable at times. It shows just how thin the line between reality and psychosis is. As a mother, I can’t imagine watching your child struggle with schizophrenia. The author, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, describes the emotion of a mother brilliantly, especially that helplessness seeing your child lose touch with reality and moving into his/her own world.
Other than that, I enjoyed the characters, and especially liked Alex. The story is fascinating, sometimes funny and sometimes moving. The author carried out extensive research while writing this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Carolyn Jess-Cooke. It’s well written and richly imaginative. The attention to detail was excellent I feel. Sometimes you have to glance past the haze of reality; to examine the grey areas of life where you are unsure of the truth that even science cannot fathom.
If you like to delve into the mind of those suffering from mental illness and enjoy a good mystery and suspenseful plot twist, then you need to grab yourself a copy of this book! :D
January 31, 2021
I don’t think the combination of words exist for me to explain how much I love this book.
To start with I immediately love how the main character is a 10 year old because we often forget that young children can have mental disorders as well as adults and teenagers. I loved how the reader gets to really know Alex; as the boy who loves onions on toast and acting and not just as the boy who sees demons. I observed him as a boy with 2 distinct personalities, the independent boy who wants to protect his mother and likes to draw skeletons and write jokes and of course the extremely clever and witty boy who wears suits and talks to demons about classical music.
Each important event was written twice from two different perspectives, Alex’s and his Anya’s (his therapist). I thought this would make the story a tad boring and repetitive but it actually made the story a lot more unpredictable, interesting and unique. It also forced you to make your own decision on whether you believed Alex about the demons being real, or Anya about them being a figment of his extremely creative imagination.
I’ve been waiting for a long time to come across a book which shows the reader how a parents financial and relationship worries can affect their child and this book was exactly what I was hoping for because it shows that it can have an affect without anyone even realizing it.
The entire book had me on edge because my mind just had no idea what would happen next especially with such an unpredictable character as Ruen. You didn’t know what he would look like next never mind act.
The ending was very unexpected which I don’t normally come across in books so I was pleasantly surprised :)
To start with I immediately love how the main character is a 10 year old because we often forget that young children can have mental disorders as well as adults and teenagers. I loved how the reader gets to really know Alex; as the boy who loves onions on toast and acting and not just as the boy who sees demons. I observed him as a boy with 2 distinct personalities, the independent boy who wants to protect his mother and likes to draw skeletons and write jokes and of course the extremely clever and witty boy who wears suits and talks to demons about classical music.
Each important event was written twice from two different perspectives, Alex’s and his Anya’s (his therapist). I thought this would make the story a tad boring and repetitive but it actually made the story a lot more unpredictable, interesting and unique. It also forced you to make your own decision on whether you believed Alex about the demons being real, or Anya about them being a figment of his extremely creative imagination.
I’ve been waiting for a long time to come across a book which shows the reader how a parents financial and relationship worries can affect their child and this book was exactly what I was hoping for because it shows that it can have an affect without anyone even realizing it.
The entire book had me on edge because my mind just had no idea what would happen next especially with such an unpredictable character as Ruen. You didn’t know what he would look like next never mind act.
The ending was very unexpected which I don’t normally come across in books so I was pleasantly surprised :)
October 26, 2014
This book was more of an 3.5 stars.
Alex is a young boy who lives with his mom in not the greatest of environments. She has tried to commit suicide several times and they are dirt poor. Alex is such an unusual boy though. He is way smarter than his years and there is the fact that he sees demons. In particular one demon named Ruen. Ruen appears to him mostly as a old man.
Ruen says he is helping Alex and I do see that he does that somethings but all in all-he is a shit. Being a demon allows that though.
Anya steps in to help the family. Mostly you know what happens when peole get involved "helping" someone. The mom and Alex both end up in the hospital. I did like Anya though. Her heart was in the right place but she was dealing with demons of her own.
That frigging ending though!
I did recieve a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alex is a young boy who lives with his mom in not the greatest of environments. She has tried to commit suicide several times and they are dirt poor. Alex is such an unusual boy though. He is way smarter than his years and there is the fact that he sees demons. In particular one demon named Ruen. Ruen appears to him mostly as a old man.
Ruen says he is helping Alex and I do see that he does that somethings but all in all-he is a shit. Being a demon allows that though.
Anya steps in to help the family. Mostly you know what happens when peole get involved "helping" someone. The mom and Alex both end up in the hospital. I did like Anya though. Her heart was in the right place but she was dealing with demons of her own.
That frigging ending though!
I did recieve a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 21, 2020
Me ha encantado, me ha gustado mucho y no me esperaba lo que realmente es el libro. Pensaba que iban a haber demonios y que iba a ser de temática fantástica, pero no... Aviso que este libro no es fantástico. Este libro trata sobre un niño y lo que ha vivido, sobre las consecuencias del conflicto armado de Belfast en un niño y cómo lo interioriza.
March 25, 2018
Con toda seguridad puedo afirmar que éste va a ser uno de los mejores libros de este año. Un thriller psicológico que me atrapó tanto que perdí la cabeza, lo leí en dos días sólo porque en algún momento tenía que irme a dormir. La trama y el protagonista están tan bien hechos que no podés parar hasta saber cómo terminará todo. Vayan y léanlo!
July 15, 2013
This is a nuanced, deeply disturbing book, one that's difficult to review, precisely because it's brilliant. It's like peeling an onion: the more you peel, the more you realize there's always another layer.
Set in Northern Ireland in 2007, the book alternates between the point of view of Anya, a 43-year-old child psychiatrist grieving the suicide of her young daughter, and Alex, a 10-year-old boy living in the slums of Belfast with a depressed, suicidal mother, an absent father who disappeared a few years before under mysterious circumstances, and an army of demons.
The title of the novel refers to Alex and these demons, particularly Ruen, a cruel, fearsome "Harrower" demon who has four forms (a dark, formless "blob," an old man, a red-horned monster, and a young "ghost boy," who looks and dresses quite a bit like Alex). Is Alex schizophrenic, as Anya, who is his psychiatrist, believes, or are the demons he sees real? If they're not real, how does Alex know some of the things he knows? And how can Anya help him, and help herself?
These questions are a focus of the story certainly, but they're not THE focus, and the reviews who claim disappointment in the ending are clearly from readers who didn't understand the gist of the story, its very core. It's like saying Moby Dick is a book about a dude hunting a whale. Well, yeah, but that's very much missing the point.
At heart, this is a story about pain: the pain that comes from living in constant fear of violence and of children bearing witness to this violence in a country torn by decades of religious and political upheaval (if you happen to be oblivious to British politics, just Google "Northern Ireland conflict" or "The Troubles," and see what comes up). It's also about the pain, the unbearable grief, that comes from losing a child. How far does the mind go to protect itself, and how much grief, fear, and pain can it take before it breaks?
Set in Northern Ireland in 2007, the book alternates between the point of view of Anya, a 43-year-old child psychiatrist grieving the suicide of her young daughter, and Alex, a 10-year-old boy living in the slums of Belfast with a depressed, suicidal mother, an absent father who disappeared a few years before under mysterious circumstances, and an army of demons.
The title of the novel refers to Alex and these demons, particularly Ruen, a cruel, fearsome "Harrower" demon who has four forms (a dark, formless "blob," an old man, a red-horned monster, and a young "ghost boy," who looks and dresses quite a bit like Alex). Is Alex schizophrenic, as Anya, who is his psychiatrist, believes, or are the demons he sees real? If they're not real, how does Alex know some of the things he knows? And how can Anya help him, and help herself?
These questions are a focus of the story certainly, but they're not THE focus, and the reviews who claim disappointment in the ending are clearly from readers who didn't understand the gist of the story, its very core. It's like saying Moby Dick is a book about a dude hunting a whale. Well, yeah, but that's very much missing the point.
At heart, this is a story about pain: the pain that comes from living in constant fear of violence and of children bearing witness to this violence in a country torn by decades of religious and political upheaval (if you happen to be oblivious to British politics, just Google "Northern Ireland conflict" or "The Troubles," and see what comes up). It's also about the pain, the unbearable grief, that comes from losing a child. How far does the mind go to protect itself, and how much grief, fear, and pain can it take before it breaks?
October 23, 2020
Un libro que esconde mucho detrás. No es la historia de un niño que ve demonios, es mucho más. Me ha gustado por la forma de verlo todo desde dos personajes distintos, cada uno con su pasado, cada uno con su cruz. Unas vidas nada fáciles. Alex es un niño maravilloso que ha crecido antes de tiempo por el ambiente en el que se ha criado, un personaje al que se le toma cariño. Una historia triste pero con esperanza. Lo recomiendo.
August 7, 2013
Demons propagate this novel to the point of a psychological nightmare, creating suspense and tension with every turn of the page. But it’s not always the demons on the outside, the ones that are clearly evil and visible, that we need to try to eradicate. Many times the demons on the inside, the ones that appear when we look in the mirror, are just as bad, if not worse than the fiends who tear through society with more force than a tornado.
Every time I sit down at my laptop computer in a writing mode, I confront demons, not the ones with horns or that appear as old men or black mist or with red faces or gnashing teeth, but I’d argue my demon is just as bad. Let’s call him the self-doubt demon. And I’ll be honest, sometimes self-doubt does win, sometimes he seizes the upper hand in those moments where I toss self-confidence out the window and curl up in a fetal position on the living room floor. However, even if it’s just for a brief while, I treasure those moments when I conquer my demon.
THE BOY WHO COULD SEE DEMONS alternates between Dr. Anya Molokova’s perspective and Alex Connolly’s diary entries with effortless ease. The jokes that accompany the beginning of the diary entries help ease off the gas-filled tension and psychological suspense. Both characters earn our sympathy but for entirely different reasons. Compassion humanizes this tale on the one hand, while on the other it adds another level or two to the ongoing horror.
Even though there’s tension and mysterious elements compacted in less than 300 pages of prose, I never felt fully-engaged, the way a true mystery or thriller captures my attention, causing me to flip pages faster than a bullet train speeding across the plains. But that’s not to say there isn’t talent at work here, because there is. I saw it in the writing and language and story development, but I just felt like I was staring at ¾ of a circle. As for the ending, it left a slightly bitter, chalky taste in my mouth similar to Pepto-Bismol.
I received this book for free through NetGalley.
Every time I sit down at my laptop computer in a writing mode, I confront demons, not the ones with horns or that appear as old men or black mist or with red faces or gnashing teeth, but I’d argue my demon is just as bad. Let’s call him the self-doubt demon. And I’ll be honest, sometimes self-doubt does win, sometimes he seizes the upper hand in those moments where I toss self-confidence out the window and curl up in a fetal position on the living room floor. However, even if it’s just for a brief while, I treasure those moments when I conquer my demon.
THE BOY WHO COULD SEE DEMONS alternates between Dr. Anya Molokova’s perspective and Alex Connolly’s diary entries with effortless ease. The jokes that accompany the beginning of the diary entries help ease off the gas-filled tension and psychological suspense. Both characters earn our sympathy but for entirely different reasons. Compassion humanizes this tale on the one hand, while on the other it adds another level or two to the ongoing horror.
Even though there’s tension and mysterious elements compacted in less than 300 pages of prose, I never felt fully-engaged, the way a true mystery or thriller captures my attention, causing me to flip pages faster than a bullet train speeding across the plains. But that’s not to say there isn’t talent at work here, because there is. I saw it in the writing and language and story development, but I just felt like I was staring at ¾ of a circle. As for the ending, it left a slightly bitter, chalky taste in my mouth similar to Pepto-Bismol.
I received this book for free through NetGalley.
August 24, 2013
Anya, a respected psychiatrist, returns to Belfast in an effort to change the very real problem of the lack of psychiatric care available to treat the very real problems those who have lived through The Troubles and their children are experiencing. Cindy, a young mother, has tried to commit suicide and not for the first time. Her young son, Alex has tried to hurt a teacher and claims to see a demon named Ruen, who is telling him to do these things. Anya is assigned to the case of Alex.
Alex quickly won my heart. A brave little boy, who tries to take care of his mother, who has never been the same since the death of his father. He is old beyond his years, very self sufficient and wise. His biggest fear is being separated from his mother and that his father may be in hell. He also sees demons and tries to resist when they tell him to do things he knows are not right.
Anya herself, is recovering from a horrible tragedy and quickly identifies with both Alex and Cindy. I was appalled at the very real statistic that 20% of the young children in Belfast are experiencing severe psychiatric problems. This book is an attempt to bring that to the world's notice. All is not as it seems in this book, There are things under the surface and maybe a reader more savvy than I will be able to see them coming, but I did not. Wonderful book, with an important message.
Alex quickly won my heart. A brave little boy, who tries to take care of his mother, who has never been the same since the death of his father. He is old beyond his years, very self sufficient and wise. His biggest fear is being separated from his mother and that his father may be in hell. He also sees demons and tries to resist when they tell him to do things he knows are not right.
Anya herself, is recovering from a horrible tragedy and quickly identifies with both Alex and Cindy. I was appalled at the very real statistic that 20% of the young children in Belfast are experiencing severe psychiatric problems. This book is an attempt to bring that to the world's notice. All is not as it seems in this book, There are things under the surface and maybe a reader more savvy than I will be able to see them coming, but I did not. Wonderful book, with an important message.
December 9, 2023
Titulo: Mi amigo el demonio
Autor: Carolyn Jess-Cooke
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 4.5/5
No soy muy amiga de leer historias donde los niños sean protagonistas. Por que lei este libro? Por dos motivos, por cumplir un desafio de lectura, y porque la historia involucra psiquiatras (tengo debilidad por esa clase de personajes). Por suerte esta novela me sorprendio para bien.
Alex se robo mi corazon al 100%, hubo muchos momentos donde queria entrar dentro del libro y abrazarlo, decirle que todo eventualmente estaria bien. Es un personaje muy bien desarrollado, ya que es un misterio, es complejo.
Alex intenta lidiar con los problemas de una mama (Cindy) que tiene muchas dificultades de salud mental, esto hace que la salud mental de Alex tambien se vea afectada. Sumemos a esto un padre ausente.
A pesar de su corta edad, el niño demuestra tener una madurez emocional (el tipico caso de forzado a crecer antes de tiempo), es sensible, empatico, es amoroso, es un niño que desarolla un mecanismo de defensa poco convencional en haras de superar todas las dificultades. Lamentablemente Alex vive cosas que ningun niño deberia vivir.
Esta historia esta situada en Irlanda, y aborda el tema de los padres que han estado expuesto al flagelo de la situacion IRA, y como el trauma repercute en la crianza de los hijos.
La trama esta narrada en dos voces, la perspectiva de Alex, y la perspectiva de su psiquiatra, la doctora Anya (la doctora tambien lidia con un infierno propio).
Alex habla de su amigo, quien es un demonio llamado Ruen, y la autora permanentemente juega con lo que podria ser real y lo que no.
Durante la trama se habla sobre la este es un trastorno que a veces es dificil de diagnosticar (ya que comparte sintomas/señales con otros trastornos), y es mucho mas dificil cuando se trata de diagnosticar niños pequeños.
La revelacion y como esto afecta enormemente la psiquis del pequeño, la caida del idolo, el horror y el panico de la posibilidad de ser igual
Carolyn Jess-Cooke provoca al lector, te hace pensar y re-plantear muchas cosas. Una cosa que me gustaria destacar de esta autora, ademas de una prosa agil y realmente muy buena, es la enorme investigacion de trasfondo, se nota que la autora se tomo el tiempo de investigar varios temas, para entregarnos un thriller psicologico digno de ser leido.
Autor: Carolyn Jess-Cooke
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 4.5/5
No soy muy amiga de leer historias donde los niños sean protagonistas. Por que lei este libro? Por dos motivos, por cumplir un desafio de lectura, y porque la historia involucra psiquiatras (tengo debilidad por esa clase de personajes). Por suerte esta novela me sorprendio para bien.
Alex se robo mi corazon al 100%, hubo muchos momentos donde queria entrar dentro del libro y abrazarlo, decirle que todo eventualmente estaria bien. Es un personaje muy bien desarrollado, ya que es un misterio, es complejo.
Alex intenta lidiar con los problemas de una mama (Cindy) que tiene muchas dificultades de salud mental, esto hace que la salud mental de Alex tambien se vea afectada. Sumemos a esto un padre ausente.
A pesar de su corta edad, el niño demuestra tener una madurez emocional (el tipico caso de forzado a crecer antes de tiempo), es sensible, empatico, es amoroso, es un niño que desarolla un mecanismo de defensa poco convencional en haras de superar todas las dificultades. Lamentablemente Alex vive cosas que ningun niño deberia vivir.
Esta historia esta situada en Irlanda, y aborda el tema de los padres que han estado expuesto al flagelo de la situacion IRA, y como el trauma repercute en la crianza de los hijos.
La trama esta narrada en dos voces, la perspectiva de Alex, y la perspectiva de su psiquiatra, la doctora Anya (la doctora tambien lidia con un infierno propio).
Alex habla de su amigo, quien es un demonio llamado Ruen, y la autora permanentemente juega con lo que podria ser real y lo que no.
Durante la trama se habla sobre la este es un trastorno que a veces es dificil de diagnosticar (ya que comparte sintomas/señales con otros trastornos), y es mucho mas dificil cuando se trata de diagnosticar niños pequeños.
La revelacion y como esto afecta enormemente la psiquis del pequeño, la caida del idolo, el horror y el panico de la posibilidad de ser igual
Carolyn Jess-Cooke provoca al lector, te hace pensar y re-plantear muchas cosas. Una cosa que me gustaria destacar de esta autora, ademas de una prosa agil y realmente muy buena, es la enorme investigacion de trasfondo, se nota que la autora se tomo el tiempo de investigar varios temas, para entregarnos un thriller psicologico digno de ser leido.
February 16, 2015
Muy lindo libro, muy original y cautivador.
Creo que deja algunas preguntas sin respuesta, por eso va una estrella menos, pero en términos generales y aunque no estaba de humor para leer un drama, me encantó.
Nota: después de leer reviews acá durante una hora y agarrarme un tremendo dolor de cabeza ya que aparentemente no había ENTENDIDO PARA NADAAA este libro y eso inexorablemente me pintaba como alguien con problemas mentales (lo dice un review ahí abajo, si no entendés el libro los tenés porque es obvio lo que pasa), descubrí que la edición de Estados Unidos tiene un final alternativo. Ese final alternativo ata los cabos que me hicieron ruido en la edición que leí (la original, la de UK).
Edito: ¿Saben qué? No puedo sacarme este libro de la cabeza. Lo que hace la autora es INCREÍBLE. Te pone en la piel de una personal mentalmente enferma, en ningún momento sabes qué es real y qué no. Es grandioso el trabajo psicológico que tiene este libro. Lean la versión que lean, vale 100% la pena. Aunque en un comienzo me disgustó saber que existía una versión alternativa, actualmente creo que es la que mejor cierra la historia y la que más sentido le da a todo. Sin embargo, leánlo, no importa cuál. Es muy fuerte la experiencia.
Creo que deja algunas preguntas sin respuesta, por eso va una estrella menos, pero en términos generales y aunque no estaba de humor para leer un drama, me encantó.
Nota: después de leer reviews acá durante una hora y agarrarme un tremendo dolor de cabeza ya que aparentemente no había ENTENDIDO PARA NADAAA este libro y eso inexorablemente me pintaba como alguien con problemas mentales (lo dice un review ahí abajo, si no entendés el libro los tenés porque es obvio lo que pasa), descubrí que la edición de Estados Unidos tiene un final alternativo. Ese final alternativo ata los cabos que me hicieron ruido en la edición que leí (la original, la de UK).
Edito: ¿Saben qué? No puedo sacarme este libro de la cabeza. Lo que hace la autora es INCREÍBLE. Te pone en la piel de una personal mentalmente enferma, en ningún momento sabes qué es real y qué no. Es grandioso el trabajo psicológico que tiene este libro. Lean la versión que lean, vale 100% la pena. Aunque en un comienzo me disgustó saber que existía una versión alternativa, actualmente creo que es la que mejor cierra la historia y la que más sentido le da a todo. Sin embargo, leánlo, no importa cuál. Es muy fuerte la experiencia.
September 12, 2014
One in five Northern Irish children will experience major mental health problems before their eighteenth birthday, with case studies flagging self-harm as a response to confrontation and shame for family involvement in violence.
This was an easy-reading book about a very interesting topic. It shows just how thin the line between reality and psychosis is. As a mom I can't imagine watching your child struggle with schizophrenia, there must be few things that would make you feel more helpless than seeing your baby lose touch with all things real, and moving into his/her own world. The author describes this brilliantly. I also enjoyed the characters, and especially liked Alex.
The twist right at the end of the book was excellent, I never saw it coming. BUT after the big reveal, the rest of the story was rushed of and wrapped up way too quickly. I would have wanted to read more about the how and why.
If you enjoyed You Came Back and Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, this is for you.
The Story: The Boy Who Could See Demons follows a child psychologist who comes up against a career-defining case—one that threatens to unravel her own painful past and jeopardizes the life of a boy who can see the impossible.
August 12, 2013
Pop your demons, burn your cookies and gather round the fire!
This is a very strange novel and a hard one to review, because everything I say might come out as a spoiler, now that I've read the ending and I know things for what they are.
The book swings between the narratives of Alex, the boy who could see demons, and Anya, the psychiatrist assigned to his case. While the issue at the crux of the novel is demons(or mental illness, if you aren't given to fantasies), from schizophrenia and depression to the absolute suffering it bears down on the loved ones, Carolyn Jess-Cookes also explores with intricacy and subtlety, with dark jokes and Hamletian themes, the political conflicts in Northern Ireland and the hereditary nature of mental instability caused by the Troubles in the adults who once were children. About families and lost ones, about bad people who smile and help old ladies. About shadow violence that happens just out of the corner of your eye.
Alex has a best friend, Ruen, who's a demon and thousands of years old and knows all languages and who makes his mother sad enough to try to kill herself. For the fifth time. Which places him under the care of Anya, a middle-aged woman who suffers still from the death of her schizophrenic child four years ago and her memories. Dispelling the existence of Ruen as a figment of imagination brought down by the instability Alex's experienced all his life, Anya diagnoses him schizophrenic and starts treating him accordingly. Until, suspicions begin to creep in and inexplicable stuff happens and now nobody is sure anymore who or what is Ruen.
The thing I like best about the book is that unlike many novel which steep in and out of confusion and rely solely on their endings to blow our minds, The Boy Who Could See Demons maintains an engaging pace and narration throughout the book that makes you feel as though you need a singular more clue and you'll have it all figured out. There is no distinct perplexity, it's simple enough that either there's a demon or there isn't.
Until the ending.
And then it BLOWS YOUR MIND.
It isn't perfect and would piss some people off, I guess, but I felt it was honest for a book that had been lying pretty much the whole time. There are times I feel it was just convenient, but fact is, after going through the novel once again, it makes sense, seeing the hints dropped here and there with truth and fiction mixing in a bit.
The story has a decidedly The Sixth Sense-flavor about it and I don't mean it as a spoiler. The whole structure with a cute, unhinged child and an even more unhinged adult who gets obsessed with helping the child recover, finding in that a sort of absolution they couldn't anywhere else, is similar and the haunting quality familiar.
The characters are solid and believable, including the side characters. Michael was a likable character with his firm belief in not separating a family, and Alex's mom had her dejected past to contend with.
Frankly, I was surprised by how easily I had been immersed in the book and how much I came to like it. It was surprising without having to rely on shock factors. I don't if it'd be your cup of tea or not, actually because I didn't even know it was mine until I read the joke in Karen's review.
A review copy was provided by the publishers.
Crossposted on Books behind Dam{n}s
This is a very strange novel and a hard one to review, because everything I say might come out as a spoiler, now that I've read the ending and I know things for what they are.
The book swings between the narratives of Alex, the boy who could see demons, and Anya, the psychiatrist assigned to his case. While the issue at the crux of the novel is demons(or mental illness, if you aren't given to fantasies), from schizophrenia and depression to the absolute suffering it bears down on the loved ones, Carolyn Jess-Cookes also explores with intricacy and subtlety, with dark jokes and Hamletian themes, the political conflicts in Northern Ireland and the hereditary nature of mental instability caused by the Troubles in the adults who once were children. About families and lost ones, about bad people who smile and help old ladies. About shadow violence that happens just out of the corner of your eye.
Alex has a best friend, Ruen, who's a demon and thousands of years old and knows all languages and who makes his mother sad enough to try to kill herself. For the fifth time. Which places him under the care of Anya, a middle-aged woman who suffers still from the death of her schizophrenic child four years ago and her memories. Dispelling the existence of Ruen as a figment of imagination brought down by the instability Alex's experienced all his life, Anya diagnoses him schizophrenic and starts treating him accordingly. Until, suspicions begin to creep in and inexplicable stuff happens and now nobody is sure anymore who or what is Ruen.
The thing I like best about the book is that unlike many novel which steep in and out of confusion and rely solely on their endings to blow our minds, The Boy Who Could See Demons maintains an engaging pace and narration throughout the book that makes you feel as though you need a singular more clue and you'll have it all figured out. There is no distinct perplexity, it's simple enough that either there's a demon or there isn't.
Until the ending.
And then it BLOWS YOUR MIND.
It isn't perfect and would piss some people off, I guess, but I felt it was honest for a book that had been lying pretty much the whole time. There are times I feel it was just convenient, but fact is, after going through the novel once again, it makes sense, seeing the hints dropped here and there with truth and fiction mixing in a bit.
The story has a decidedly The Sixth Sense-flavor about it and I don't mean it as a spoiler. The whole structure with a cute, unhinged child and an even more unhinged adult who gets obsessed with helping the child recover, finding in that a sort of absolution they couldn't anywhere else, is similar and the haunting quality familiar.
The characters are solid and believable, including the side characters. Michael was a likable character with his firm belief in not separating a family, and Alex's mom had her dejected past to contend with.
Frankly, I was surprised by how easily I had been immersed in the book and how much I came to like it. It was surprising without having to rely on shock factors. I don't if it'd be your cup of tea or not, actually because I didn't even know it was mine until I read the joke in Karen's review.
A review copy was provided by the publishers.
Crossposted on Books behind Dam{n}s
August 8, 2013
The Boy Who Could See Demons by Carolyn Jess-Cooke is one of the most profound novels I've read in a while. Because of its protagonists, a deeply troubled ten-year old who can see demons and Anya, a psychiatrist who has her own demons to contend with. The Boy Who Could See Demons explores the affects of living in Northern Ireland during its political/religious conflict, PTSD, childhood schizophrenia, suicide, psychosis, and other supernatural occurances.
The voice of this novel alternates between Alex and Anya. Alex is an intelligent ten-year old who's uncanny ability to speak and see demons (not angels, ghosts) places him on the top of the list for children who are in dire need of care. As well as the self-harm and violence against others, inability to distinguish reality from fantasy, unusual perceptal experiences places him that list of persons in need of treatment, perhaps. After his mother attempts suicide (try #5), his social worker Michael places his treatment in the care of Anya. Anya carries with her a demon as well after seeing her daughter commit suicide and was unable to stop her. Anya feels drawn to Alex and his overwhelming insight into her own personal struggle causes her to question what is real and isn't.
The other main character in the novel is Ruen, Alex's demon friend. Ruen plays a major role in this novel. There are moments when he's able to entice Alex to do things that aren't on the up and up. During blackouts, we are left wondering if maybe they are a result of Ruen at work or something else. The most interesting aspect about Ruen is his ability to come to Alex in different forms. These forms Alex has named Horn Head, Monster, Ghost Boy, and Old Man. Ruen made his appearance the day of his father's mysterious disappearance.
I have said too much. I apologize. The Boy Who Could See Demons is so interesting and is really worth talking about. I usually breeze through reads but I savored every moment with Alex, and absorbed all the information about mental illnesses I could when Anya was narrating. That's not to say Anya is boring or overly technical, but Jess-Cooke does an exceptional job at inserting the realities of children living in the nightmare that was Northern Ireland during and before 2007. She notes that one in five Northern Ireland children will experience major mental health issues. In fact, the premier reason I was unable to speed through The Boy Who Could See Demons is because I wanted to know more about the history of the country (thank you Wikipedia).
Ultimately, I don't think this is a novel that should be missed. The Boy Who Could See Demons is captivating, and engrossing with richly drawn characters whom we wish to see through to the end. Deeply damaged characters as ravaged as the countryside litter the pages of this book. Insert here honorable mention of Hamlet for all you scholars out there who would love to interpret it's reasoning for being in this novel and how it relates to Alex. I recommend this novel to everyone. It's one of my must-reads of this summer. FYI the ending is a shocker so go and get this book and findout why!
The voice of this novel alternates between Alex and Anya. Alex is an intelligent ten-year old who's uncanny ability to speak and see demons (not angels, ghosts) places him on the top of the list for children who are in dire need of care. As well as the self-harm and violence against others, inability to distinguish reality from fantasy, unusual perceptal experiences places him that list of persons in need of treatment, perhaps. After his mother attempts suicide (try #5), his social worker Michael places his treatment in the care of Anya. Anya carries with her a demon as well after seeing her daughter commit suicide and was unable to stop her. Anya feels drawn to Alex and his overwhelming insight into her own personal struggle causes her to question what is real and isn't.
The other main character in the novel is Ruen, Alex's demon friend. Ruen plays a major role in this novel. There are moments when he's able to entice Alex to do things that aren't on the up and up. During blackouts, we are left wondering if maybe they are a result of Ruen at work or something else. The most interesting aspect about Ruen is his ability to come to Alex in different forms. These forms Alex has named Horn Head, Monster, Ghost Boy, and Old Man. Ruen made his appearance the day of his father's mysterious disappearance.
I have said too much. I apologize. The Boy Who Could See Demons is so interesting and is really worth talking about. I usually breeze through reads but I savored every moment with Alex, and absorbed all the information about mental illnesses I could when Anya was narrating. That's not to say Anya is boring or overly technical, but Jess-Cooke does an exceptional job at inserting the realities of children living in the nightmare that was Northern Ireland during and before 2007. She notes that one in five Northern Ireland children will experience major mental health issues. In fact, the premier reason I was unable to speed through The Boy Who Could See Demons is because I wanted to know more about the history of the country (thank you Wikipedia).
Ultimately, I don't think this is a novel that should be missed. The Boy Who Could See Demons is captivating, and engrossing with richly drawn characters whom we wish to see through to the end. Deeply damaged characters as ravaged as the countryside litter the pages of this book. Insert here honorable mention of Hamlet for all you scholars out there who would love to interpret it's reasoning for being in this novel and how it relates to Alex. I recommend this novel to everyone. It's one of my must-reads of this summer. FYI the ending is a shocker so go and get this book and findout why!
February 6, 2017
El libro va sobre un niño, Alex, que puede ver demonios, pero hay uno en especial que se convierte en su mejor amigo, Ruen. Ruen no tiene una apariencia propia, si no son 3 distintas maneras que adopta tomadas del subconsciente de Alex.
La historia es sencillamente fascinante, ame todo de este libro, contiene momentos desgarradores y algunos muy felices.
Es increíble la manera en la que la autora maneja a Ruen, llegue a determinado punto en el que yo también me sentía frustrado, no sabia si el demonio era real o no; hablando del mismo, debo señalar que tiene una personalidad muy interesante, es un ser muy caprichoso y cruel... pero a la vez siento que no era tan malo, digo, por eso mismo es el mejor amigo de Alex ¿no?.
En cuanto al protagonista, es un personaje fascinante, un niño de tan solo diez años con una madurez extraordinaria para su edad, que en muchos momentos me cuestioné la edad que tenía, sin embargo, a pesar de su madurez, nunca se dejó a un lado su inocencia, una mezcla muy interesante. Un personaje bastante bien construido y logrado que conforme avanza la trama te encariñas con el y compartes sus emociones, ríes, lloras, sufres a su lado.
Por lo que hace a la trama, en ningún momento cae, mantiene la atención del lector, la presentación de constantes situaciones hace que se den varios giros en la historia sin saber a dónde va a parar.
La historia es sencillamente fascinante, ame todo de este libro, contiene momentos desgarradores y algunos muy felices.
Es increíble la manera en la que la autora maneja a Ruen, llegue a determinado punto en el que yo también me sentía frustrado, no sabia si el demonio era real o no; hablando del mismo, debo señalar que tiene una personalidad muy interesante, es un ser muy caprichoso y cruel... pero a la vez siento que no era tan malo, digo, por eso mismo es el mejor amigo de Alex ¿no?.
En cuanto al protagonista, es un personaje fascinante, un niño de tan solo diez años con una madurez extraordinaria para su edad, que en muchos momentos me cuestioné la edad que tenía, sin embargo, a pesar de su madurez, nunca se dejó a un lado su inocencia, una mezcla muy interesante. Un personaje bastante bien construido y logrado que conforme avanza la trama te encariñas con el y compartes sus emociones, ríes, lloras, sufres a su lado.
Por lo que hace a la trama, en ningún momento cae, mantiene la atención del lector, la presentación de constantes situaciones hace que se den varios giros en la historia sin saber a dónde va a parar.
April 4, 2021
I'm honestly conflicted on how to rate this book... For now I'm putting it down as a 3-star read, although I may up it to 4 stars later down the road. I need a bit of processing time before I give a definitive answer.
Note: this rating applies to the UK version, as apparently the ending published in the US is very different and sounds much worse in my opinion.
Note: this rating applies to the UK version, as apparently the ending published in the US is very different and sounds much worse in my opinion.
October 23, 2020
Una hermosa historia con personajes entrañables, particularmente Alex me cautivó, con una madurez prematura a pesar de su corta edad desarrollada a consecuencia de todas las adversidades que tuvo que atravesar y activando mecanismos de defensa a su realidad.
La trama es relatada a dos voces, una mirada infantil desde la perspectiva de Alex y otra mas compleja a través de los ojos de la Dra. Anya, una psiquiatra infantil quien para ayudar a Alex debe luchar primero con sus propios demonios interiores.
En cuanto a la conclusión creo que algunos detalles quedaron inconclusos, pero ahí está la cuestión que creer y que no creer mas allá de lo racional.
La trama es relatada a dos voces, una mirada infantil desde la perspectiva de Alex y otra mas compleja a través de los ojos de la Dra. Anya, una psiquiatra infantil quien para ayudar a Alex debe luchar primero con sus propios demonios interiores.
En cuanto a la conclusión creo que algunos detalles quedaron inconclusos, pero ahí está la cuestión que creer y que no creer mas allá de lo racional.
October 23, 2020
La base de la historia me parece muy interesante. Es un tema que puede dar mucho de si, pero para mí la autora se queda a medio camino.
Creo que podría ser mucho más intenso y sobrecogedor. Hubiera agradecido más substancia.
Creo que podría ser mucho más intenso y sobrecogedor. Hubiera agradecido más substancia.
December 22, 2013
Having mulled this over, it's a 4.5 star rather than a 5.
This was a wake up call for me as an Irish person, albeit of the southern variety. The 1998 peace agreement brought to an uneasy conclusion 29 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, a period in which countless people on both sides of the divide lost their lives and where families were torn apart. The ceasefire was heralded as a new chapter in the province, filled with hope for an end to terror and violence.
That's the fairy story.
The reality is that unrest rumbles on and that paramilitary forces are an underlying and unrelenting presence; generations of feuds, bitterness and hatred cannot be wiped completely clear by a political agreement. The physical manifestations of The Troubles are there in the political graffiti that adorns buildings, the sites of atrocities such as the Enniskillen bombing and in the reaction to the unionist parades that take place during the marching season.
What this book made me think about is the effect that The Troubles have had on younger generations. Alex and his mother have been deeply affected by their experience of living in this environment; the story deftly explores the 'demons' that they both face as they struggle with the challenges of poverty and the circumstances in which they live.
Why 4.5 and not 5 stars? I felt that in part the story was written with an eye to the big screen which meant that some aspects did not ring true. However, this was an enjoyable read and a book that I shall revisit.
This was a wake up call for me as an Irish person, albeit of the southern variety. The 1998 peace agreement brought to an uneasy conclusion 29 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, a period in which countless people on both sides of the divide lost their lives and where families were torn apart. The ceasefire was heralded as a new chapter in the province, filled with hope for an end to terror and violence.
That's the fairy story.
The reality is that unrest rumbles on and that paramilitary forces are an underlying and unrelenting presence; generations of feuds, bitterness and hatred cannot be wiped completely clear by a political agreement. The physical manifestations of The Troubles are there in the political graffiti that adorns buildings, the sites of atrocities such as the Enniskillen bombing and in the reaction to the unionist parades that take place during the marching season.
What this book made me think about is the effect that The Troubles have had on younger generations. Alex and his mother have been deeply affected by their experience of living in this environment; the story deftly explores the 'demons' that they both face as they struggle with the challenges of poverty and the circumstances in which they live.
Why 4.5 and not 5 stars? I felt that in part the story was written with an eye to the big screen which meant that some aspects did not ring true. However, this was an enjoyable read and a book that I shall revisit.
December 6, 2013
How did I get through this whole book without realizing that Alex's last name was Broccoli?
I've come across children with different special abilities, but never one who saw demons, so the premise of this book interested me. There have been friends and family, who have deep troubles and debilitating mental illness, which, especially when talking to others, I refer to as so-and-so's demons. I was curious to see how this would play out.
Well written, captivating, heartbreaking, with a major twist that is similar to one I've encountered in a few other books and maybe a movie. This time, though, the resolution left me feeling edgy, because I wanted to know how the original story would play out (being careful hear, trying not to get into spoiler territory.) It was a perfectly acceptable ending, a good plot arc, but I was left wanting. Even so, I highly recommend this book. It is a sensitive and illuminating look at mental illness, family love, and healing. And demons.
I've come across children with different special abilities, but never one who saw demons, so the premise of this book interested me. There have been friends and family, who have deep troubles and debilitating mental illness, which, especially when talking to others, I refer to as so-and-so's demons. I was curious to see how this would play out.
Well written, captivating, heartbreaking, with a major twist that is similar to one I've encountered in a few other books and maybe a movie. This time, though, the resolution left me feeling edgy, because I wanted to know how the original story would play out (being careful hear, trying not to get into spoiler territory.) It was a perfectly acceptable ending, a good plot arc, but I was left wanting. Even so, I highly recommend this book. It is a sensitive and illuminating look at mental illness, family love, and healing. And demons.
December 2, 2020
Una novela muy recomendable, engancha desde las primeras páginas y tiene una
August 9, 2015
4.5/5 Stars
E-ARC contributed by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
You know, this was my first really awesome experience with an ARC; I requested this title because of the gorgeous cover and because of the captivating descriptive blurb, but I got so much more than I thought I would. I got an amazingly engaging read that pulled me in one-hundred percent and beguiled me so much that I actually lost sleep over it. It's so rewarding as a reader to be treated to a true psychological thriller and such a twisted, intricate narrative that really does its job.
One the first things to catch my attention in The Boy Who Could See Demons was the POV switches between chapters; Alex's voice is extremely authentic in the sense that his thought processes are very childlike, but he's also funny and charming—and that's what draws the audience into the book initially. Then there's the voice of Anya: the intelligent psychiatrist who demands authority with her rationality and her expansive knowledge. There's an amazing age gap between characters—not to mention a chasm in psychology, gender, experience, and what have you—yet each voice remained distinctive and true to the character. I felt like the author had a firm grasp on both of the character's mentalities, because they were both separate and concrete; they each brought something different to the story that added to the tension and the fear; it was such a good combination and I was very impressed.
What I also love about this novel is that it has quite a bit of social conscience as well; it poses very intriguing questions (indirectly) about where we draw the line between "normal" and "mentally compromised." For instance, Anya has lost her daughter, as we learn very early on in the novel, and in mourning her, she often has visions of her in familiar places and recalls the sound of her voice—things nobody who understands loss would give a second thought to. Then there's Alex who, arguably, ALSO has visions, who also hears things and has these moments where he's taken out of reality. I think it was a really awesome choice to pair these two characters up, because, like I said, it really makes the audience think about what defines mental illness and what articulates sanity. It was this cool sort of undercurrent throughout the whole story and I really enjoyed that aspect of the story.
What really captivated me were the nuances of the writing—the details and the subtleties of the style. There's also quite a bit of profound narration, what with Alex and his demon "Ruen." For instance:
I also really like that there's a lot of in-depth information in regards to Anya's treatment of Alex; her narration includes all the technical, psychological jargon concerning her theories about Alex, but it's never dry and even though it might not be entirely scientifically accurate all of the time, it felt pertinent to the plot and it was fascinating to read:
And she's just as insightful of a narrator:
Overall, there was just some great writing happening consistently, and it really supported the complex plot going on. The narration and the investment kept me intrigued; I felt as if the level of the writing helped this book extend beyond the boundaries of its plot, because it really immersed the audience in things to think about, which is something I LOVE in a book.
Even though this story is about a little boy and his "demon," it's really also a masterful mystery. The tension climbs so absurdly high in this book and it keeps the audience guessing at every single moment. Naturally, the reader might lean towards Anya's narration in terms of authority because she's the seasoned psychologist and she is really invested in Alex's case, so in that sense I felt like the audience was really with her all the way. There comes a point in this novel where I felt like, just as Anya had, I had to stop thinking of Alex's case rationally—without using any psychological, scientific, or religious basis—because each new scene added a whole new level of unpredictability and the incline to the climax was, in a word, "obscure;" every development was unfathomable and beyond rational explanation.
I felt like I had to sacrafice linear thinking along with Anya in order to "solve the case," so to speak, as the story went on. The suspense was indescribable; the more Alex's experiences got increasingly serious, the more I strayed from reality and starting feeling this intense fear for everyone involved. Every detail of this book is so well-thought out, because each twist the plot took was completely unexpected and it all led to a phenomenal ending that stuck with me for days.
All in all, this book was sensational. The writing was beyond amazing, the concept was mind-bending, and the structure just brought the audience in and tricked them into thinking that this was a simple story about a young boy with a fixable problem. I loved the whole thing. I could not put it down and I literally could not rest after putting it down for the night.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy a good psychological thriller—or thrillers of any kind, for that matter. It goes beyond expectations, I promise you, and it will leave an impression on you one way or another.
E-ARC contributed by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
You know, this was my first really awesome experience with an ARC; I requested this title because of the gorgeous cover and because of the captivating descriptive blurb, but I got so much more than I thought I would. I got an amazingly engaging read that pulled me in one-hundred percent and beguiled me so much that I actually lost sleep over it. It's so rewarding as a reader to be treated to a true psychological thriller and such a twisted, intricate narrative that really does its job.
One the first things to catch my attention in The Boy Who Could See Demons was the POV switches between chapters; Alex's voice is extremely authentic in the sense that his thought processes are very childlike, but he's also funny and charming—and that's what draws the audience into the book initially. Then there's the voice of Anya: the intelligent psychiatrist who demands authority with her rationality and her expansive knowledge. There's an amazing age gap between characters—not to mention a chasm in psychology, gender, experience, and what have you—yet each voice remained distinctive and true to the character. I felt like the author had a firm grasp on both of the character's mentalities, because they were both separate and concrete; they each brought something different to the story that added to the tension and the fear; it was such a good combination and I was very impressed.
What I also love about this novel is that it has quite a bit of social conscience as well; it poses very intriguing questions (indirectly) about where we draw the line between "normal" and "mentally compromised." For instance, Anya has lost her daughter, as we learn very early on in the novel, and in mourning her, she often has visions of her in familiar places and recalls the sound of her voice—things nobody who understands loss would give a second thought to. Then there's Alex who, arguably, ALSO has visions, who also hears things and has these moments where he's taken out of reality. I think it was a really awesome choice to pair these two characters up, because, like I said, it really makes the audience think about what defines mental illness and what articulates sanity. It was this cool sort of undercurrent throughout the whole story and I really enjoyed that aspect of the story.
What really captivated me were the nuances of the writing—the details and the subtleties of the style. There's also quite a bit of profound narration, what with Alex and his demon "Ruen." For instance:
[Ruen] went on and on about how humans don't even know their own language, not really, and don't even have proper words for things like "guilt" and "evil," that it was "idiotic" that a country with so many different kinds of rain should only have one word for it... (E-ARC, p. 20)
I also really like that there's a lot of in-depth information in regards to Anya's treatment of Alex; her narration includes all the technical, psychological jargon concerning her theories about Alex, but it's never dry and even though it might not be entirely scientifically accurate all of the time, it felt pertinent to the plot and it was fascinating to read:
"Ruin is not 'bestial,' he says he's a 'committed intellectual,'" Alex informs me when I query the portraits of some of the beings in the world he describes. His fondness for Ruin is palpable, protective, and I believe there is something of Alex's feeling toward his mother projected onto his imaginary sketch of Ruin, and with good reason: Alex cannot control his mother, but he can control his imaginary beings. (E-ARC, p.88)
And she's just as insightful of a narrator:
Alex never mentions angels, which I find very interesting. No mention of God or any other deity, either. However he insists there are demons everywhere, all the time, and that when he enters an empty room it is not empty, it is like a pub, with demons grouped in corners, plotting, huddled around any humans who happen to be about, temtping, cajoling, scheming. (E-ARC, p.89)
Overall, there was just some great writing happening consistently, and it really supported the complex plot going on. The narration and the investment kept me intrigued; I felt as if the level of the writing helped this book extend beyond the boundaries of its plot, because it really immersed the audience in things to think about, which is something I LOVE in a book.
Even though this story is about a little boy and his "demon," it's really also a masterful mystery. The tension climbs so absurdly high in this book and it keeps the audience guessing at every single moment. Naturally, the reader might lean towards Anya's narration in terms of authority because she's the seasoned psychologist and she is really invested in Alex's case, so in that sense I felt like the audience was really with her all the way. There comes a point in this novel where I felt like, just as Anya had, I had to stop thinking of Alex's case rationally—without using any psychological, scientific, or religious basis—because each new scene added a whole new level of unpredictability and the incline to the climax was, in a word, "obscure;" every development was unfathomable and beyond rational explanation.
I felt like I had to sacrafice linear thinking along with Anya in order to "solve the case," so to speak, as the story went on. The suspense was indescribable; the more Alex's experiences got increasingly serious, the more I strayed from reality and starting feeling this intense fear for everyone involved. Every detail of this book is so well-thought out, because each twist the plot took was completely unexpected and it all led to a phenomenal ending that stuck with me for days.
All in all, this book was sensational. The writing was beyond amazing, the concept was mind-bending, and the structure just brought the audience in and tricked them into thinking that this was a simple story about a young boy with a fixable problem. I loved the whole thing. I could not put it down and I literally could not rest after putting it down for the night.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy a good psychological thriller—or thrillers of any kind, for that matter. It goes beyond expectations, I promise you, and it will leave an impression on you one way or another.
October 7, 2023
La premisa es interesante, pero me parece terriblemente mal ejecutada. Cae en los lugares comunes de los libros de terror que mezclan enfermedades mentales; la psiquiatra trastornada, el paciente con vida trágica y, por supuesto, la esquizofrenia que tanto les gusta retratar. El cierre es bastante pobre, con un montón de cabos sueltos y un final de lo más edulcorado.
Creo que tengo que aprender que los libros de terror con psiquiatras no son para mí. No lo recomiendo.
Creo que tengo que aprender que los libros de terror con psiquiatras no son para mí. No lo recomiendo.
April 11, 2021
Es un excelente libro, me atrapó de principio a fin, pensé que sería un libro de terror y me encontré con un thriller psicológico, muy recomendable.
August 3, 2013
The Boy Who Could See Demons is a Delacorte Press publication. The book was released in 2012.
Anya is a therapist that has dealt with mental illnesses her whole life, beginning with her mother, then with her daughter, Poppy. Sadly, Poppy lost her battle and died.
Now Anya has been given the case of ten year old Alex. Alex has witnessed his mother, Cindy, attempt suicide. Cindy has attempted suicide numerous times. Alex is above average in intelligence and vocabulary. But, he is deeply troubled. He tells Anya that he has an imaginary friend named Ruen, who is actually a demon. Only to Alex, Ruen is very real.
Anya becomes convinced that Alex is in the early stages of mental illness and should be placed in an institution. However, the board and Alex's social worker, Michael, are opposed to that idea and so, Anya continues to treat Alex the best she can. She keeps in touch with Cindy, and with Alex's aunt, as well as interviewing Alex's teachers and talking things out with Michael. Anya and Michael often agree to disagree, but they are also on the same side.
Helplessly, we watch Alex sink deeper and deeper. He has a great many conflicts concerning his father and some very disturbing memories.
Ruen is with Alex at every turn, manipulating him into doing things he wouldn't ordinarily do.
Anya is also at Ruen's mercy it seems. Alex relays messages to Anya from Ruen. These messages send chills down your spine.
While struggling against the system and fighting for what she thinks is the best treatment for Alex, Anya herself begins to have some disturbing episodes with fainting spells.
Throughout the book it feels like there is something just on the periphery that know is there, but can't figure out what exactly it is. A strong sense of foreboding follows you and increases as you learn more about Alex and Ruen. Alex is a delightful child that tells jokes and loves his mother despite her flaws.
Alex's jokes, although corny, provides much needed comic relief. The novel is moody, dark and atmospheric. At times you feel like you are walking through dense fog, hoping that it will eventually burn off and you will be able to see things more clearly.
There are never any real pat answers when dealing with mental illness and this book doesn't attempt to tie everything up in neat bow for the sake of a happy ever after. Naturally, we hope the breakthrough will be a good beginning to restoring lives to some semblance of normalcy. But, there are no guarantees in real life or in this novel, although we hope for the best.
This was a very absorbing read. Mental illness is always a difficult topic. So, this book does have a melancholy tone. But, it's also a psychological suspense novel that mystery lovers might like as well. It's hard to place this book in any particular genre. So, if you like thought provoking novels with a little spine tingle and suspense, you should check this one out. You will think about it for awhile after you have read the last page.
Overall I give this one an A.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the DRC copy of this book.
Anya is a therapist that has dealt with mental illnesses her whole life, beginning with her mother, then with her daughter, Poppy. Sadly, Poppy lost her battle and died.
Now Anya has been given the case of ten year old Alex. Alex has witnessed his mother, Cindy, attempt suicide. Cindy has attempted suicide numerous times. Alex is above average in intelligence and vocabulary. But, he is deeply troubled. He tells Anya that he has an imaginary friend named Ruen, who is actually a demon. Only to Alex, Ruen is very real.
Anya becomes convinced that Alex is in the early stages of mental illness and should be placed in an institution. However, the board and Alex's social worker, Michael, are opposed to that idea and so, Anya continues to treat Alex the best she can. She keeps in touch with Cindy, and with Alex's aunt, as well as interviewing Alex's teachers and talking things out with Michael. Anya and Michael often agree to disagree, but they are also on the same side.
Helplessly, we watch Alex sink deeper and deeper. He has a great many conflicts concerning his father and some very disturbing memories.
Ruen is with Alex at every turn, manipulating him into doing things he wouldn't ordinarily do.
Anya is also at Ruen's mercy it seems. Alex relays messages to Anya from Ruen. These messages send chills down your spine.
While struggling against the system and fighting for what she thinks is the best treatment for Alex, Anya herself begins to have some disturbing episodes with fainting spells.
Throughout the book it feels like there is something just on the periphery that know is there, but can't figure out what exactly it is. A strong sense of foreboding follows you and increases as you learn more about Alex and Ruen. Alex is a delightful child that tells jokes and loves his mother despite her flaws.
Alex's jokes, although corny, provides much needed comic relief. The novel is moody, dark and atmospheric. At times you feel like you are walking through dense fog, hoping that it will eventually burn off and you will be able to see things more clearly.
There are never any real pat answers when dealing with mental illness and this book doesn't attempt to tie everything up in neat bow for the sake of a happy ever after. Naturally, we hope the breakthrough will be a good beginning to restoring lives to some semblance of normalcy. But, there are no guarantees in real life or in this novel, although we hope for the best.
This was a very absorbing read. Mental illness is always a difficult topic. So, this book does have a melancholy tone. But, it's also a psychological suspense novel that mystery lovers might like as well. It's hard to place this book in any particular genre. So, if you like thought provoking novels with a little spine tingle and suspense, you should check this one out. You will think about it for awhile after you have read the last page.
Overall I give this one an A.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the DRC copy of this book.
April 29, 2013
SPOILER ALERT (throughout whole review)
The Boy Who Could See Demons intriguingly weaves together two narratives, that of the determined psychiatrist, and that of the supernaturally visioned boy. To say that this book was inspired by the sixth sense would be an understatement (although I note the end twist is NOT that the shrink is a demon.)
The novel has some real strengths throwing the two perspectives together as it does. The key tension of the novel is the question of whether the demons are real or whether the boy is hallucinating. Aside from a few awkward moments of humour towards the beginning of the book (whose last name is Broccoli??) the boy's narrative reads almost like a supernatural psychological thriller, whereas when the narrative switches to Anya the psychiatrist, we have a more traditional 'cure the ill while dealing with one's own demons (whoa symbolism)' storyline. And as the reader we get to enjoy both.
Cooke also shows some major literary chops by authentically demonstrating the devastating effects of mental illness on families, and also show-casing the bizarre bureaucracy of support and healthcare services.
So why only three stars? (MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD)
Unfortunately for all the brilliance of the premise and setting events this book falls flat. The climax reads more like a cheesy horror ending, and when the question of reality is finally answered we simply get a few pages of questioning thoughts from our realist psychiatrist. I would have no problem with a book like this ending ambiguously, however when answering a question like 'do demons exist' definitively, I feel there should be more exploration of this point, even just answering a few queries like, what are they up to?
In short not a bad read, but fell below brilliance.
The Boy Who Could See Demons intriguingly weaves together two narratives, that of the determined psychiatrist, and that of the supernaturally visioned boy. To say that this book was inspired by the sixth sense would be an understatement (although I note the end twist is NOT that the shrink is a demon.)
The novel has some real strengths throwing the two perspectives together as it does. The key tension of the novel is the question of whether the demons are real or whether the boy is hallucinating. Aside from a few awkward moments of humour towards the beginning of the book (whose last name is Broccoli??) the boy's narrative reads almost like a supernatural psychological thriller, whereas when the narrative switches to Anya the psychiatrist, we have a more traditional 'cure the ill while dealing with one's own demons (whoa symbolism)' storyline. And as the reader we get to enjoy both.
Cooke also shows some major literary chops by authentically demonstrating the devastating effects of mental illness on families, and also show-casing the bizarre bureaucracy of support and healthcare services.
So why only three stars? (MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD)
Unfortunately for all the brilliance of the premise and setting events this book falls flat. The climax reads more like a cheesy horror ending, and when the question of reality is finally answered we simply get a few pages of questioning thoughts from our realist psychiatrist. I would have no problem with a book like this ending ambiguously, however when answering a question like 'do demons exist' definitively, I feel there should be more exploration of this point, even just answering a few queries like, what are they up to?
In short not a bad read, but fell below brilliance.
February 5, 2013
The Boy Who Could See Demons is a deeply moving, yet charmingly insightful, tale of a young boy in Belfast. It’s more topical than the title suggests as the author delicately dances around the topics of: mental health (its treatment and cultural perceptions), the abilities of the social service system, and the ramifications of The Troubles. Though the issues seem serious, Alex’s witty and innocent nature keeps the story more light-hearted and hopeful. Carolyn Jess-Cooke has created a new type of novel that is thriller in pace yet not thriller in story. She gently reveals pieces of Alex’s past in perfect timing to a simple yet surprising plot. The combination leaves you wondering: “Will they find out the truth in time to help Alex?” A touching and revealing story.
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