Snap
3.85 stars
This is a wild ride, a psychological drama/horror story seen through the eyes of Danny, a 17 year-old street hustler and drifter reduced to tricking for food. We get a taste of Dickens when Danny, at the end of hope, with nothing and no one, is visited one night by his ghost of nightmares past and present. He finds himself rescued (or is it avenged...?) by Matthew, a mysterious and dangerous stranger he dubs “Blue Eyes” or “the monster”. Together, they drive around the countryside in ramshackle cars, wreaking havoc. Is Danny headed for hell or towards redemption?
”I finally asked for something to drink. He (Matthew) cocked his head toward the back seat. “Cooler back there.” I turned and looked. There really was a cooler. It would either have beer or somebody’s head.”
We are drawn to Danny, he is snarky and world-weary but maintains a level of innocence and vulnerability. Street toughened, he's still the small boy afraid of the monsters under the bed and lurking in dark corners. He is wary of the kindness of strangers:
“You’re afraid of the dark,” he [Matthew] said. “No, I’m not,” I said as I pulled the blankets over me. “Let me rephrase,” he said. “You’re afraid of what is in the dark.” “That’s where it all is,” I said. “Where what is?” “The everything, the anything. All the stuff that eats you alive,” I said... He did not seem bothered lying on the floor on his side squeezed between the TV stand and the foot of the bed. I jumped back to the bed avoiding his feet. I admired him. I could never sleep that close to the dimension known as under the bed knowing the frozen hand of death could reach out and pull me under any second...knowing the somewhere was just under me, peering out with hungry fangs waiting for me to put my feet down on the floor... The metamorphosis was seamless. From Blue Eyes to the thing under my bed, white fanged, red eyed, claws, waiting, waiting.”
‘Snap' looks at the ugliness of hate crime from the victim’s and perpetrator’s sides. Matthew, a modern-day hero/avenger/vigilante dubbed “Ghost Killer” by the media is meting out retribution for wrongs done to him. The twists and turns of Matthew’s life and why he has brought Danny into it are what pulls the reader along.
The start of the story is a bit of a mystery -- difficult to parse what was going on and how it fits into the whole (oh, it’s a flashback!). As the action progresses we move into character delving and backstory but it’s still very much a mystery unfolding. The writing is at times incredible, like a patchwork of lyrical thickness that moves from prose to almost poetry, descriptive and gritty...
My name is Danny
Silence is cold, silence is a voice, a threat, a decision. Silence is helpless. Silence is I'm sorry. Silence is no. Silence is I'm afraid. Silence is there's nothing I can do. Silence is the one monster we're all afraid of.
My name is Matthew
Silence is warm, silence is a thought, a promise, a wish. Silence is strong. Silence is I know. Silence is yes. Silence is I'm stronger than you. Silence is you can't stop me. Silence is the one guardian we all want beside us.
Silence was Danny, consumed with the dawn of realization. Even something of such great beauty can be filled with the ugly of humanity. Humanity was a lip service to the beast that prowls within.
I really like the bones of this story, it’s message; but this was hard reading at times, dense, rough around the edges and in the middle, and disjointed...a lilting waltz that would break into a wild boogaloo. It was sometimes hard to catch the rhythm and that’s the issue, it’s fun and frustrating. So frustrating to get brilliant content in search of good editing that would have elevated it to stellar status.
“Snap” is intriguing and engrossing work from a fresh voice and viewpoint. I'd shelve this as gay literature and a hard-core coming of age tale, neither a romance nor erotica, but there is love. Recommended, but be patient, the ending is worth it all.