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Kelland (2009)

by Paul G. Bens Jr.(Favorite Author)

4.52 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1934081191 (ISBN13: 9781934081198)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Casperian Books

review 1: 4.5 stars rounded upKelland proves that Paul G Bens is an exceptional author. After reading his collection of short stories, I knew I wanted to read Kelland and it doesn’t disappoint. While well written and technically easy to read, the topics broached are anything but light. The characters suffer, deeply, but this isn’t a depressing book. Instead it’s compelling, interesting, and dynamic on several levels. You can’t put the book down and don’t want it to end yet you know what’s coming isn’t necessarily good.The story is a psychological thriller that connects the seemingly independent lives of five characters with one big secret. The story weaves these disparate elements together bit by bit with a non-linear timeline. Jumping forward and backward from childho... moreod to the present time of 1997, the characters reveal their lives in pieces. Their lives are all touched by the same secret but that knowledge is withheld until the climax scene at the end when the various threads meld to one narrative. The catalyst for the truth is always a being named Kelland, someone who can be everything and anything including good and evil depending on the situation.The six characters are all fascinating in their own right. From two young refugees from VietNam, Minh and Toan, we learn the complexities of brotherhood and the pain of betrayal. Minh builds his life based on routine and regimented time schedules while constantly cheating on a wife he adores and loves completely. For Minh, Kelland is a beautiful woman, seducing him from his efforts to be good. Minh’s younger brother Toan is one of the sympathetic and heart breaking members of the cast as his journey to the truth is painful and violent. For Toan, Kelland is an abusive lover, forcing Toan to remember events he would rather forget.Young proud George is just a child but already wanting to devote his life to God. His belief, faith, and strength are the catalyst for the most change. He, alone, is perhaps the strongest of the group and will survive the events the best. His strength, insight, and faith are offset against the more emotionally troubled characters. Lucas is markedly different as a young man struggling to find himself amid his problems. His parents, Melanie and Gareth, have no idea what their son is going through and the journey to that truth is heart wrenching.The writing is very clean and crisp with no wasted scenes or descriptions. There is a lot of emotion and intensity packed into the pages with well crafted prose and a good pace. The big evil secret is not difficult to figure out, there are so many clues the story almost wants you to understand the pain and heart break well before the final resolution. Instead the mystery of who Kelland is and how this being hurts, loves, protects, ravages, and forces each and every one of the characters to face the truth is compelling. This being is simultaneously good and evil, meting out the treatment deemed necessary for the truth to be revealed. This utter devotion to the truth eventually helps all the characters to one degree or another but that help is neither cheap nor easy.One important point to make is that none of the extremes offered in the story are sensational. They fit with the theme and purpose of the story every time. There is always compassion tempered by force and love mingled with pain. This duality keeps you on edge while reading, wanting to hurry yet also wanting to linger, absorbed in the characters and their lives. There are numerous almost repetitive scenes where the characters do little but live their lives. Often fighting knowledge, they want to ignore their truth. The story teases this out bit by bit so for those that already know the secret, this may cause some impatience. Yet the pace is important to teasing out reality in the proper pace. These scenes offer a way to identify with average people with a secret that isn’t so uncommon.Beyond being a well written, incredibly well crafted story, Kelland is a tale that will haunt you. This is a story that clings to your mind and forces you to think about it long after you’ve stopped reading. Easily a must read, keeper shelf story that I can’t recommend enough.
review 2: Minh and Toan are a couple of young Vietnamese refugee brothers who are brought to America after the fall of Saigon. Melanie is a young mother who grieves the death of her son, Lucas. Lucas is her son, who committed suicide. George is a young boy who is obsessed with the church and God. All are connected by a mysterious person who appears to each in a different guise, and by Father Anthony Swinton, a Catholic priest. The book's chapters jump between characters and time, with the intention, I'm sure of having each of the characters' stories reach its climax at the same time. I had trouble trying to keep up with when the current chapter I was reading took place, and I finally gave up and just read from chapter to chapter, and the book flowed smoothly from there. Kelland, as I mentioned, is a mysterious person who appears differently to each of the other characters. A sexy woman to one, a gay man to another, a priest to a third, and a young African-American boy to the last. In each case, Kelland's purpose is to get them to face up to something in their past which serves as a barrier to their wholeness. In each case, Father Anthony plays a part. Very interesting reading. less

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