Content warning: discussions of self-harm.
Blake Keineg, a sophomore in the fictional Lafayette High School right outside of the very real city of Pittsburgh, is struggling. Since his father hopped into the car and drove off one night, Blake’s suicidal ideation and self-harm are, literally and figuratively, nearly killing him; he’s cutting himself with an X-acto blade, burning himself with cigarette tips, and (though not as harmful) cutting off clumps of his hair.
In school, he’s being bullied by the two big jocks (jerks), Jesse and Rocco. He’s also got a crush on the hottest girl in school, Amy. When the aforementioned dream girl invites him to a party, he goes. In the woods, he catches Amy and her boyfriend, Nick, having sex. When Amy spots the sophomore spying on them, lurking behind a tree, she doesn’t stop Nick from finishing. Later, at the same party, Blake quickly learns that Prozac and beer don’t mix, and he falls into the bonfire. Luckily, he was pulled from the fire before he was hurt.
The next day, Blake buses into Oakland, hits the museum, steals a tube of black oil paint from the art store (picture the now-closed art store on South Craig, underneath the Phantom of the Attic), and flirts with an art student, Tristan, who invites him back to his apartment and offers to paint Blake in the buff.
Side note: Reading about Pittsburgh, particularly Oakland and its hub of colleges, is always a joy in a novel, from Chabon’s “Mysteries of Pittsburgh” to Chbosky’s “Perks of Being A Wallflower.”
Everything after his encounter with Tristan drives us deep into the Spoiler Zone.
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Ammon writes some clever scenes in the book; there are laugh-out-loud lines, and a couple of erotic exploits that keep the story moving at a breakneck speed.
The book, however, has an overwhelming amount of head-hopping. The omniscient narrator is too omniscient. The voice telepathically reads the minds of every character in the book. We even learn the innermost thoughts and desires of a tertiary art teacher, Mrs. Sheilds. It becomes confusing as we hop from one head to another, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph.
“A Boy, An Afterthought,” has several surprises. When we learn the how and why of Blake’s dad’s disappearance, it’s a shocker. But another reveal, late in the book, pushes things past the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. When we cross that line of demarcation, the book enters “What If” territory.
Blake’s real and fantasy lives become increasingly entangled. Think: “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with a sex dungeon. As the book draws to a close, it becomes a suspenseful thriller, and Ammon walks a tight line between porn and torture. His characters are brutal to one another (maybe). Watching a nerdy underdog finally overcome the situations that are destroying his life offers much-needed relief, but it takes a long time to get there.
Author Don Ammon, a Pittsburgh-based, award-winning screenwriter, also happens to grow prize-winning orchids. He lives with his husband, two poodles, and a shorkie in Monroeville.
“A Boy, An Afterthought” will take your mind off your troubles as you plunge further into Blake’s topsy-turvy life.