Book Reviews

Book Blurb

My name’s Charlie. I’m many things, though none of them having to do with any real talent. I’m a runaway, a hustler when I need to be, a ghost when I have to scare hoodlums away from my home, and a loner who maybe reads too much. But most of all, I’m the keeper of the carnival. That’s how I see myself. I look after the place ’cause even dying things need to be cared for. Maybe it’s illegal. Maybe that rusty metal fence around the carnival is supposed to keep me out too. Or maybe me and this place were meant to find each other. Truth is, I never felt at home anywhere but here, not even in all the foster families and orphanages I was placed in as a young shit. They don’t look for me no more, those places. I suspect I ran away so much they finally just said, “Fuck! Let him go.” I am a hangnail on society’s manicured middle finger. I’m older. One year past the age anyone gives a shit.

And this is my adventure…

 

 

First Edition published by Wilde City Press, October 2014.

 

Book Review

I thought after having read 'The Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men', and 'Azrael and the Light Bringer', that I was inured to the lyrical beauty of Eric Arvin's writing. I knew I was wrong from the moment I cracked open 'Wave Goodbye to Charlie'. There is a poetry and a grittiness to this book that brought it all to life for me. It is a typical book for this author, meaning it's very far from typical at all. It is, however, a voyage into a familiar realm, a place where Eric has taken me before, and, more than likely, will again.

This is Charlie's story. A runaway, a throwaway child, a hooker. A young man who lives within the confines of a decrepit, rambling, broken down carnival. But Charlie is loved, and does love a family he made himself: Leroy and Jimmy, Nessa, and later on, Alfie. The roots of this book lie in family and love. The kind of family you aren't born to, but the kind you make, the kind that holds you when everything else disappears. The kind you fight for, no matter what. And love that weathers all, for eternity.

It feels impossible for me to adequately describe the beauty, and the wonder, that I found within these pages. The author has a fascinating way of depicting the world, and Charlie is a prime example. One moment, Charlie seems almost common, and then the next moment, he is vividly portrayed as a cultured and refined man, all while retaining the local vernacular. The author has a way of introducing a metaphor as if I'm walking down a dinky lit hallway, rounding a corner, and stepping into a painting by one of the masters. Colors and light exploding everywhere, and filling my soul with warmth.

'Wave Goodbye to Charlie' ranks right up there with all the other wondrous works by Eric Arvin. Death is so many different things, to so many people. Here, Eric took me on a journey where what I saw filled me with hope. The hope that death isn't the end, but maybe, just maybe, it's the beginning. The beginning of what, you ask? I choose to believe it's the beginning of whatever I want it to be.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 200 pages/62421 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	04-April-2017
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/wave-goodbye-to-charlie-by-eric-arvin-8365-b