A creepy turn of the page, A good and happy boy weaves together the past and present of a troubled man in an effort to understand why he has rejected his newborn son. Protagonist George Davies, at the request of his therapist, writes a series of diaries detailing the shocking childhood events surrounding the death of his own father many years earlier. As the diaries progress, it becomes clear to the reader that Evans has written no ordinary story of grief and loss, but supernatural horror mixed with demonic possession, poltergeist activity, and a murder mystery. The reader must decide whether George’s diaries reveal the delusions of a troubled child or something deeper and darker.

A good and happy boy it is an exciting book. Evans’ writing technique is deceptively simple and incredibly legible; his style allows for an exploration of classic horror themes without seeming clichéd or predictable. Particularly inventive is the author’s description of the empty land to which young George’s ‘Friend’ takes him at the beginning of their sinister relationship, a place “warm and optimistic, gray and dense” in which human souls are shown as light windows in a giant. battleship. Evans uses this descriptive ability to encapsulate childhood fear and easily convinces the reader of the narrator’s youth, unreliability, and impressionable nature. Young George is well-written as a character in need of pity, help, and protection from himself, his well-meaning adult friends, or otherworldly influences, and the tragic nature of this character is heightened when it becomes clear that he gets nothing. A good character in a sea of ​​less good characters, young George shines and becomes a beacon for the neglect of troubled children and the damage that mismanagement of delusions and demons can cause.

However, there were flaws. Undoubtedly a readable book, Evans has created a fairly one-dimensional page turn. There’s a distinct lack of subplot, and the brilliantly written young George is overshadowed by a cast of stock characters: the hippie, the spiritual psychoanalyst, the academic feminist, and the quote-spilling homosexual arts professor. The other characters, particularly George’s mother and her partner Kurt, are left without a level of depth that would have enriched the novel. Also, the supernatural scenes lacked punch and only the final image of the ‘demon’ created anything really creepy. For a book billed as “Incredibly terrifying and unnerving…” (Brad Meltzer), it fails to deliver much that was truly terrifying.

In general, despite the shortcomings of the novel, A good and happy boy it’s a nice read. If you’re looking for a truly terrifying supernatural horror story, you’d be better off avoiding Evans’ novel. However, if you want something readable, well-written, and with plenty of room for audience interpretation, A good and happy boy it can be just for you.

http://justinevans.com/agoodandhappychild/