Journal of a UFO Investigator | |||||
David Halperin | |||||
Narrated by Sean Runnette | |||||
Blackstone Audio, 10.5 hours | |||||
A review by Dale Darlage
Danny Shapiro's world is crashing down around him. His mother is slowly dying from heart disease. His father
does not understand him. He is Jewish in the heavily Christian suburbs and, as he gets older, this is becoming
much more of an issue. He cannot date the girl he wants to date because she is not Jewish and it would crush
his already weak mother. His family is Jewish but does not attend services so Danny does not feel the comfort
of ancient traditions. Danny is alienated, to say the least. His one and only outlet is his journal of his
experiences with UFOs and UFO research.
Danny's journal is not necessarily written in chronological order and the reader will suffer quite a bit of
early confusion in trying to figure out what stories are journal entries and what stories are taking place
outside of the journal. We also find out that Danny's journal is not necessarily factual -- Danny is using it
as an escape from the pain and confusion of his real life. He blends his fantasies and his reality together so
well that they are hard for the reader to distinguish.
Halperin also blends together traditional UFO stories with religious imagery from several religious traditions,
although mostly from Judaism. We have traditional UFO stories such as flying discs, the Men in Black and probings
from aliens. Halperin blends them together, with references to so many other authors and religious traditions
that I often felt like I was being left out unless I scribbled down some notes and went to do some research.
The audiobook was read by Sean Runnette. Runnette has a soothing, clear voice. However, there are many times
when the voices are not differentiated enough and I had a tough time figuring out who was supposed to be speaking
unless it specifically said who was saying each line.
The most obvious comparison that I can make with this book is the classic Kurt Vonnegut book,
Slaughterhouse-Five. It shares many themes, the same sort of loose structure, especially the nonlinear
style. But Vonnegut is the master of dark humor. His tension and dark mood are often punctuated by
tension-releasing humor, which allows the tension to build anew. Halperin just hits the same note
throughout: "We pick our demons and build our own worlds around them." We limit ourselves, it does not matter
if it is by race, class, religion or with conspiracies and UFOs -- we all do it. It is a worthy point but
the follow through comes up short.
Dale Darlage is a public school teacher and a proud lifelong resident of the Hoosier state. He and his wife are also proud to have passed on a love of books to their children (and to the family dog that knows some books are quite tasty). His reviews on all sorts of books are posted at dwdsreviews.blogspot.com. |
If you find any errors, typos or anything else worth mentioning,
please send it to editor@sfsite.com.
Copyright © 1996-2014 SF Site All Rights Reserved Worldwide