Synopses & Reviews
Early one morning in New York City, Will Heller, a sixteen-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, gets on an uptown B train alone. Will is on a mission to save the world from global warmingto do it, though, he'll need to cool down his own body first. And for that he'll need one willing girl.
Lowboy tells the story of Wills odyssey through the citys tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of Emily Wallace, his one great hope. It also follows his mother, Violet Heller, as she tries desperately to find her son before psychosis claims him completely. Violet is joined by Ali Lateef, a missing-persons specialist, who learns over the course of the day that more is at stake than the recovery of a runaway teen: Will Heller has a chilling case history, and Violetbeautiful, enigmatic, and as tormented as her sonharbors a secret that Lateef will discover at his own peril.
John Wray is the author of two critically acclaimed novels,
The Right Hand of Sleep and
Canaans Tongue. He was named one of
Granta magazines Best of Young American Novelists in 2007. The recipient of a Whiting Award, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Early one morning in New York City, Will Heller, a sixteen-yearold paranoid schizophrenic, gets on an uptown B train alone. Like most people he knows, Will believes the world is being destroyed by climate change; unlike most people, hes convinced he can do something about it. Unknown to his doctors, unknown to the policeunknown even to Violet Heller, his devoted motherWill alone holds the key to the planets salvation. To cool down the world, he has to cool down his own overheating body: to cool down his body, he has to find one willing girl. And he already has someone in mind.
Lowboy, John Wrays third novel, tells the story of Wills fantastic and terrifying odyssey through the citys tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of Emily Wallace, his one great hope, and of Violet Hellers desperate attempts to locate her son before psychosis claims him completely. She is joined by Ali Lateef, a missing-persons specialist, who gradually comes to discover that more is at stake than the recovery of a runaway teen: Violetbeautiful, enigmatic, and as profoundly at odds with the world as her sonharbors a secret that Lateef will discover at his own peril.
Suspenseful and comic, devastating and hopeful by turns, Lowboy is a fearless exploration of youth, sex, and violence in contemporary America, seen through one boys haunting and extraordinary vision. “Lowboy is uncompromising, often gripping and generally excellent . . . One of the novels many pleasures is just going along: putting yourself fully in the hands of the story and its author, being drawn in, gradually immersed, making the connections, appreciating those seeds as they bloom into the tales developing complexity, danger and tragedy. By the time it all falls into place, the reader is long hooked and turning back is not an option . . . This is a meticulously constructed novel, immensely satisfying in the perfect, precise beat of its plot.”Charles Bock, The New York Times Book Review “Lowboy is uncompromising, often gripping and generally excellent . . . One of the novels many pleasures is just going along: putting yourself fully in the hands of the story and its author, being drawn in, gradually immersed, making the connections, appreciating those seeds as they bloom into the tales developing complexity, danger and tragedy. By the time it all falls into place, the reader is long hooked and turning back is not an option . . . This is a meticulously constructed novel, immensely satisfying in the perfect, precise beat of its plot. Wray, however, has larger goals than a thrill ride. The book's core is a nexus of tragedythe tragedy of a 17-year-old girl who, though she knows better, might do anything for the boy she loves; the tragedy of a mother whose life has been devoted to her son, yet who is incapable of helping him and who just may have been the source of his troubles; the tragedy of a middle-aged man caught between protecting the public and helping a parent; and finally, ultimately, the tragedy of a bright and beautiful teenager who not only must deal with all the confusions and pressures of being 16, but who, through no fault of his own, is not stable enough to be able to purchase a cupcake without confrontation. I'd be proud to be seen reading this novel on the downtown 6, or anywhere else at all.”Charles Bock, The New York Times Book Review
"What ever happened to the American Man? You know, the one who bullied and swore and drank his way through novels full of cigarette smoke, big cars and red meat? The one who'd abandon his family for a prostitute, or coerce his girlfriend into a threesome, or sleep with the housekeeper after murdering his wife? What happened to all those Rabbits and Portnoys and Rojacks and Wapshots and Herzogs? And does anyone really miss them? Judging from a sampling of recent male-penned fiction, the answer is no, not really . . . Which brings us to a tale told by a schizophrenic teenager, John Wray's dizzyingly seductive Lowboy. Wray's protagonist is on the lam from a mental institution, loose among the commuters and winos and rolling thunder of the Manhattan subway. Making your central character deeply insane is, of course, a risky and ambitious trick, but Wray carries it off with a fluid, inventive style that rises at times to a frightening pitch. Lowboy is an amplified hero for our times; despite his violence and craziness and incoherence, he is fundamentally sweet and in search of love."Michael Lindgren, The Washington Post
"John Wray is less interested in Lowboys picaresque circuits than in his mental circuits, whose damaged condition is brilliantly, compassionately evoked in the novel . . . Wray is never boring, largely because he has an uncanny talent for ventriloquism, and he seems to know, with unerring authority, how to select and make eloquent the details of Lowboys illness. He uses a variety of literary techniques . . . What is impressive about the book is its control, and its humane comprehension of radical otherness. In this regard, it ideally justifies itself, as one always hopes novels will. You can imagine replying to someone who was curious about what its like to be schizophrenic, 'Well, start with John Wrays novel.' Lowboy may often be lost to himself, but he is not lost to us. Wray knows how to induce and then manage a kind of epistemological schizophrenia in the reader, whereby we can inhabit Lowboys groundless visions and still glimpse the ground they negate. There is a brilliant scene, like something out of Pinter, in which Lowboy is at a bakery in the Village, buying cupcakes. Emily waits for him outside. He is at the counter, and all is going reasonably well. But then his attention is caught by the bag . . . Lowboy is exceptionally tender and acute . . . John Wray is a daring young writer, highly praised for his last two novels . . . These scenes are elegantly done, and are often moving."James Wood, The New Yorker
“[A] masterful third novel . . . The tone here is a departure for Wray . . . Lowboy is both sharper and more compressed . . . Lowboy is at its be
Review
“The novel has a thriller-like pace, and Wray keeps us riveted and guessing, finding chilling rhetorical and pictorial equivalents for Wills uniquely dysfunctional perspective . . . The suspense is expertly maintained, straight through the novels dreamlike climactic encounter and heart-wrenching final paragraph. The opening pages recall Salingers Holden Caulfield, but the denouement and haunting aftertaste may make the stunned reader whisper “Dostoevsky.” Yes, it really is that good.” —
Kirkus (starred)
“John Wray is less interested in Lowboys picaresque circuits than in his mental circuits, whose damaged condition is brilliantly, compassionately evoked in the novel . . . Wray is never boring, largely because he has an uncanny talent for ventriloquism, and he seems to know, with unerring authority, how to select and make eloquent the details of Lowboys illness . . . What is impressive about the book is its control, and its humane comprehension of radical otherness . . . Lowboy is exceptionally tender and acute . . . John Wray is a daring young writer.” —James Wood, The New Yorker
“Lowboy is uncompromising, gripping and generally excellent . . . One of the novels many pleasures is just going along: putting yourself fully in the hands of the story and its author, being drawn in, gradually immersed, making the connections . . . By the time it all falls into place, the reader is long hooked and turning back is not an option . . . This is a meticulously constructed novel, immensely satisfying in the perfect, precise beat of its plot . . . Id be proud to be seen reading this novel on the downtown 6, or anywhere else at all.” —Charles Bock, The New York Times Book Review
“John Wray captures Lowboy almost immediately and gives him to us in intense, sharp pages.” —Alan Cheuse, NPR
“Lowboy is a smart, moving thriller, and a deeply imaginative one, too . . . [The] hurtling plot makes it the sort of book you read in a few big gulps, but its complicated teen character—at once intensely familiar and completely foreign—sticks around for days after youre done.” —Izzy Grinspan, Time Out New York
“A breathtaking journey.” —Cathleen Medwick, O, The Oprah Magazine
“Its everything a solid book should be: a fast fun deranged grim thoughtful romp through the minds of a devastatingly nuanced cast of characters . . . The last 100 pages of Lowboy are a marvelous, unpredictable sprint. This is the sort of novel that you brew coffee at midnight to finish. It demands your attention, despite the duties of the next day. It demands the kind of singular purpose Wray might just be warning us about.” —Joshua Mohr, The Rumpus
“A mostly masterful fictional study of human relationships in the shadow of insanity . . . In Lowboys fragilely constructed, all-fantasies-realized universe, every chapter ends with a bang, and the final one is no exception.” —Todd Dills, Time Out Chicago
“Youll tear through the pages . . . A lip-biting thriller to the finish.” —Sarah Z. Wexler, Marie Claire
“[Wray] succeeds with a brisk plot and odd moments of humor. The storys final grimness is tough, but its hard not to admire this bullet train of a book for its chilling power.” —Stacey Levine, Bookforum
“Wray is an obviously gifted writer, who treatment of Will is a tour de force of empathy, style, and imagination.” —Booklist
“John Wrays Lowboy is a psychotic, subterranean, environmentally conscious, coming-of-age novel. It is also an affecting and affectionate love letter to New York. Lowboy is John Wray at his highest.”—Nathan Englander, author of Ministry of Special Cases
“Through the windows of John Wray's rumbling express, we catch sight of the deep darkness that lives inside the human psyche. Lowboy is a riveting and disturbing ride, illuminating one adolescent boy's shadowy underground, and giving us glimpses of our own as well.” —Colson Whitehead, author of Apex Hides the Hurt
“America's most original young writer has given us a book for the ages. Compelling, compassionate, and deeply unsettling, Lowboy introduces us to the brilliant sixteen-year-old Will Heller, a hero as three-dimensional as any in recent fiction, a Holden Caulfield for our troubled times.” —Gary Shteyngart, author of The Russian Debutantes Handbook and Absurdistan
“Wrays captivating third novel drifts between psychological realities while exploring the narrative poetics of schizophrenia. . . . Wray deploys brilliant hallucinatory visuals, including chilling descriptions of the subway system and an imaginary river flowing beneath Manhattan. In his previous works, Wray has shown that hes not a stranger to dark themes, and with this tightly wound novel, he reaches new heights.” —Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Wray presents a powerful and vivid portrait of Will's mental state, believably entering into his apocalyptic vision of the world.” —Library Journal
“Lowboy sucks you into the tunnels under NY and doesn't let you go until its perfect ending. Wray effortlessly portrays the cracked and distorted mind of his teenage hero. What a beguiling novel.” —Tim Pears, author of In The Place of Fallen Leaves
“Comparisons to J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye or Stephen Chboskys The Perks of Being a Wallflower are inevitable.” —Karen E. Brooks-Reese, School Library Journal
“Lowboy is a brilliant and gusty performance . . . It expresses its meanings in hallucinated events that seem to vibrate on the page.” —Mark Shechner, The Buffalo News
“John Wrays third novel, one of the most anticipated books of the spring, has the makings of an American classic. Lowboy also represents Wrays arrival as a major author.” —Andrew Ervin, The Miami Herald
“A fast-paced thriller . . . This virtuosic novel . . . is a masterpiece of aural description.” —Laurence Lowe, GQ
“Lowboy is haunting and uncomfortable, in the best way possible—its a pleasure to read.” —Fernanda Diaz, Flavorwire
“John Wray displays an impressive command of both suspense and tragedy.” —The Week
“The book casts a spell . . .Wrays prose . . . is full of dreamlike images and startling similes.” —Taylor Antrim, The Daily Beast
“The novel moves seamlessly . . . This kind of pacing is the stuff we crave (and we think you will, too)—the kind that draws you in so unawares that before you know it, its past midnight and youre down to the last page.” —Anne, Amazon.com
“[Wrays] third novel, Lowboy, is his best yet . . . Lowboy is told in a series of impressionistic flashes . . . and it moves with extremely confident speed to its heart-wrenching conclusion.” —Steve Donoghue, The OLM Blog, Open Letters
“Wrays writing is tremendously smart and perceptive.” —Alison Hallett, The Portland Mercury
“Occasionally comical and consistently tragic, Lowboy is an engaging novel with a difficult subject.” —Mark Flanagan, About.com
“[Lowboy is] truly remarkable!” —Leah Taylor, Flavorwire
“Wrays breakthrough novel . . . will likely be filed alongside the work of his bestselling Brooklyn contemporaries. Lowboys meticulous mapping of metropolitan myth recalls Paul Austers City of Glass and nods to the genre tics of Jonathan Lethems Motherless Brooklyn . . . This poetic, stirringly strange novel offers an empathic reminder that, for many, the light at the end of the tunnel can be taken for a harbinger of doom.” —Akiva Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times
“Wray captures Lowboy almost immediately and gives him to us in intense, sharp pages that burst in our minds as we read . . . When youre reading Lowboy you know, in the hands of its talented young creator, that its certainly the best thing.” —Alan Cheuse, Chicago Tribune
“Strange and splendid . . . What makes Lowboy extraordinary is its rapt conviction, not the cool manipulation of plot devices.” —Craig Seligman, Bloomberg.com
“John Wrays latest novel, Lowboy, is a compelling tale that captures the foreign internal and external landscapes of a teenager with mental illness . . . Wray depicts Wills descent into both the subway system and mental illness in clear, glittering prose . . . John Wrays writing itself is like a blessing, and reading Lowboy, while not a religious experience, is perhaps as close as a person can come to experiencing the mix of poignant and desperate emotions and actions that come together in a teenager with mental illness.”—Doug Robins, Sacramento Book Review
“John Wrays prose is at once spare and powerful, comic and profound, and as his protagonists fate unfolds, the suspense rises until the very last line.” —Sandra Mangan, The Evening News
“Wray has created a novel that is rich in characters and insights. You may be able to finish it in half a day, but Williams view of the world will almost certainly stay with you for longer.” —Marcel Thee, Jarkarta Globe
“[Lowboy] is weird and horribly sad, but balanced and completely believable. [It] will leave a gnawing pain in your stomach, like hunger or fear or the feeling that hes got it all right.” —Micah Ling, Keyhole
“Dizzyingly seductive . . . Making your central character deeply insane is, of course, a risky and ambitious trick, but Wray carries it off with a fluid, inventive style that rises at times to a frightening pitch.” —Michael Lindgren, The Washington Post
“Wrays pacing is superb . . . [and his] writing shines . . . This is a fine novel by a talented writer.” —Gordon Houser, The Wichita Eagle
“Wray spins out an increasingly suspenseful, psychologically astute narrative, perfectly pitching the voice to accommodate each characters particular motivations.” —Eric Liebetrau, Paste Magazine
“Lowboy is an incredibly competent novel from a young, clearly passionate writer . . . Wray deposits moments of exposition at key points in his apparent madcap narrative, showing the careful planning and loving consideration of a first-rate writing talent. His prose flies along with the unstoppable force of a subway train, but he can still make me pause and wring my heart out over poor Lowboy.” —Jillian J. Goodman, The Harvard Crimson
“John Wray handles it all masterfully in this odd story [that is] part sci-fi parable, part mental health drama, part love story.” —Ralph Greco, Jr., Short and Sweet NYC blog
“Masterful . . . ‘Lowboy is at its best at its most unflinching. Like Ken Kesey, Wray has a keen ear for the language of madness—the scripts, the shrinks, the straightjackets and the electric shocks.” —Matthew Shaer, The San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
Early one morning in New York City, Will Heller, a sixteen-yearold paranoid schizophrenic, gets on an uptown B train alone. Like most people he knows, Will believes the world is being destroyed by climate change; unlike most people, he's convinced he can do something about it. Unknown to his doctors, unknown to the police--unknown even to Violet Heller, his devoted mother--Will alone holds the key to the planet's salvation. To cool down the world, he has to cool down his own overheating body: to cool down his body, he has to find one willing girl. And he already has someone in mind. Lowboy, John Wray's third novel, tells the story of Will's fantastic and terrifying odyssey through the city's tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of Emily Wallace, his one great hope, and of Violet Heller's desperate attempts to locate her son before psychosis claims him completely. She is joined by Ali Lateef, a missing-persons specialist, who gradually comes to discover that more is at stake than the recovery of a runaway teen: Violet--beautiful, enigmatic, and as profoundly at odds with the world as her son--harbors a secret that Lateef will discover at his own peril. Suspenseful and comic, devastating and hopeful by turns, Lowboy is a fearless exploration of youth, sex, and violence in contemporary America, seen through one boy's haunting and extraordinary vision.
Synopsis
Wray's captivating third novel tells the story of Will Heller, a 16-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, who journeys through New York's tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of the one person who, he believes, can help him.
Synopsis
A wholly original breakthrough novel driven by intense psychological insight and a fast-paced plot—set over a single day in New Yorks subway system.
Synopsis
Early one morning in New York City, Will Heller, a sixteen-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, gets on an uptown B train alone. Will is on a mission to save the world from global warming—to do it, though, he'll need to cool down his own body first. And for that he'll need one willing girl. Lowboy tells the story of Wills odyssey through the citys tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of Emily Wallace, his one great hope. It also follows his mother, Violet Heller, as she tries desperately to find her son before psychosis claims him completely. Violet is joined by Ali Lateef, a missing-persons specialist, who learns over the course of the day that more is at stake than the recovery of a runaway teen: Will Heller has a chilling case history, and Violet—beautiful, enigmatic, and as tormented as her son—harbors a secret that Lateef will discover at his own peril.
About the Author
John Wray is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Right Hand of Sleep and Canaans Tongue. He was named one of Granta magazines Best of Young American Novelists in 2007. The recipient of a Whiting Award, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Reading Group Guide
1. How does the author demonstrate in writing what Will is going through, what the world looks and feels like to him? How does the tone and style in Wills sections differ from the sections that follow Lateef or Violet?
2. How much responsibility do you think Violet bears for what happens to her son? How much of his behavior is genetically driven, and how much is a result of Violets influence and the circumstances of his upbringing?
3. Look at the scene in the cupcake shop on pages 130-133. What goes wrong in Wills communication with the girl behind the counter that sets him off? What are some of the triggers throughout the story that cause Will to lose touch with the world as others see it?
4. How did your thoughts about Violet change over the course of the novel? What clues did the author give that she might not be what she seemed? Have you ever known someone who concealed a mental illness from the people in his or her life?
5. What attracts Will to the subway?
6. What were your impressions of Dr. Kopeck? Do you think he has Wills best interests at heart? What are some of the challenges that might arise in treating a patient like Will?
7. On page 157 we learn that Lateef “hadnt been able to make up his mind to catch [Will and Emily]. He still couldnt make up his mind?” Whats holding him back? Whats particularly difficult about this case for him? Do you see any connection between the relationship between Will and Violet and Lateefs own upbringing?
8. What kind of portrait does the novel give of New York City? Do you think the city itself has a strong influence on the deterioration of Wills mind?
9. What draws Emily to Will? Why does she agree to see him—and travel with him over the course of the day—despite his earlier behavior?
10. How do you interpret Wills markings in the magazine Violet finds in his room? Why do you think he connects sex to the idea of global warming and saving the world? Does any of this trace back to his life with Violet or his time in the hospital?
11. Wills illness often prevents him from seeing essential things about the world around him, but he also has sensitivities that other people lack. Do you see signs that Will is gifted, as well as disturbed? What elements of the world does he pick up on that others are likely to miss?
12. What do you think happened to Will in the hospital? Does the account of his time there line up with your understanding of how patients are treated in mental hospitals? How well do you think our health care system provides for people with mental illness?