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Annie Maus's Reviews > Twisted Metal
Twisted Metal
by
by
I love the unexpected. Kate Aaron’s “Twisted Metal” is just a little different than anticipated, which makes for a meaty and provocative read.
Content warning: the core of the plot is an off-page homophobic attack which occurred ten years earlier, but some details are explored. This attack drove Ollie and his artist parents out of small town Missouri and back to Chicago where they were from. Now Ollie is an artist in his own right, whose parents have died. He returns to decide whether to live and work in their old home, or sell it. And there he encounters his childhood sweetheart, Kane, who he’d left at seventeen.
The bashing had occurred because of their relationship. Have attitudes changed, or is Ollie in danger? Has he recovered emotionally, or must he lay his personal past to rest, while grieving his parents? Has Kane moved on, and if so, how?
At first Ollie’s determination to stay away from Kane repeatedly fails. I thought, “not another book about immature men.” But Ms. Aron artfully discloses why ambivalence is part of Ollie’s trauma, unveiling her character’s complexities. And Kane, who initially seems simply a mama’s boy, reveals the toll of Ollie’s trauma on his own psyche. If their intimacy initially seems just physical, we soon learn how and why they complement one another. Both men are multi-faceted. It was heart-warm to watch them face and recover from their history
There are amazing descriptions of Ollie’s art and how it becomes a healing force. “The maelstrom inside Ollie was taking shape, occupying physical space in the world, all his love and pain and frustration brought to life in a tangled mass of twisted metal.”
Minor characters shine and bind the novel, as they challenge myths of middle America and showcase its essential decency. Add in descriptions of nature through an artist’s eyes, and Kate Aaron’s “Twisted Metal” comes together with unforeseen nuance and gentleness, the aftermath of a storm, when all is washed clean. If you like a good redemption story, this is better than good – a 4.5 rounded up!
Content warning: the core of the plot is an off-page homophobic attack which occurred ten years earlier, but some details are explored. This attack drove Ollie and his artist parents out of small town Missouri and back to Chicago where they were from. Now Ollie is an artist in his own right, whose parents have died. He returns to decide whether to live and work in their old home, or sell it. And there he encounters his childhood sweetheart, Kane, who he’d left at seventeen.
The bashing had occurred because of their relationship. Have attitudes changed, or is Ollie in danger? Has he recovered emotionally, or must he lay his personal past to rest, while grieving his parents? Has Kane moved on, and if so, how?
At first Ollie’s determination to stay away from Kane repeatedly fails. I thought, “not another book about immature men.” But Ms. Aron artfully discloses why ambivalence is part of Ollie’s trauma, unveiling her character’s complexities. And Kane, who initially seems simply a mama’s boy, reveals the toll of Ollie’s trauma on his own psyche. If their intimacy initially seems just physical, we soon learn how and why they complement one another. Both men are multi-faceted. It was heart-warm to watch them face and recover from their history
There are amazing descriptions of Ollie’s art and how it becomes a healing force. “The maelstrom inside Ollie was taking shape, occupying physical space in the world, all his love and pain and frustration brought to life in a tangled mass of twisted metal.”
Minor characters shine and bind the novel, as they challenge myths of middle America and showcase its essential decency. Add in descriptions of nature through an artist’s eyes, and Kate Aaron’s “Twisted Metal” comes together with unforeseen nuance and gentleness, the aftermath of a storm, when all is washed clean. If you like a good redemption story, this is better than good – a 4.5 rounded up!
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
April 3, 2023
– Shelved
