Koko
by Peter Straub
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Book Summary Information
Author: Peter StraubEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-07-14
ISBN: 0307472205
Number of pages: 576
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of Koko
Book Review: Complex; perhaps a bit too much
Summary: 3 Stars
Peter Straub will always be known as the author of "Ghost Story," widely considered one of the scariest novels ever written. That novel was exquisitely crafted, both suspenseful and very well paced, and was actually scary. It's amazing what one novel can do for one's reputation, but reading GS has always led me to read anything Straub releases. Koko, one of Straub's non-supernatural thrillers, seemed like it would be a great read based merely on the premise and the credentials he holds.
The premise of the novel is that four Vietnam veterans reunite 15 years after the war, only to be drawn back into their own personal hell when murders in Southeast Asia are linked to a former member of their platoon. The murderer's calling card is, quite literally, placing a card with the word "Koko" inside of the victim's mouth. The word "Koko" really hits home for the four men, and they believe that that other member of their group from 'Nam, a man named Tim Underhill, is behind the murders.
What follows this great premise is a highly confusing and complex novel that is not to be taken lightly or too quickly. Much of the way Straub writes this book was meant to really make it difficult to discern between what's real and what is merely hallucination, much like the characters are going through; he succeeds, and then some; however, when the reader of the book becomes confused at many points during the plot, any attempt at first-rate suspense has essentially been lost. Straub has a knack for putting subtle moments in his books that require one to pay attention to understand at a later point, so it will be difficult to blaze through the novel and actually catch every important bit of information.
In addition to our four veterans, we, the reader, get to experience the novel from Koko's perspective, an odd glimpse into the mind of a killer. While these moments occasionally grow cumbersome and lack the necessary suspense to keep the pages flying, they do offer the reader an interesting point of view to change things up a bit. Unfortunately, I think Straub picked the worst possible moments to switch from our veterans perspective to Koko's perspective; the switch in narrator seemed forced at times and derailed some of the already building suspense.
Straub, as has become apparent after reading the vast majority of his works, has an uncanny capacity for writing too much when it's really unnecessary, and that may have been my problem with Koko. I truly tried to blaze through the novel (having loved many of his others) and, in hindsight, that was probably why I didn't enjoy Koko as much as others. There's so much depth in the plot and the characterization that to try and read this in one sitting (so to speak) and enjoy the full nature of the plot and it's complexities will be nearly impossible. This edited review has bumped the book to a 3/5. I don't think I was very fair to Straub in giving this a 2/5 after the first reading.
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