The Porcupine of Truth Paperback – August 30, 2016

Actual rating 3.75 stars.I enjoyed ‘Openly Straight,’ so I picked this one off my shelves soon after, desperate for some more Bill Konigsberg goodness. ‘The Porcupine of Truth’ wasn’t quite what I expected, but still an engaging, brilliant read. There is a lot of wit and Dad jokes in this one which tickled my fancy. All the characters are flawed and are batted around their heads repeatedly with their failings - something I really liked about the tone of the novel.There was a lot of philosophy of self, death, and God in this. I appreciated the raw honesty of the discussions, loved the points of view, but there were a few moments I was completely over the God stuff... but I understand the need for it to be in the story as our protagonist Carson continually searched for the answer to why?I also loved Carson’s attitude towards homosexuality – he is faced with this question of acceptance in a variety of forms throughout the novel, and for a heterosexual white teen, he shows grace and maturity beyond his years, and beyond the scope of just about any other character in the novel. It was amazing to read. Juxtaposing this new generation growing up with tolerance and acceptance with that of an older, prejudiced one. And not just on sexuality, but on race, age, and class. It was such a succinct observation on society, as a subtext, that had me cheering.However, with all the subtext and heavy emotional topics, I did feel it left the book feeling a bit bland. Only a bit. I kinda wanted Carson or Aisha to do something hilariously crazy and zany to balance it out. But this is realistic fiction at its best – a narrative of a person’s life on a journey, figuratively and spiritually, with an undercurrent of politics and social construct. It’s all heavy stuff laced with teen sarcasm and not-so-funny puns.Carson is lovable in all aspects – a beautiful disaster. He’s socially clumsy and paddling to find some sort of rhythm. Searching for a place to belong. He encapsulates all that teen awkwardness and brings a vulnerable backstory that squeezed my heart.Aisha had the same inner workings but with a more street-smart exterior. It was true genius to see her friendship with Carson progress.I laughed plenty, and felt my throat tighten, very near shedding a tear, but not quite. Such a unique voice, though I did find the writing style slightly jarring at times. I don’t know if it was the swearing, the slightly-off jokes, or short abrupt sentences, at times it zapped out the magic to leave you facing the bleakness of it all. Great writing, but not the warm and fuzzy I was looking for.A few things concerned me, like Carson overlooking death at a time when it should be hitting him the hardest – I only say that because I’ve been there and it’s a hard thing to come to grips with. It felt like he was using the good news of the moment to mask the pain he was going to face. Whether that was the author’s intent or not, it was something that stood out to me.It’s a great book I’d recommend to those who love contemporaries, and books that leave you thinking…

When we first meet Carson Smith, the narrator and central character of Bill Konigsberg's remarkable novel, he is wandering alone in the mostly empty Billings, Montana, zoo. Just off the plane from New York City, his mother has left him here "for a couple of hours" while she settles in at the house where his father lives and is currently bed-ridden, dying of cirrhosis of the liver. That she regards this abandonment as "a treat" and that Carson accepts his solitary wandering says volumes about their relationship. With an alcoholic father and a cold and analytic mother (given to saying things like, "I truly hear what you're saying," and "I want you to locate and center yourself"), Carson yearns for connection but is terrified of the pain it can bring. Then, among the abandoned, neglected, and merely forgotten animals he comes across Aisha, a beautiful black girl a year older than he and gifted, like him, with a quirky sense of humor.We soon learn that Aisha, too, has been abandoned - in her case, thrown out of her home by her evangelical father when he discovers she's gay. These two young adults, different in race, sexual orientation, and background, but both from families that have broken themselves apart, form an intimate bond that transcends their differences. Together, they go on a journey that is both geographical - they travel in fits and starts from Billings all the way to San Francisco - and psychological, trying to find the roots of family, honesty, and belief in ones self.It's tough going. Carson repeatedly escapes the strain of intimacy by popping off flip jokes or disappearing into his head. These are traits he shares with his grandfather, who disappeared in the 1980's, leaving behind one legible letter and a notebook full of awful puns and disconcerting insights. "How can you escape your own brain?" the mysterious grandfather writes in 1982. Carson faces the same question as he goes searching for the older man so he can be reconciled with his dying son, Carson's father. Is his grandfather still alive? If so, where is he? And why did he leave?Along the way, Carson and Aisha get help from an array of vivid characters: aging hippies, secretive neighbors, Jack Mormons. Looming over their search for an intact family and an accepting community is the very real possibility that neither may exist. It takes a certain amount of faith to pursue an ideal you've never experienced. All the usual metaphors for faith fall apart without a Father you can depend on. The two friends adopt the Porcupine of Truth as their mascot to mock the institutions that have failed them and to stand for a future they can believe in.Konigsberg weaves these deep issues into a funny, touching, and ultimately redemptive tale. The Porcupine of Truth can be prickly in places, but readers who embrace it will be rewarded.

This is the fourth book by Konigsberg that I've read and it feels by far the most ambitious in the wide range of subjects it tackles. The same strong and memorable writing style is still there, and the main character Carson's journey is one that will keep you absorbed and then some. Carson himself is by turns appealing and obnoxious, thus reaffirming yet again Konigsberg's skill at making his teenage male protagonists very real. There is a little too much tied-neatly-with-a-bow feel to the ending, and I wonder what children of divorce will make of the book's arc. And there is a short section where this novel lost me completely -- a digression that posits hanging out with dogs as the source of heaven on earth, which will presumably delight canine aficionados but will leave others, like me, scratching their heads. But on balance this is a great read with colorful characters, admirable in its ambitiousness.

Bill Konigsberg has done it again--he's drawn me in to a well-structured plot and characters so vivid I can feel them. THE PORCUPINE OF TRUTH is a must-read for anyone who loves contemporaries mixed with a bit of mystery. Though aimed at a YA audience, this book also contains a lot for adults to enjoy.I had trouble putting this book down from the start. I immediately fell in love with Carson and Aisha, and I wanted nothing more than to follow them on their journey, in whatever form it took (and what a journey it was!). As usual, Konigsberg did not hold back on the realism. He left me feeling satiated, even though he didn't wrap up the characters' stories with neat little far-fetched bows. He has a true gift for giving readers what they don't want, but satisfying them in a way they couldn't imagine. I look forward to reading all of this author's future books.

Não me entenda errado: Apenas Um Garoto foi bom, Out of the Pocket foi ótimo, mas The Porcupine of Truth é perfeito. Não vou esquecer de tudo que aconteceu nesse livro nunca!

I have only recently discovered the books of Bill Konigsberg. He writes for a late-teen readership but with and emotional and analytical maturity which makes his books appealing to older people such as me who vividly remember the struggles of younger years. This is a story of a journey (both literal and metaphorical) by two young people, of vastly different backgrounds, trying to work out who they are, where they fit in (or don't) and what their own values are. It is also a story of two families, one rent apart by religious bigotry, the other by alcohol. Its two central characters are believable and appealing and the story of discovery is very moving, especially when the two reach San Francisco and the climax of their journey. Konigsberg's retelling of the dreadful human toll of HIV and AIDS moved me to tears.

Excellent condition, as promised