"The Patterns of Paper Monsters" by Emma Rathbone

This is the very first review I did at the Rank & File. The next three posts are all from the Rank & File as well. Now that I've graduated, I thought I should go back and find any reviews from there that I hadn't put up yet.

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A version of this review originally appeared in the November 2010 issue of the George C. Marshall high school newspaper Rank & File.

           In her debut novel The Patterns of Paper Monsters, Emma Rathbone delves into both the slightly twisted mind of a teenage boy and the depths of a juvenile detention center in Northern Virginia. The book, narrated in the first person by 17-year-old inmate Jacob, provides humorous but incredibly dry running commentary on those who excessively relish a little authority and the nature of communication in a disinterested system.

            Jacob’s narrative vocabulary far exceeds that of a typical high school student. Words like “palliative” (relieving or lessening without curing) sprinkle his thoughts, yet he comes across as a natural character. Despite the occasional obscure word thrown in, Jacob’s thought processes never seem contrived. The writing flows, stutters and jumps in a very human manner.

Jacob’s descriptions of the detention staff are depressing to the point of comedy. However, Rathbone is not crafting an effigy of bizarreness for all of us to laugh at. Rather, she is finding the most irritating—but real—aspects of the human condition, and saying: “Isn’t this ridiculous?” In a way, the technique brings to mind Napoleon Dynamite.

Of course, Napoleon Dynamite never involved a plot to burn down a building and kill dozens of people. The antagonist, David, is both twisted and fascinating. He never rants about his intentions or reveals his motives like a cliché villain; he just smiles evilly and sets to work. This provokes the majority of the drama in the novel, and emphasizes the humanness of it. We are used to omniscient viewpoints in stories, observations that point the reader at exactly what is going to occur. Not so here. Jacob’s thoughts on David are refreshingly limited, keeping the reader in just as much suspense as Jacob.

By contrast, Andrea, Jacob’s love interest, is largely comedic. Jacob’s thoughts of her split between sex and romanticism in a fantastic parody of the hormone-addled mind of a stereotypical teen. Her relationship with him after she is released from the detention center manages to be both one of the most poignant and funny moments in the book.

The Patterns of Paper Monsters is characterized by dry, subtle humor and muted sorrow, but that is not how it should be recognized. It is a stunningly accurate depiction of the human condition, complete with all of its small, subtle comedies and flawed tragedies. 

3.92/5