The Truth of the Matter is the kind of roller coaster ride I would have loved to have read as a teen. Well, now I'm 56, and guess what? It's still a great roller coaster ride. I'm pulling for great success for Andrew Klavan as he works his worldview into his latest fiction because we need a lot more people like him: gifted storytellers who write like angels and show people what the universe is really like. As in The Identity Man, under the surface of a great teen thriller there are deeper themes at work, some of which overlap with The Identity Man, but, hey, who cares? These themes are what Faulkner, in his Nobel acceptance speech, called 'eternal verities:' living for something greater than oneself (which, BTW, is the engine that drives the Islamofascist and makes him such a determined enemy), love, self-sacrifice, and an approach to life that says we find deepest fulfillment not in the latest video game, movie, or novel, but in living one's life out as a duty and treating others honorably. In the case of those who are unrepentant enemies, you fry the bastards and don't look back.
Charlie West, the main character of the Homelanders series, doesn't fry anyone, but he sure gives them a run for their money. I was moved to tears (I'm emotional, but books rarely make me cry)toward the end of the book when Charlie was going through via a flashback, a sort of private Gesthemane in considering offering himself up as a scapegoat in order to infiltrate the shadowy Homelanders organization which serves as a front for international Islamofascists desiring to bring the US to ruin. That's one of the deeper themes at work here. Another is the process of shaping one's identity as a teen. When one enters teen-hood, as it were, one's identity as a man or woman really takes shape. This is when our worldview is formed, and when we make decisions which affect the following 60-odd years we have left here. For a large portion of the Homelanders, Charlie isn't sure exactly who he is. And wasn't it like that for us when we were in high school? Sure it was.
Klavan dedicates the book to his nephew, Patrick Hudnut, son of his sister in-law, Caitlan Flanagan, who was canned as a contributor to the New Yorker because of her view that mothers, deep inside, are at heart domestics and would really prefer to work at home. This is consistent with Klavan's own politically conservative viewpoint, which he has handled with mixed success in his recent work. As subtle as he can be about the deeper themes in this and other recent novels, he can sometimes be a bit ham-handed in promoting his political views, which, incidentally I am mostly in agreement with. But that's small beer.
The Truth of The Matter is a great read without gore or sex or bad language. Here's hoping Andrew Klavan has a lot more stories like this in his well.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
$15.99
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
+
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Earl Blacklock
Don't buy this book. The story is well-written and ...
Reviewed in Canada on July 5, 2015