March 3rd, 2009
I just finished reading “Still Life With June” by Darren Greer. You can see the book HERE .
Cameron is a gay, 30-year old struggling writer who also works part time at the Salvation Army in the Sally Ann Treatment Center. He gets the stories he writes by stealing the stories of patients he works with, as well as with the men he finds at the gay bars on holidays.
He goes to a writer’s group once a week, but never participates in the readings or analysis. When Dagnia comes into the group- a snide, opinionated, accomplished writer- she immediately singles him out, and dislikes him. So it comes as a surprise to him when she enlists his help in spying on someone for her, and her target happens to be the pianist who has moved in upstairs from him. The book follows the relationship between Cameron and Dagnia through phone calls and email correspondence, and how it evolves as Cameron finds out more about this man.
It also follows how Cameron becomes obssessed with a patient of the treatment center named Darrell, who was a gay man with a horrible coke habit and an even worse family life, who hung himself in the treatment’s utility closet. Cameron’s writings begin to revolve soley around this man and his life. He becomes so immersed in Darrell’s life, that he even pretends to be Darrell in order to go visit Darrell’s sister June- a 33 year old woman institutionalized in a mental hospital with severe Down’s Syndrome.
Cameron carries on with his Darrell persona, and forms a bond with June. He even talks often with the director of the center June is in. He spends much of his time with June, and even asks for her complete files, which he takes home and pours through in order to glean more about Darrell’s past as well as June’s.
He follows a long path that leads him to some painful memories and reaches into the farthest recesses of his soul and gives him a revelation he, and me as the reader, never expected.
It was definately an intriguing read. Set up in a series of emails, writings of Cameron’s, lists, and regular story it could be a bit hard to read at times- mainly because of my poor eyesight. The characters breathe life of thier own, and you find yourself just as immersed in the search for answers as they are.