Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

"My classmates are all repressed monkeys."





This weekend has been chock full of fictional tormented outsiders and shocking parents - this & the movie What Maisie Knew  certainly fell into that category. Whilst the movie's saving grace was the delightful Alexander Skarsgård (the stuff that dreams are made of), this book featured a mixed up teen with a seriously horrid mother.

There is something ultimately life-affirming in Leonard's struggle to deal with the traumas of his life and his **spoiler alert** dismissal of his original plans of murder and suicide. This novel is as easy to read and strangely enjoyable as Quick's  The Silver Linings Playbook.

Who wouldn't love a Humphrey Bogart obsessed teenager with a crush on a religious zealot?
In any case, I'd recommend this for someone that needs a hug, because that is the feeling it leaves you with. A reassuring big bear hug of a book.


 5 out of 5, a bad hair cut is always the start of a bad day.