Benjamin Lebert, The Bird is a Raven

The Bird is a Raven

Benjamin Lebert

Knopf, Jan 2006, $16.95

ISBN: 1400042844

Eighteen year old Henry and twenty something Paul meet on a train bound from Munich to Berlin, as they share a sleeping compartment. Passing time on the boring overnight ride, Henry tells Paul about his recent troubles.

He desires the anorexic twenty-eight year old Christine while twenty-three year old obese Jens wants him. When he decides to pursue Christine, a devastated Jens threatens suicide and worse. Thus he is running away before his bowels turn worse.

Paul half listens to the ramblings of Henry, but has his own dark affair that has him running away on the night train. He dreams of making Mandy the high priced prostitute his forever, but he admits that he knows only one way to accomplish this.

Though not for everyone, as Henry's tale is somewhat boring (reflecting real life to the outsider watcher observing a romantic triangle), THE BIRD IS A RAVEN is a gripping psychological drama that showcases two troubled somewhat CRAZY young men. Paul's blather is darker and more interesting, even if he denies his storytelling ability; but both share violent reports. Readers who appreciate a deep look into the psyche of young males at the crossroads of adulthood will want to read this solid drama with a final twist at the Berlin train station.