The Car Thief was a long boring read for me. It is about Alex, a sixteen year old, who unfortunately has a bad habit of stealing cars and was sent to a detention home. The beginning of the novel was very slow for me because it did not have much dialogue. It just went along and when I thought it was going somewhere with the plot, it didn’t.
Author Weesner gave very detailed descriptions of characters, objects, and locations. However, I felt it was too descriptive at times because I found myself asking what does that have to do with this subject? I had to redirect myself to focus and figure out what the author was trying to do.
I am baffled at how it can be “one of the great coming of age novels in the twentieth century.” It was more of a self-help or inner soul searching novel. I did appreciate and enjoyed the way Author Wessman displayed the relationships between Alex and his father and Alex and his brother. The relationship with his father was very strained and painful. I really sympathized with Alex. Alex is conflicted with loving his father because he is also embarrassed by his father’s drinking and feels pity for his father. Alex is also concerned with his little brother.
When I finally reached the end and the best part of the novel, I found myself being a cheerleader for Alex. Although he still made minor mistakes, his outlook on life had changed. He was excited about his future and the way he planned to accomplish his goals was encouraging.
2 Stars
Carmela
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