Hope Burned by Brent LaPorte

Publisher: ECW Press
ISBN: 9781550229639
Page Numbers: 184

From the Publishers:
A father sits down to write a letter to his son explaining why his hands are covered in blood. He journeys back through his childhood on the farm, through the captivity, torture, and brutality that he suffered from the men he just killed-his father and his grandfather. A reflection on a solitary landscape, this bleak yet moving family tragedy details three generations of abuse, where the birth of a newborn forces the question, Isit better to live or die?

My Review:
I could not stop reading this novel and in fact I read in all in one sitting. It is not that long but it is quite intense. It is a letter written by the protagonist to his son and he is writing this letter just after killing his father and his grandfather. The book gives graphic details of the protagonist's abuse at the hands of his father and his grandfather when he is younger. While reading this book a range of emotions took hold of me and at times I found myself actually crying. I do not want to ruin the ending of this book but the one thing I did not like about this novel is how the protagonist seems to make a huge transformation in terms of his personality. I truely believe that had some of his thoughts at the end of the book were real they would have manifested slowly and at a younger age. Overall though, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5.