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Book Analysis: MONSTER
copyright © 2005 by Mary Lynn MercerAuthor: Frank Peretti
Publisher: WestBow (May 2005; 451
pages; Hardcover)
ISBN: 084991180X
Genre: Suspense
In the wilderness of Idaho, the Hunter comes upon a logging camp and his prey's latest victim. Taking precious time away from the pursuit, he rearranges the corpse to make the violent death appear accidental. Then he melts back into the forest...
Reed and Beck hike into the wilderness to begin a week long vacation "roughing it" with another couple in the hills. Her husband's enthusiasm for the trip scrapes on Beck's nerves, but she can't resist relishing the fantastical beauty of their surroundings... Until things start to turn weird.
They find their destination cabin ransacked, their guide missing without a trace. When darkness falls, the charm of nature morphs into a nightmare of howls, glowing eyes, and chasing footsteps. Something is out there. And it's hunting them.
They can run, but they can't hide. The monster abducts Beck, leaving a traumatized Reed to tell the impossible story. Local authorities think he's crazy, and don't hold out hope Beck survived what was probably a tragic bear attack.
Reed has to get a grip on his emotions, if he's to rescue his wife. But that's not possible, so long as he can't explain to himself--much less anyone else--what he saw that horrible night. Was it a bear? Or was it something inhabiting the legends of ancient tribes, something newly aroused by strange and unnatural dangers, something walking on two legs?
With Monster, Peretti climbs to a new level in the mechanics of his craft. He seems to approach every book differently, defying branding or other labeling attempts. Don't expect the spiritual dimensions of This Present Darkness or his Cooper Family series, though a Christian faith element is present here. This is an adventure-thriller whose concept could be squinted at as wildly over-the-top--if not for the current headlines Peretti clearly and all-too-accurately anticipated.
In various interviews about Monster, Peretti talks about adopting the "cinematic technique" for this story. The story doesn't stop for long, windy passages of exposition (backstory). Instead, necessary explanations of the characters' backgrounds, lives, setting, etc., are transferred out of the past into the now.
First, the information is pared down to the absolute essentials and fed to the reader drop by tantalizing drop. One sentence here, two sentences there. Never long passages throwing the story into reverse.
Second, the exposition is frequently turned into brief internal conflict and then quickly projected into interpersonal conflict. This infuses the exposition with forward momentum. For instance, when Beck and Reed make final preparations before heading onto the trail, Beck remembers the trip up the mountain. A couple sentences, placed in internal monologue. But the memory keeps her irritation with their vacation plans fresh and inflames her attitude, which makes it all the harder to endure her husband's gung-ho mood. Soon she projects this internal conflict into interpersonal conflict, sparring with Reed over the more embarrassing details of survival-preparedness.
Third, just as often the exposition is turned into dialogue. This is a highly useful technique, though often misused by beginners, particularly in passages where speakers share the same backstory. Peretti is no beginner. For instance, when Reed and Beck discuss a hayride years ago when a friend tried to scare them, the dialogue is not about the hayride both of them were on. It's about Beck trying to convince herself and Reed the nighttime danger is really harmless. The exposition becomes Beck's "weapon," in that she uses it assertively to win Reed over to her way of thinking.
Nearing the end, I marveled over Peretti's brilliant manipulation of multiple villains. As the several sources of threat converged on the protagonists, I found myself captured in a thrilling dilemma. Character goals I had long cheered suddenly promised dual consequences: positive and negative. If the protagonist accomplished the goal he and I both wanted--needed--for him to accomplish, now two or even three bad things would happened as a result, along with the anticipated one good thing. This increased the tension to irresistible proportions.
All of which made for a very fast, smooth, and enjoyable read. The quick pace is balanced by character growth, as Beck breaks free of her inner shell, so the reader knows the external journey served a meaningful purpose. A couple of the secondary characters are highly engaging, as well, particularly Sing. Meanwhile, Peretti succeeds in proving his thesis about beneficial mutation and evolution while playing a shell game with the reader: Where's the real monster in the story? I'm reading the book over again just to learn from his masterful handling of exposition, a trick that's necessary in any genre, but vital to fun adventure-thrillers like Monster.
Relevant Links
Exposition: prioritizing information
