Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

 Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

I don’t even know where to start with this review. I am torn between 3.5 and 4.5 stars. I have never read Malfi before, so I don’t know if this is his typical storytelling. There are so many good points to this story and some that fell flat. 

In a nutshell, we have a few main characters. Jamie, an on-again and off-again alcoholic. Dennis, his brother, has some mental disabilities. Mia, a young lady with some mental struggles. And Clay, a young man with vitiligo. All four meet the Magician, and soon learn there is more to this “man” than they realize. 

There are five sections to this story. Parts one, two and three; alternate between their childhood and adulthood stories. Most of them have moved away as they grew up. Started some careers, made some mistakes. We get a good picture of their mental and physical state. We learn all about their conflicts and growing pains.

Parts four and five - we are up to date on where they are in life. A huge event has led to a reunion. They come together in hopes of ending a tormenting childhood experience, in hopes to end a life of regrets and heartache. And they learn a little bit of magic along the way.

Throughout this whole story, I was wrong with every assumption except one. And even that assumption is just slightly off the mark.

Here is a quote straight from the story. It sums up this whole book perfectly. You can read into this quote in so many different ways…just like this story, it has so many angles. 

“We cannot run from ourselves”.