If you have nerves of steel and a stomach to match, you might be able to handle reading Perfect Days, the chilling crime novel from Brazilian wunderkind Raphael Montes that has its English language debut today.
But if sexual perversion, bondage, kidnapping, maiming and killing are just too much, think twice.
Perfect Days is the story of Teo, a medical student, and Clarice, the woman he obsesses over, and their disturbing jaunt through the highways and byways of Brazil.
Oh.My.God.
On the creep-o-meter, I would rank Perfect Days, well, let’s put it this way. The needle has zoomed so far to the right that it has broken the scale.
This is not the kind of book I normally read, but I was intrigued by the buzz. Scott Turow blurbed on the cover, “Raphael Montes is one of the most brilliant young novelists I’ve encountered. He is certain to redefine Brazilian crime fiction and to emerge as a figure on the world literary scene.”
So I thought I would give it a shot. The beginning paragraphs were strong and I was hooked right away. After a few pages when things started to, well, deteriorate, I debated whether I should continue.
And then I saw that Perfect Days was named an Amazon Best Book of February 2016, and I decided to stay with it til the bitter end. As twisted and macabre as it was, I couldn’t put it down.
Turow is right. Montes is a terrific writer.
Perfect Days
Teo lives with his wheelchair-bound mother in an apartment in Rio de Janeiro. His best friend is a cadaver (mmm hmm). He meets Clarice, a pretty, vivacious art history student who aspires to be a screenwriter, at a party his mother forces him to attend. Teo falls for Clarice and imagines a life with her. She has no interest in him, but he is undeterred.
Without the social skills to pursue her like a normal person, he kidnaps her, thinking that forced togetherness will open her eyes to his charms and she will fall in love and they will live happily ever after.
There are unexpected twists and turns as the characters shift roles and make their way to the beautiful and remote island of Ilha Grande (which I have been to. It was where my son and his Brazilian fiancee got married). We learn more about their personalities and motivations as the story unfolds. Is Clarice’s detest for Teo dissolving or is this a strategy to escape? When will Teo get caught? The ending totally caught me by surprise.
To get you in the mood, here is book trailer featuring the author.
And here is one with readers’ reactions … priceless.
Take the creepiness of Gone Girl and multiply it by 100. That comes close to the gestalt of Perfect Days.
One of my readers will receive a copy of Perfect Days (if you are brave enough to try it!). Please leave a comment below and a winner will be chosen randomly. US addresses only, please.
I received a copy of Perfect Days from Penguin for an honest review,
which is the only kind of review I write.
