Perfect Days by Raphael Montes / Reviewed by Will Lasley
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
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Raphael Montes
Credit: Camilla Maia
Perfect Days by Raphael Montes
Reviewed by Will Lasley
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
This quote from Friedrich Nietzsche prefaces Raphael Montes’ new thriller Perfect Days, and it couldn’t be more apropos. This novel follows Teo, an anti-social Brazilian medical student who lives with his invalid mother. The young man soon falls in love, for the first time in his life, with a young writer named Clarice. He kidnaps her and takes her on a cross-country trip, which mirrors that of the character in the screenplay she is writing. As the story progresses, we delve deeper into Teo’s madness and obsession as he attempts to drag Clarice down with him.
Perfect Days is harrowing to say the least, mainly because of the way Teo is written. His most demented thoughts are placed before us on the page in a way that is not only haunting, but also feels uncomfortably realistic. And that is part of what makes it brilliant. It’s the kind of writing that makes you question the author’s mental health, and you better believe I mean that as a compliment.
Special props must be given to Alison Entrekin, who translated the novel into English. Entrekin clearly shares Montes’ way with words and his acute ability to make the reader shiver. There is also an interesting journey in watching Clarice’s innocence dwindle as the stakes become higher and the circumstances more severe.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Perfect Days if you’re looking for a thriller that is creepy and thought provoking, but most of all, may just bring out the madness in you.
Will “Savage” Lasley is a writer and self-described horror junkie who simply loves a good story. He’s also met Bruce Campbell, so there’s that.
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