2008 Woodie Awards
Book Review: The Beautiful Miscellaneous--Dominic Smith
Danny Dyer
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: A & E
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Nathan has always been considered a genius by his brilliant father, but Nathan knows inside that he is not. He is shipped off to science summer camps, dragged to solar eclipses and trained daily in advanced knowledge. He must live his life with the burden of never fulfilling his father's expectations, devoid of the praise and unconditional love he should receive.
This is the way "The Beautiful Miscellaneous" by Dominic Smith opens - a somber memoir narrated by Nathan himself - and immediately, the characters are presented as wholly human and genuine. From their oddities and quirks to their sometimes deep and emotional responses, each is wonderfully vivid. His father works in his study on impossible physics problems while listening to the most eccentric jazz. His mother cooks and drinks wine, musing about traveling the world. Neither talk to Nathan, except to scold him or to test him on his knowledge, and consequently, Nathan is constantly miserable and cynical.
Suddenly, Nathan suffers a car accident and goes into a coma. When he recovers, his brain interprets everything differently - he can see words as colors and shapes and has almost perfect memory. He is sent to a school for gifted and prodigious individuals where he begins to come to terms with his new ability, his father's expectations and his future.
He now narrates with a newfound openness and poignancy; one can visibly see the change in his character. He discerns the minute, yet important elements which others might overlook - such as, "the narcotic rush of a girl's kiss," the way voices sound, the feeling elicited by a certain action - in perfect, sporadic amounts. Frequently,these descriptions and metaphors strike the mind so evocatively that they are arresting.
Nathan slowly but progressively develops into a man. His odyssey had me spellbound, and by the end of the book, I still wanted more. I have been hypnotized by the elegance and ingenuity of Nathan's story, and I am amazed that weeks after reading this novel, I value the little details in life, as he did.
This is the way "The Beautiful Miscellaneous" by Dominic Smith opens - a somber memoir narrated by Nathan himself - and immediately, the characters are presented as wholly human and genuine. From their oddities and quirks to their sometimes deep and emotional responses, each is wonderfully vivid. His father works in his study on impossible physics problems while listening to the most eccentric jazz. His mother cooks and drinks wine, musing about traveling the world. Neither talk to Nathan, except to scold him or to test him on his knowledge, and consequently, Nathan is constantly miserable and cynical.
Suddenly, Nathan suffers a car accident and goes into a coma. When he recovers, his brain interprets everything differently - he can see words as colors and shapes and has almost perfect memory. He is sent to a school for gifted and prodigious individuals where he begins to come to terms with his new ability, his father's expectations and his future.
He now narrates with a newfound openness and poignancy; one can visibly see the change in his character. He discerns the minute, yet important elements which others might overlook - such as, "the narcotic rush of a girl's kiss," the way voices sound, the feeling elicited by a certain action - in perfect, sporadic amounts. Frequently,these descriptions and metaphors strike the mind so evocatively that they are arresting.
Nathan slowly but progressively develops into a man. His odyssey had me spellbound, and by the end of the book, I still wanted more. I have been hypnotized by the elegance and ingenuity of Nathan's story, and I am amazed that weeks after reading this novel, I value the little details in life, as he did.