Publication date:
12 January 2003Length of book:
226 pagesPublisher
BridgeworksISBN-13: 9781882593668
In this highly original, Kafka-esque novel, Smith tries to recruit others to help him solve the mystery, only to encounter the same resistance and denial. He concludes he must solve it on his own. Fast-moving and accessible, this book is a suspenseful, surreal foray into a city that no one really knows, where the pain and danger of being an outsider in an eerie, menacing and anonymous world can both frighten and amuse.
Nelson's brilliant novel reveals itself to be a contemplation on society and existentialism...The plot delves into myriad issues—personal responsibility, the idea of community, perception vs. reality, differences of perspective, free will vs. destiny—without preaching about any of them....Nelson's writing is simple and stark, not unlike that of Kafka or that other great existentialist-novelist, Albert Camus...Satisfying...The Boy in the Box is above all else one man's pondering what it means to be human.