The complicated and confusing journey of one man’s attempt to escape from both his past and the law is not only the subject but also the downfall of Metropolitan College student Eric Steeves’ “Paradise Made.”
Steeves’ first novel, which took him eight years to finish, centers around John Thompson and two law enforcement officials’ attempt to catch him in one of his many outlandish, ber-criminal acts.
In Thompson’s struggle after his family’s death to find what Steeves calls “the ultimate freedom,” he sets out on a constant vacation. Jumping from house to house and city to city, Thompson continuously tries to escape his past, assuming different aliases for each new crime.
This potentially engaging story falls flat, however, as Steeves does a poor job of illustrating exactly what Thompson is running from (the death of his wife and son) until midway through the novel. The lack of background information in Thompson’s life only adds to the confusion between characters.
Steeves uses first person for each of the three characters, switching back and forth from chapter to chapter. While a date and city title each chapter, it’s confusing to figure out who is narrating.
Steeves, who works full time for Verizon, said his personal life inspired the novel and he wanted to offer an escape to anyone who has ever worked in an office with “no freedom and no life.”
While the idea is admirable given the audience’s interest in the genre, Steeves does not work through the story in a coherent manner, opting instead for disoriented action. What is really taking place only starts to become clear after the first 75 pages.
Steeves himself admits that he took a chance by telling each character’s story in first person. He claims that once readers get through 10 chapters, they will feel they are living each chapter.
But the style doesn’t allow readers to understand what’s going on even after 100 pages. Each chapter is loaded with superfluous explanation and much unneeded detail, not to mention a heaping of clichd and “edgy” dialogue.
Every time Thompson assumes a new alias, Steeves proves a full description of each moment, proving repetitive while descriptions of the actual crimes severely lack urgency.
John Thompson is only John Thompson for three months. While Steeves attempts to provide clarity by including a chart in the back of the book with each alias’ name and location, confusion is inevitable. Charts cannot serve as substitutes for good, clear writing.
“Paradise” also falls short in Steeves’ depiction of female characters. The few that do exist are either prostitutes or women whose uses are limited to sex.
The only woman who has any self-worth or any other use is Thompson’s dead wife – whom he rarely refers to by name or speaks about at any length. Apparently her death provided enough reason to become an international thief, but not enough fodder for conversation.
While the idea behind the novel remains wonderfully imaginative, in practice “Paradise Made” is anything but.
