Book Review: Paper Castles by B. Fox

Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction / Literary Fiction

This book has been on my list for over a year, but as so often happens with me, I get distracted by a shiny new fantasy or science fiction novel and that takes precedence. Or I’d end up with a flurry of review requests from various authors, and I always try to read those first. I’d see reviews for Paper Castles pop up now and then on social media—almost all of them good—and remind myself that I really ought to read it next. Well, I finally did it. So here goes…

James Brooke is twenty-eight with a degree in architecture and a penchant for daydreaming. But after he finished college, he was unable to secure a job in his field and was forced to return to his father’s home in small town Ohio. The story (from my estimation based on dates listed early in the book) is set in 2009, during the last major recession.

James is looking for work, but no one is hiring in his field. (I understand that frustration all too well.) His father isn’t terribly understanding, and is at times downright demeaning and cruel. For James’ part, he spends much of the early part of the book simply trying to connect with his father and make him understand his view. His father never gives him the chance to do so.

Despite the trouble at home and the difficulties in finding a job, James remains a dreamer. He wants more from life, wants to make something of himself, yet is stuck. He’s frustrated, and at times spirals into darkness and self-loathing, but after he meets Karen, he finds a reason to keep going. He finds a reason to continue pursuing his dreams.

While this isn’t the typical genre I read, I’d heard so many good things about this book. It did not disappoint. It was relatable on so many levels, heart wrenching at times, and beautiful at others.

My only minor criticisms with this book are that early on, I wasn’t sure where the story was going. It took a few chapters before things began to coalesce. But given some time, it came together and made for a memorable narrative.

The other is that I have mixed feelings about the ending. It wasn’t a happy ending, though there was some promise of what might come in the future. After all the pain and heartbreak James endured in the last half of the book, I was really hoping for something more. Maybe some further closure? I’m not entirely sure what didn’t quite sit right for me there.

But, I will say Paper Castles is a book that I think most will relate to in some way. And its message is powerful: Life will go on, and there’s always the hope that everything will work out in the end, even if it’s not quite how you envisioned it.

This was definitely worth the read, and I wish I’d gotten to it sooner.

Author’s Twitter Handle: @b_fox1989

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