Ben, in the World Book

The Fifth Child was an interesting read, and I was intrigued with the Ben character enough to check out this sequel, which offered a closer look at the being who'd been unable to fit into his family. It was an interesting read in a different way.

Meeting Ben as a child, I had been struck by how he seemed both scary and scared. He terrified his family, appeared to have killed animals, and seemed uncomfortable in his own skin. It would have been easy to dismiss him as evil or ill. But there were hints in the previous story of his confusion, discomfort, angst and outright terror at times. There were hints that in the right company, he managed himself more successfully. This novel affirmed my take.

As an adult, Ben continues to live as a stranger in a strange land. He doesn't fit in, is taken advantage of, and struggles to understand his own misfitness. He seems to mean well, but can't quite use that intention to create the outcomes he's after. He crosses paths with a few kind souls who accept his eccentricities and manage to show him kindness and love, despite his rough edges. In return, he tries to manage impulses that not even he seems to understand. Despite these caring islands within the storm of his life, Ben's life is not a happy one, and we see the ultimate culmination of living so much pain and suffering to understand his own nature and that of others.

It's a sad tale. I appreciated knowing more about the author's vision of Ben, and was not surprised by how she conveyed him. There were times when the writing style was a bit off-putting to me (like when a statement made it clear the author was talking to the reader rather than staying in the story), or when she leapt ahead to tell an outcome and then came back to the present. I know some will appreciate the simplistic, direct style of writing, but that was an element I had to endure, as my own personal taste enjoys more elaboration or interesting prose. But I'm glad I learned more about Ben, for his plight in the first book had given me some tender questions about him.

P.S. addendum: Trigger warning to animal lovers that there are brief moments of animal suffering in this one.