New Review! The Rage by Mathew Babaoye, 4 Cranky Stars

Mathew Babaoye is a strong and powerful writer. This is the first work I've read by him and it has certainly left an impression.

The Rage is dark and salty; the language strong and abrupt. 

The story centers on Damon, a young man dissatisfied with life and an anger that is a living entity. He hates his job, he hates his living conditions, his inter-personal relationships are false, he has no family to speak of, he loves his girlfriend but not what she's attached to, and their relationship brings more tension than peace.

Damon begins to transform. Physically and emotionally. The rage he keeps on a tight leash begins to uncoil.

In some ways, Damon's dis-ease is symptomatic of the place of masculinity in modern society, our attempts to appease our unhappiness and anger by clamping it down. But Damon's story has more layers to it than that.

This was, at times, an uncomfortable read. Damon is a train wreck. He is exhausting to read and bear witness to. Reading this story, Damon's rage was infectious. 

By fifty percent, I wanted to escape or have some movement/development as to where the story would go. It was well-established that Damon was rage-filled and I wanted the plot to be moved along.

I was willing him to turn his life around, make changes, and get a handle on himself. Damon's life did change, but in unexpected ways.

Answers to the puzzle that is Damon are revealed, but left me with more questions. This is far from a negative. It makes me curious as to what Babaoye is going to do next.