Review: The Amateur

If you are a fan of Chris Bohjalian, then you are familiar with his penchant for writing in the first person from the point of view of a young female main character (Midwives; The Double Bind; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands), and that is exactly what you get in The Amateur. And like those first two books listed, this is a true bildungsroman; it covers the evolution of the main character from adolescence to maturity and even old age. How that is accomplished in The Amateur is through a unique and fresh female protagonist, Mira Winston. Mira is an author in her 60s writing a memoir that begins with a perfect storm of events that crash down on her when she is 18. It continues by analyzing the consequences of that storm on her life since. Bohjalian cleverly frames it as a memoir, yet the story arc is that of a mystery thriller.

As mysteries go, it is not difficult to divine the likely outcome of Amateur by about midway through the book, so when the twist comes, it is not unexpected. That may disappoint some; however, it doesn’t seem to be Bohjalian’s intent to tease you through the book for a big reveal at the end like a formulaic murder mystery. Instead, he spends a great deal of the book exploring the development and evolution of Mira’s emotional stability as she goes through stages of trauma, guilt, shame, absolution, and acceptance after a horrible accident. And this is the true purpose of this story. It may not be immediately apparent, however, because one aspect of Bohjalian novels is that the rich storytelling and extensive inner dialogue of the characters tend to obscure the much deeper themes.

And thus, in Amateur, there is a tendency to get wrapped up in Mira’s personality and react to it in a visceral, judgmental way. You either empathize with her for her bad luck or pillory her for her own apparently self-inflicted reckless behaviors. Neither is the real point of the book. The real point is that women in American society were (in the 70’s) and continue to be taught that they are responsible for any bad behavior of men rather than being victims of men’s bad behavior. Even Mira is oblivious to this until she reaches some enlightenment in her older age. Once you recognize that theme, you start to see how all the elements of the story paint a background picture of societal complicity. And that complicity reduced the range of choices available to Mira, and women in general, from bad, at best, to awful.

Interestingly, there is not a single mention of the “me too” movement in Amateur. Instead, the entire manuscript could be imagined as filling a thought bubble shaped like “me too.” And that, perhaps, is the real reveal of this mystery thriller, one that comes not in written form, but only after thoughtful reflection.

If, in the early pages, Mira Winston puts you off, you may find it a challenge to get into The Amateur. However, as with Bohjalian’s other female first-person novels, if you can get comfortable in the main character’s skin, you will find yourself quickly immersed in her tragic story thanks to Bohjalian’s considerable first-person character-building skills.

4.4/5 stars