Summary:
Once a happy family man, Kealan now spends his days walking aimlessly
and crashing in his friend's spare room. It never seems to matter how
much he walks, because his shadow is always there. When he meets younger
Valerie, an inquisitive and sensitive soul, a few rays of light begin
to penetrate his dark curtains. But what about her jealous ex? How is it
that some things inevitably tie together? And where does one's shadow
lead to?
Introduction:
I critique stories, not authors, but because I cannot distinguish the
shadow from the source, it is difficult not to see Trent as the hero of
his own story. I must forget that this book is evidence of the author's
struggle to fight his way out of Hell. I must forget that the story is
"therapy" to deal with the burns and scars of his emergence from that
Infernal. For emerge he did. Trent has woven a hero who is a shadow of
himself. And as tempted as I am to find the author in his work, I'll
avert my gaze from the light and concentrate on the shadow, on the book
at hand.
The Critique:
Shadowboxer is the story of Kealan, a man who has lost his family and
now stays at this friend's home as he struggles to regain his footing on
the solid ground of life. Trent uses the metaphor of "shadow" and
"dreams" to exemplify Kealan's tragic past. "Light" represents life and
hope, but for Kealan, stepping out of the shadow is not rife with joy
and triumph; it is a blinding light that registers the stark nakedness
of life's dangers, both emotionally and physically.
Initially, we meet Kealan as he steps out of a bad dream. Trent writes,
"He was still in the darkness of his bedroom, but out the window misty
dimness was shifting to a vaporous, shimmering glow... He couldn't get
used to it, and knew he probably never would" (pg. 1). Kealan turns away
from the "light" and returns to the darkness by covering himself with
his blanket. But he makes a decision to get up and face the day, a
decision that will change his troubles, though not necessarily for the
better.
Later, we see that Kealan spends his days on lengthy strolls, still
immersed in the gloom of his dark past: "The shadow within the shadow
swirled and disappeared and Kealan was still walking. His shadow was
still there" (pg. 20). Although he has literally stepped into the light
of morning, he is still symbolically trailed by the gloom of his
tragedy. He can't escape this "haze" asleep or awake.
Here would be a good time to discuss "shadowboxing" and its use as a
metaphor for Kealan's fall and rise from his tragedy. This term refers
to a style of training in boxing where the fighter pretends to spar with
a partner in an effort to prepare his muscles for a real fight. As
such, Kealan is the fighter who spars with his depression (as
represented by the shadows and other dark hazes) to prepare for a return
to fighting the real battle of day-to-day living. He first fights the
dark dreams that recycle the memory of that tragic accident which took
his family by waking up early and going for walks ("Whether he was awake
or asleep, the contents of his mind did not seem to be wakeful
thoughts. Surrealism painted in a dreamlike perplexity" [pg. 36]). Then
he boxes with his guilt about overstaying his welcome at his friend
Nash's home by drinking his guilt away ("In the chaotic commotion
swimming throughout the bar, little else existed other than Kealan and
the glass and bottle before him" [pg. 27]). But it isn't until he meets
Valerie Jones that Kealan Dovovan realizes that he's in for a real
fight.
That fight comes in the form of Valerie's ex-boyfriend, a jealous brute,
Jeffrey, who stalks both Kealan and his ex. This intruder is Kealan's
welcome to that real fight I mentioned earlier, and we see how Trent
Zelazny describes this initial encounter with reality: "The whole damn
world is like a fucking cat with a mouse, letting you loose and then
pouncing on you again, then again and again" (pg. 66). Here Trent echoes
Kealan's earlier meetings with the dreaded black cat, that symbol of
bad things to come.
As Kealan faces the fight for the semblance of a normal life,
relationship, and routine, he must also face the haunting tragedy that
crystallizes in the stark light of day. It is a two-sided battle that he
must win if he is to move forward and learn to live with the past, for
normalcy is worth fighting for when someone like Valerie represents that
hopeful future. Kealan must learn the hard way that "There's no refuge
from memory and remorse" (pg. 85). But at what cost comes that bright
future?
Shadowboxer is a well-paced story of mounting tension and ultimately
hope and survival. We cheer on Kealan to get his life back on track, and
as we do so, we also cheer on Trent, whose work here is evidence that
his life is aimed in a positive direction. Keep the Noir flowing.