The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko: A Novel

author: Scott Stambach
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2017/01/17
date added: 2017/01/17
shelves: young-adult
review:
'The Invisible Life of Ivan: Isaenko: A Novel' by Scott Stambach introduces an unusual narrator and a set of unfair and tragic circumstances. I quite liked Ivan.

Ivan is 17 and lives in the Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus. He is a lifelong resident of the home and a prisoner in his own deformed body. His mind is keen and he observes and catalogues the things he sees around him. From an American doctor who brings him baseballs to his fellow residents to the nurses that work at the home, both cruel and kind. He is well read and incredibly cynical. Ivan sees many other patients come and go, but one day a girl named Polina shows up.

The story feels predictable in a lot of ways, but that doesn't make it any less poignant. Ivan is likeable and mean at the same time. He suffers more than he should because of who he is and the reactions that his sharp tongue causes. Ivan and Polina seem like pretty unlikely friends at first, but their relationship feels natural enough. My favorite character is Nurse Natalya who treats Ivan like a real person, and has all the compassion to go along with it. It's not a perfect book by any means, but I enjoyed reading it.

I received a review copy of this ebook from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/2j7FeN7