LitPick Review
Hector may not be the brightest boy in the world, but he loves his family and learns the life lesson of patience. Throughout the novel Hector struggles both internally and externally with right and wrong, eventually being sent to Furman the school for kids with "troubled pasts." However he finds a way to release his inner hurt and frustration with the world through dumbbells. Yes, dumbbells! It may seem a tad strange, but so is the mentor for the class, Diaz. Diaz is a medium security inmate, life in prison, no parole. However he has shown that he is harmless and is allowed to teach at Furman. Hector goes through a personal journey through this novel, but not without the help of a few friends.
Opinion:
I thought the novel Behind the Eyes was good. Even though Hector evolved from a boy to a man in this novel, it seemed though he never had many self discoveries. He was pushed, if you will, to the point where he changed. Yes it was a "big deal" that he climbed out of bed to see El Topo and to warn him about his fearless state and how he didn't want to hurt him, but, El Topo shows him the key first. It was almost like Hector wasn't going to do anything about anything until something happened to him! It was as though he had almost no initiative. The book was well- written, but I would have liked more character development.
