The Man Without a Face (Keypoint Book)

Rating:
Summary: Very Mixed Feelings
Review: "The Man Without a Face" is the story of Charles, a 14-year-old boy from a chaotic family that has given him little love and support, and Justin, a former teacher who became a hermit after losing his job subsequent to a car accident that resulted in a student's death. Charles desperately wants to flee his family and go to the boarding school that his deceased father attended, and he begs Justin to tutor him in preparation for the entrance examination. Justin, whose face was badly burned the car accident (but he is NOT the man without a face in the title, at least not to begin with; that is Charles', father, later supplanted by Justin), finally relents and sacrifices the lonely peace of his reclusion to help Charles.

This brief description fits the film by Mel Gibson as well as the book by Isabelle Holland. However, the stories diverge as they progress. In the film, the Justin-Charles relationship remains purely Platonic, although other characters in the film suspect otherwise, and an excellent theme emerges: men who Platonically befriend needy boys can be falsely accused of pedophilia. I volunteer as a mentor for a Court-run program for at-risk youth, and this factor seems to depress the numbers of men who will volunteer as mentors.

In the book, it is not at all clear that the relationship remains Platonic. Charles certainly experiences confusion about his relationship with, and feelings toward, Justin, and Justin does nothing to help clarify the situation or ease Charles' confusion. There is even a pivotal scene that can easily be construed as sexual, after which the Charles-Justin relationship deteriorates and changes significantly.

Both the film and the book treat the issue of the relationship in important ways, but also in quite different ways. Some Amazon customer-reviewers have expressed concern over the book being a how-to guide for pedophiles. I think that view is a bit overstated, although a pedophile, a victim of pedophilia, or a family member of a victim of pedophilia might see the book in this way, and a pedophile might be able to use the book in this way. The book can also be viewed as a case study in how confusing relationships can be for teens from chaotic families.

Technically, the book is well-written and it flows well. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is certainly complex and loaded with issues of import. The character of the book, however, is open to different interpretations.

Rating:
Summary: The Man Without A Face
Review:

'The Man Without A Face' is a heartwarming story of a fatherless fourteen year old boy who befriends the town "Grouch."

Justin McLeod is a former teacher who was in a car accident ten years before. Knowing he could never return to the life he once had, McLeod stays away from the public, going into town only when he needs to.

Chuck Norstadt failed the entrance exams for Saint Mathews and needs to desperately learn the material for a retest after the summer months. He learns from his younger sister that McLeod was a former teacher, and goes to him for help.

The friendship Chuck and Justin share is a heartwarming story for the whole family. Offering many themes to be learned and many surprises along the way.

If you loved the movie, starring Mel Gibson in his directorial debut as Justin McLeod, then read the book. It's a heart gripper and a tear jerker, but bound to please. -Shanno

Rating:
Summary: A Platonic Friendship
Review: A Platonic friendship

Isabelle Holland is a well-established writer of distinction and needs no plaudits from me. I had already seen the excellent film version of the 'The Man without a Face' before reading the book, and indeed was impelled by the substance and beauty of the film to do so. I am very glad to have taken this further step: this slim volume is a minor masterpiece, gripping, insightful, and disturbing. And it is so easy, so natural to read - the boy tells his own story with all the guilelessness and spontaneity of youth. His emotional questions, problems and finally trauma are palpable.

It is an important book for another reason: it treats of a relationship between a teenage boy and an adult male, and the peculiar force that such a relationship can have. In these times when such contacts are often viewed as exploitative or even abusive, it is refreshing to find a story which presents a different picture. Here an adolescent (Charles Norstadt) struggling to cope with a family in emotional disarray, reaches out for help, support and love, which he finds - eventually and fleetingly - in the person of a lonely and eccentric retired teacher (Justin McLeod), who reluctantly responds to the boy's almost desperate plea to be coached for an all-important school entrance exam.

The author is too sophisticated to overplay the drama of the story's conclusion which (I have noted) has elicited some negative reviewer comment. There is a certain ambiguity about the physical contact which occurred, but seen in the context of the boy's pain and distress, it would seem unnatural to exclude such human contact even if - in Chuck's mind - there is subsequent concern for its implications. After all, Chuck had consciously 'desired' to touch and be touched earlier in the story, which does not necessarily imply an overt sexual feeling. Whether or not this is important to know, the writer is sure of her ground as far as Justin is concerned - he at no point made any 'overtures', and there is no suggestion that he wanted to.

This book is only mildly provocative but nonetheless makes a powerful statement on a theme of courage and love.

Rating:
Summary: Good reading- watch movie and then read
Review: I bought the book because I liked the movie. I watched the movie several years ago and liked it then. I watched it again recently and it really hit home because the movie takes to heart the faulty assumptions people make about friendships... thinking they are all Freudian. In the movie, a genuine love (in the true, non-sexual sense of the word) develops between McLeod and Charles, the 14 year old boy. Gibson et. al. in the movie did a wonderful job of portraying the fact that it is not wrong for cross-generational loving friendships to develop. It addresses the prejudices people have about these relationships and I believe McLeod (played by Gibson) in the film shows true love by not dragging the issue out, which could easily damage the mind of Charles (all this is going along with the assumption that sexual contact did NOT occur in the movie- which most viewers are led to believe- especially if they have not yet read the book).

The book has its own merit and is good in its own sense. It is very easy to read (I read through in about 4 hours) and develops the characters well. I believe that Charles's relationship with his mother in the novel better fits the plot than the relationship in the movie. Each of the 5 main characters in the novel have well-defined needs, all of which are not developed in the movie. Charles's mother needs family and multiple social relationships. His older sister needs personality and control, while his younger sister (Meg) needs self-confidence and encouragement. The bond between Charles and Meg is accentuated by their mutual need and ability to fufill eachother's need for encouragement. While Charles slips at fulfillment occasionally, he does care for Meg (better displayed in the novel). Charles also needs a father-figure who truly cares about him (not out of obligation). Both his need for encouragement and need for a father-figure are met by McLeod, who he in turn provides needed companionship for.

The one thing I didn't like about the book as much as the movie was the way the "last night" scene was dealt with in the book. While the movie leads the viewer to believe that McLeod was a true, positive, non-sexual friend and mentor to Charles, the book leaves me thinking that there was more sexual attraction. I'm not going to try to say I know what the author was thinking or meaning by the "last night" scene. I do think that in the book there was attraction (shown by McLeod's quick negative reactions to moments when Charles showed son-like affection) and whether or not he really let his guard down when Charles's was down in the end is debatable since it is not explicitly stated (more so in the book that the movie). Read it for yourself and decide yourself. It could mean different things to different people.

I suggest watching the movie first because I like its portrayl of the relationship more. However, the book is good reading and will allow you to think more about the characters without turning you off as it could possibly do if you didn't watch the movie first.

Rating:
Summary: A Platonic Friendship
Review: Isabelle Holland is a well-established writer of distinction and needs no plaudits from me. I had already seen the excellent film version of the 'The Man without a Face' before reading the book, and indeed was impelled by the substance and beauty of the film to do so. I am very glad to have taken this further step: this slim volume is a minor masterpiece, gripping, insightful, and disturbing. And it is so easy, so natural to read - the boy tells his own story with all the guilelessness and spontaneity of youth. His emotional questions, problems and finally trauma are palpable.

It is an important book for another reason: it treats of a relationship between a teenage boy and an adult male, and the peculiar force that such a relationship can have. In these times when such contacts are often viewed as exploitative or even abusive, it is refreshing to find a story which presents a different picture. Here an adolescent (Charles Norstadt) struggling to cope with a family in emotional disarray, reaches out for help, support and love, which he finds - eventually and fleetingly - in the person of a lonely and eccentric retired teacher (Justin McLeod), who reluctantly responds to the boy's almost desperate plea to be coached for an all-important school entrance exam.

The author is too sophisticated to overplay the drama of the story's conclusion which (I have noted) has elicited some negative reviewer comment. There is a certain ambiguity about the physical contact which occurred, but seen in the context of the boy's pain and distress, it would seem unnatural to exclude such human contact even if - in Chuck's mind - there is subsequent concern for its implications. After all, Chuck had consciously 'desired' to touch and be touched earlier in the story, which does not necessarily imply an overt sexual feeling. Whether or not this is important to know, the writer is sure of her ground as far as Justin is concerned - he at no point made any 'overtures', and there is no suggestion that he wanted to.

This book is only mildly provocative but nonetheless makes a powerful statement on a theme of courage and love.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the movie?
Review: It seems almost a given that anyone reviewing a movie, based on a book that they have read, will like the book better. That is not the case here. Simply put Mel Gibson, as both actor and director, took the McCloud character deeper in his film than the book did.

For example we are allowed to see McCloud's passion for teaching, and the way his past has haunted him. The book left much of McCloud undefined concentrating more on Charles and his family. I would only mildly reccommend the book to fans of the movie because it is interesting to see how the screenplay was derived.

I do agree with one of the earlier reviewers who expressed a concern at the possible ways the relationship between McCloud and Charles could be interprated based on the book's dialog. Again, I like the movie's story line better.

Mr. Gibson chose to show us that it is possible for a man and a young boy to develop a friendship. He does show how people can, and often do, make judgements based on appearance. I can't help but think that rumors about the man without a face's past would've continued to swirl even if Chuck hadn't requested his help. That's unfair, but unfortunatly, that's life.

I have been guilty of saying to friends "read the book, it's better than the movie." This time, I'd suggest that your time will be better spent watching the film. A good story made better by the screenplay and the director, and some fine perfomances by the actors.

Rating:
Summary: This was a must read
Review: This novel was a about a boy, Charles Norsradt he really dosen't know much about life being stuck with a family full of girls; he hates living with them. Feel like he's not manly maybe?He decides t o get away and go to St.Matthews a all-boy private school.He meets a strange man with a disfigured face Justin Mcleod, A writer and teacher, he decided to help him pass a entrance exam to get in,Charles takes to him and loves him and justin helps him like a father, but in the story the writer makes it seem more than father -like love, this story is very intresting and the charcters are complex this is a must read book