Book Review "Old Man Scratch" – A Racy Tale of Revenge By Rio Youers

Meera Srikant

1 November 2009, 00:22

Old Man Scratch by Rio Youers is a racy tale of revenge. Short and to the point, the author quickly takes one through the cause of the anger, the peaking of despair, and then the quick solution, aided by nature.

Written in the first person, by Johnny Gregson, it narrates his tale of woe as he moves with his wife to the country, only to be confronted by the dual problems of roadkill on his driveway, and a neighbour who hardly lives up to the promise of a peaceful neighbourhood. In the twilight of his life, Johnny finds having to cope with both these problems tough, and the only thing that keeps him going is his love for his wife, Melinda.

But that bliss is short-lived as she succumbs to cancer and dies within six weeks of diagnosis.

By then, sufficiently enraged by Scratch, his neighbour, he comes up with a simple problem to end it all. Does he succeed?

The story is touching, evoking empathy right away. You hate Scratch as much as Johnny does. Johnny is hardly the tough guy, ready to slink away from difficulties. But when he sees his wife suffering, he snaps. After her funeral, he gathers the courage to devise a plan for the downfall of Scratch – who is bigger in build, and completely devoid of finer feelings.

The characters are not described in detail, but come out through dialogues and situations. They are consistent and convincing. This is a tightly knit plot, and there are no distractions and digressions. This makes for a great quick read.

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