Proxy

I just love stumbling upon a book that I probably never would have picked up if I just glanced at in on a shelf. My mother, from whom I inherited my immense love of reading, has a knack of picking out the weirdest novels she can find. Most of the time, I look at the synopsis and decide that the book is not for me. The story simply doesn’t seem interesting enough for me to invest time in. When I read a book, I want something that will hook me so indefinitely that I become obsessed with knowing the ending. I love sitting down for a four hour period and reading a book straight through. Everything flows so much smoother, and the story seems so much better when it’s experienced continuously. But sometimes, there will be one book that sticks out to me, and I decide to give it a shot.

                I literally just experienced this about five minutes ago with a book called Proxy by Alex London. It’s about a society that is based on patrons owning proxies, which are basically their whipping boys. That is so intriguing to me, that you can sacrifice someone to pay for the bad deeds that you committed. But Knox, the patron, becomes great friends with his proxy, Syd, and they have this great adventure in an attempt to save Syd’s life. It’s a fantastic story about how two completely different people can form a connection and even a deep friendship in the weirdest of times.

                There’s hardly any romance in the book, which suited me just fine as I’m getting sick of the classic love story plot. The book itself does a good job of addressing stereotypes as well, as Syd is homosexual, and black, and in one of the lowest classes of their society. He is the brunt of a lot of prejudice, but he is a very strong protagonist in the story and extremely enjoyable to read. The story itself is a great tale of sacrifice and how prejudice and debt can completely ruin a civilization.