Ten Thousand Saints: Book summary and reviews of Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson

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Cathryn Conroy

A Depressing Tale That Is Deeply Sorrowful. If You Can Survive the Darkness, the End Is Worth It
Oh, this is a depressing book. Melancholy. Tragic. And bleak. The story will grab some dark place of your soul and not let go. Eventually, there is hope and redemption, but it is a deeply sorrowful read to get to that point.

That said, it really is an extraordinary book.

Written by Eleanor Henderson, this is the story of Jude, whom we meet on his 16th birthday, and Teddy, 15, who are best friends living in a small college town in Vermont in the late 1980s. They both come from tragically dysfunctional families. Teddy's father is dead; his mother disappears, leaving him all alone. Jude's parents are divorced; his mother is barely making ends meet as a glassblower artist, while his dad, who lives in New York City's crime-infested Lower East Side, is an upscale drug dealer. Both boys are into drugs and huffing. Teddy dies, which is not a spoiler because the author gives away this eventual plot line in the second sentence of the book. Jude copes by moving to New York to live with his dad and to find Teddy's half-brother, Johnny, a tattoo artist and hardcore punk musician. Jude also finds a friend in Eliza, the trust-fund daughter of his father's girlfriend. But Teddy left them all a big secret, which is revealed soon enough, and it becomes a burden that nearly destroys Jude, Johnny, and Eliza.

The setting is raw, the characters are rough, and like the music they listen to and play, the plot is hardcore.

While this could be described as a coming-of-age story, it's so much more than that because Jude had been living such a loveless life without any of the boundaries parents typically set. It's more a coming-into-the-world story as Jude learns how to live in a way that is not self-destructive.

Ultimately, the dark, melancholic story becomes one of hope and redemption, but the danger is that the journey there is so somber and truly sad that many readers will give up just to exit this gloomy and despondent place. If you start the book, do finish it. It's so worth it.

Gary R. (Bolingbrook, IL)

And I thought the 70's were scary!
When I started this book I didn't realize I would lose a good three days in New York in the 80's.characters hold you and won't let go. A great story about people and families lost and trying to find something to hold on to. This book will suck you in! Great debut!

Dorian B. (Bainbridge, NY)

Another World
Eleanor Henderson gives a well written snap shot of New York City in the late 1980's. It's not the rags to riches, or the literary scene, it is the raw, punk-rock underbelly of the city. The characters are not perfect, often making bad choices, but they are believable and memorable. The story unfolds and the characters gain depth as they all try to figure out how to deal with each other and how to do what is right. I enjoyed it!

Elizabeth K. (Dallas, TX)

A Lost Ensemble of Contemporary Characters
Eleanor Henderson is definitely a talented writer to watch. The young characters in this book are the ages of my adult children and I wanted to get a feel for what growing up in the '80s was like from a youthful perspective. The environment was different from our lives in suburban Dallas, yet the common denominator seemed to be the casual and almost unquestioning drug use that has pervaded so much of society. In this book the parents are drug users and dealers, aging hippies who neglect their children, even though they love them. A tragic death pushes the main character away from drugs but he seesaws to the opposite extreme by joining a clean living cult. There's a hint at the end of the book that he eventually finds his way to a happier, more balanced adult life, but overall this book left me feeling sad. Everyone portrayed - parents and children - lacks a moral compass and while recognizing they need one, life just happens as they drift. The writing was excellent and the author makes us feel compassion for her characters, but I hope her next book has characters with more of a sense of purpose than this ensemble displays. I guess this is how some Americans choose to live, but it's far from inspiring.

Betsey V. (Austin, TX)

More sinners than saints
There's a lot of late eighties teenage shenanigans starting off this novel, a charged up kind of punk erudition, the urbane in-your-face stride of an anarchist. The tone and mood fit the era well, and the particular crowd that the reader is thrust into is intransigent, forceful, rough. A sizzling clash of cultures between the hippies and what we now know as Gen-X-ers ensues, as well as between hardcore and "straight-edge" (drug and sex-free) punk, a clash that is eventually sanded smoother as an understanding is reached between both countercultures, and hypocrisies are penetrated.

My only complaint is that it is too lengthy and repetitive at intervals. The hardcore punk rock music venues and the physical violence between some of these musicians got a little tedious. The author could have been pared it down 100 pages or so and still brandished a powerful story.

Definitely recommended to the Gen-X crowd, for its authenticity and story. There's a mocking quality that you have to accept, and lots of drugs. This is an author to watch. A classy debut.

Susan J. (Twain Harte, CA)

A Disturbing Story
This book is well-written but uncomfortable to read and relate to. The parent generation - my generation - is weak and self-absorbed, opting out of their responsibilities, leaving the kids to raise themselves in a scary world. I don't doubt the reality of this story, but it comes from an entirely unfamiliar world. Not a book for my book groups, but might be better suited to those how in their 30s or 40s.

...15 more reader reviews

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