leanj's Reviews > Blue Graffiti

Artistically poignant, well-crafted in its poetic narrative unravelling Cash's existential knots within the daily story all throughout his life. This book is a must read.

"Existence becomes the game and the game becomes art. As it is in life."
- ch. 16

Blue Graffiti is a coming of age tale that flips between various moments in the life of Cash, a young man from middle of nowhere town called Johnston from the Midwest. Told in the lens of his adult self, we see his memories from childhood to certain moments in his young life - with friends and family and the town of Johnston that shaped him to who he become. Add in the way we readers have the front row seat to his adult self's vivid and heart wrenching stream of emotionally charged thoughts during each events, his way of storytelling comes with such magnificent usage of poignant, stunning in its gloriousness, poetic lyricism that defines this author's unique voice - a sure way of making the readers hooked with every word. A very impressive feat, also, is the way the author masterfully and carefully woven the composition of the narrative, to the characters in Cash's life on the daily from past to present, to the way of how everything builds up towards the end.

The way the author concocted this book - capturing that wonder of great love and the desperation of pursuing it, of joy and heartache you carry from your past and how it just never leaves you as you grow older, and such grief so heavy that it reduced me to tears so. many. times… I am blown away.

She’s looking across the sidewalk, patient and cool through the gentle rain. She’s unphased. And I’m telling you, in the dark of the night and the falling water, painted with a few shades of neon from the bar signs, she is the only story I’d follow.
- ch. 32

On the other hand, something to note, this book did exceptionally well, too, in terms of making romance stand in its own against the literary side of the novel. An impressive feat considering rarely do books in literary history has given it the justice it so rightfully deserve.

I have never felt so speechless after reading a book like this in my entire life, ever! So needless to say, Blue Graffiti sure makes it way atop of my list of favorite books of all time! I have been wanting to read something so romantic and heart wrenching, so freeing and hopeful, and just, making me feel everything at the same time! This one has it all! And because it's a debut novel from a new author, I felt lucky to be be able to read this. We know each author's debut is piece of their soul, and I felt Leo Cash's here.

This book was a spiritual experience for me so I highly recommend picking this up! Sure it does have it's flaws, like the way it started slow, (but in a way I kind of see that as what makes this book so unique and likeable? Cash rambles and so what? His rambling is peak literature, and that’s on that) and I think they're just small so I didn’t even mind them at all. And, well! What beauty this book offered makes up for all that it missed, so give it a chance!


Rate: 4.75/5

Book is available to purchase at amazon via Kindle and Paperback