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9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Disillusionment: A Hard Look at Where some Youth Find Themselves Today Sep 07, 2010
By Grady Harp
TOM SAWYER IN HELL places Peter Black on the scene of new writers to watch. Research into his background fails to reveal any other published works, so this must be a debut novel and as such it deserves a different sort of attention. Some reviewers are calling this novel hilarious as though it were an au courant story related to the plethora of potty mouth guy movies that fill the movie theaters. Some are calling it a modern day 'Catcher in the Rye', referring to the fact that in many ways it could be placed in the genre of coming of age novels. For this reader it is neither. Not knowing the author's background, the book can only be judged on its own merits, and as such it seems to be not a shallow batch of tales of an off center young man, but rather an astute observation of how the progeny of the Baby Boomers are finding their way through the messy, confusing, contradictory world we gave them. Yes, there are some moments of comedy (every good serious evaluation of the times needs the emotional relief recognized by writers all the way back to the Greek playwrights), but there is much more here than the outline of the book suggests.
Peter Black states his vision of this book as follows: 'All life is a series of stories and Tom Sawyer in Hell is mine. The narrative follows the misadventures of a naive young man who has optimistic expectations about life that rapidly go south as he makes his way through three colleges on two coasts, courts and jails and small town lawyers, strip clubs, a gig as a Park Avenue doorman, hopelessness, psychopharmacology, absurdity, and the struggle to land a corporate job.' That is enough of a description of the content of the story. Interesting and more subtle portions of this novel begin with the selection of the name 'Tom Sawyer' for the narrator: some psychologists now perceive Mark Twain's character as a lad with 'inappropriate behavior', or even ' symptoms of 'oppositional defiant disorder' and 'attention deficit hyperactivity disorder', with the addition of poor decisions and demonstrating an inability to take responsibility for his actions, deliberately ignoring rules and demonstrates defiance toward adults. It is not known whether Peter Black views his namesake from this vantage, but reading the manner in which he makes choices and decisions and acts out his frustrations with the society that expects him to chameleonize suggests that this darker side of Tom Sawyer is what produces the latter half of the title of his book 'in Hell'.
Black's descriptions of the multiple places in which he finds himself - whether that be in colleges, in certain towns or areas of the country or in courts or jails or strip clubs or the corporate world - suggests a man at odds with his environment and his concept of the way the world should be functioning. In Wompsville he sates 'In this townie society of know-nothings locked between two dairy farms, you believe the last person who tells you something. Something is better than nothing It is a medieval place where mental effort hurts, and reason is subordinate to authority'. In working at the hotel Sequoia 'What we all had in common was that we were stuck. They, because of their various economic dependencies and played-out life choices, and I because of my lifelong identity as a student, at least for the moment, no longer existed intact.' And on the road 'The only access points into the surrounding landscapes were the exit ramps that led to oases of gas station grocery stores, motels, and corporate fast food restaurants filled with people who looked like they were eating their way across America...Places of nothingness where no one ventured.'
At the end of this lad's disillusioned road or book he shares 'Nobody wants to help you unless there is something in it for them. It seems like a culture devoid of generosity. There's lot of advice, but the meter is always running. You get half-truths, snippets of wisdom, and a big deal made out of giving you nothing.' If this description of the book sounds the opposite of hilarious, then it is just another reader's version. Peter Black is a far better writer than many are describing him. He has the gift to create unforgettable characters, people that live in the subconscious long after there usefulness in the storyline ends. Tom Sawyer, if indeed he falls into the maladaptive character perceived here, is a red flag of our times. Have we produced 'replacements' unable to adjust to the chaotic society we have created and have we prevented them from achieving the world as Candide visualized it? For this reader these questions and the thoughts posted above make Peter Black a far more interesting new writer than one who simply fills the niche of amusing coming of age book tropes. Grady Harp, September 10
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 A Modern Day fable for our times Jan 18, 2011
By Bennet Pomerantz
"Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD"
Tom Sawyer in Hell is a modern fable of grown. To compare to novel to Catcher in the Rye is going overboard. There are many similar situations, but that where the comparsons end. I think this novel is more like an edgier Bright Light Big City of education and life after college.
First time author Peter Black created an interesting coming of age story. I cannot tell if this is biography or not. The Journey seem like ON THE ROAD essays which connect and disconnect at different times of the book.
It is an interesting book for you are ready to take the journey of reading it
Bennet Pomerantz
AUDIOWORLD
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Excellent and Compelling Book Feb 27, 2010
By Gwendolyn Noles
This is a great book and works on many levels. It operates like a coming of age tale in that it explores the life of a young man growing up and finding an identity through difficult years. It also operates as a kind of cautionary tale with many different layers of understanding peeled back and revealed by Black. He shows his own mistakes, his follies, and his more sober outlook in the end. What I like most is his honesty. This is an author to watch and I found this book completely compelling.
A Season in Hell
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 A Descent Into A Personal Hell Of One's Own Design Mar 09, 2011
By John Kwok
If Peter Black ever writes another book, and has it edited professionally, then I think we can say that we have witnessed the literary birth of a fine young writer. While his memoir "Tom Sawyer In Hell" is well written, and at times, mesmerizing, I was turned off by the uneven quality of his writing that, under the keen eye of an editor, could have been transformed into a truly memorable account of his troubled transition from a nerdy high school graduate to attaining his goal of landing a well paying job on Wall Street. And yet I did see enough excellent writing and the potential for more to give this a mildly positive review.
I wish I could have fallen in love with this memoir, especially since Peter is a fellow alumnus of our prominent New York City public high school, and I could easily imagine myself or my friends and acquaintances who are fellow alumni easily falling into the same traps - legal and psychological - which claimed him during a uniquely difficult educational odyssey that took him from a highly regarded private university in Central New York (No, it is not Cornell University, but I did recognize it once Peter slipped in a reference as to which athletic conference this university belongs to.) to public colleges and universities of variable quality in the Northeast and the West Coast. Peter has a great eye for detail and his relentless pacing reminded me of fellow high school alumnus Matt Ruff's homage to Philip K. Dick, "Bad Monkeys", but lacking the exceptional literary style that has been a characteristic trademark of Ruff's fiction since his literary debut "Fool on the Hill".
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Funny and True - Recommended for the 30s and under crowd Nov 28, 2011
By Acorn
The story of a bright young man that quickly learns the future is not as welcoming as he once believed. After high school, we see the experience of college and the process of finding a job through the eyes of the main character.
This is a tale about growth and becoming an adult in modern society. It is about learning to play the game we are all a part of.
The kindle version contains many grammatical errors, not sure how they missed them.
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