Dicks, Matthew: Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

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TWEETABLE REVIEW: 5* A sweet and suspenseful story narrated by Budo, the imaginary friend of a heroic nine-year-old boy. https://www.book-blog.com/2012/11/dicks-matthew-memoirs-of-an-imaginary-friend.html

Matthew Dicks' third novel is narrated by Budo, the imaginary friend of a boy named Max. Budo is unusually long-lived for an imaginary friend--he's six and Max is nine--because Max needs him longer than most kids need their friends: Max has Asperger's Syndrome, and negotiating the business of everyday life is a trial for him. Budo is also unusual among his type in that he is smart and can move around independently of Max, which means he can learn things that Max has never been exposed to. He thus brings considerable insight to his memoir, which is written in a simple prose style appropriate to the narrator's circumstances. (In this respect the book is similar to Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.) In telling the story of a very difficult period in Max's life, Budo touches on much bigger subjects--friendship, mortality, and especially heroism, both the extraordinary and the everyday kind. Perhaps no less impressive, Dicks makes the world of imaginary friends seem thoroughly credible. Budo is no less real a character for his being imagined. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is a sweet story, maybe a perfect story. It's touching and suspenseful and, even at over 300 pages, a quick read. (I found it hard to put down, and I was reading by flashlight during a power outage after Hurricane Sandy.)