THIS IS HOW

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

All actions have consequences. This is how life goes. Patrick is a loner, an intelligent but disturbed young man struggling to find his place in the world. He ventures out on his own, and, as he begins to find happiness, he commits an act of violence that sends his life horribly and irreversibly out of control. But should a person's life be judged by a single bad act? This is How is a compelling and macabre journey into the dark side of human existence and a powerful meditation on the nature of guilt and redemption.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Patrick Oxtoby, the narrator of Hyland's terse third novel, just can't connect. He's left home without a word, fleeing to a seaside community in northern England not so much because his fiancee has dumped him but because he's emptied of life. He settles into a boarding house, where the other two guests seem to scoff at him-not that he's been so ingratiating, but it's clear that he doesn't know how. His new job at a garage is less than what was advertised, he shoves away his anxious mum when she shows up, and an attempt at romance falls flat. Then one of the guests does something nasty, and Patrick's response lands him in jail. The award-winning author of Carry Me Down writes spine-tinglingly precise and emphatic prose, and she sketches Patrick perfectly. But his disaffection becomes our disaffection, and after that single, not so convincing act, we find the novel shutting down along with Patrick. A deft psychological portrait, graced by redemption at the end-but it takes some commitment to read. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/09.]-Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Hyland's clever prose is first-rate, but wit makes a weak substitute for insight in this novel about a deeply troubled young Englishman who seeks a fresh start, only to end up facing serious criminal charges. As a child, the unreliable 23-year-old narrator, Patrick Oxtoby, was an excellent student, but after a breakdown at age 14 he became fascinated with mechanics. Now, shortly after his fiancee leaves him, he lands in a small seaside town, takes a job at an auto repair shop and moves into a boarding house he can't afford. It seems as if Hyland misses every opportunity to delve into the roots of Patrick's awkwardness: his landlady and a local waitress provide him fantasy material, and it's clear, even from Patrick's problematic perspective, that he comes across as creepy. Nonetheless, both women inexplicably trust him, just as his parents and older brother appear to love and encourage him-until his arrest, at which point, and without explanation, they abandon him. Hyland (Carry Me Down) sails across Patrick's dark exterior with humor and empathy, but as with everyone Patrick encounters, she hesitates to dive below the surface. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Patrick Oxtoby is a man uncomfortable in his own skin. The young Brit hasn't gotten along well with his parents since he dropped out of university to become a mechanic. When his fiance breaks off their engagement, he relocates to a remote seaside village, hoping to distance himself from past disappointments and start anew. He moves into a boarding house, where he desperately seeks the approval of fellow residents (though he's convinced they're conspiring behind his back). He finds some kinship with his landlady and a waitress at the local restaurant. Then a moment of impassioned anger leads to tragedy, and Patrick finds himself on trial for murder. Hyland, a Man Booker finalist, serves up a promising psychological premise but fails to flesh out Patrick's backstory, leaving readers struggling to understand why he is the way he is. The accounts of Patrick's time in jail do little to liven the plot. The novel's best moments focus on his prickly relationships with women; perhaps greater attention to these would have made for a more engaging book.--Block, Allison Copyright 2009 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Solitary young man descends into a prison of his own making in this bleak tale from Booker-nominated Hyland (Carry Me Down, 2006, etc.). Protagonist and narrator Patrick Oxtoby, 23, is a failed university student who has recently been dumped by his fiance Sarah and subsequently moved to a lonely seacoast village. Only partially registering the life around him, Patrick finds lodgings at a young widow's boarding house and parlays his almost instinctive mechanical skills into a job at an auto-body shop. But he never frees himself from inchoate memories of a troubled childhood and some unspecified emotional trauma suffered as a teenager. He finds little solace in promised intimacy with an attractive waitress and keeps his distance from the abrasive camaraderie of fellow male boarders. Then, without ever quite knowing why, Patrick commits a brutally violent act; he is immediately apprehended and imprisoned pending trial. The novel's second half details his withdrawal from (predictable) threats lurking in his new environment, as Patrick tries and fails to make his stunned parents, a compassionate doctor and the sexual predators around every corner in jail understand him better than he understands himself. Hyland brilliantly creates and sustains a mood of unrelieved bafflement and tension. But she neglects to make Patrick sympathetic, or even credible. The idea of an unexplained, perhaps inexplicable crime recalls The Stranger, but this redundant and slow-moving tale lacks its predecessor's introspective richness. Two wonderful segmentsPatrick's plaintive letter begging his parents to visit, and an unexpected meeting with the elderly couple whose lives he has ruinedamount, alas, to too little too late. A disappointment, though by no means an indication of diminished skill, range or seriousness; this gifted Irish writer will find a way to do better next time. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.