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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In Oh Marty by Deen Chris, Marty is a first year secondary school student in Guyana whose mathematics marks bring violent punishment at home because his parents see his difficulty as laziness and disobedience. Numbers seem to shift when he tries to work, while the novels he reads give him somewhere his parents cannot reach. He hides them behind a loose board in his bedroom because his mother forbids novels, believing they distract him from studying, and slips away to a forest clearing beyond his neighborhood, where an unexplained green light appears above the trees. At school, teacher Amanda notices the fear behind Marty’s silence and begins to understand what is happening inside his home. Her concern gives him a chance to be taken seriously, just as his parents discover the books he has concealed. With the violence worsening and the green light drawing nearer, Marty reaches the point where returning home may no longer be possible.
In Oh Marty, Deen Chris delivers a sensitive literary coming-of-age novel set in Guyana, and the fact that there is a learning difference opens the book up beyond the tale of a boy who is juggling a singular issue. In fleshing out beyond this, the author makes Marty a sympathetic, fully realized lead. The most touching are his small acts of tenderness, including the moment he names an injured stray Toto after hearing a song drifting from a nearby window. On the flip side, his parents are frightening figures, and seeing Marty anticipating punishment long before it arrives is incredibly heartbreaking. It is a juxtaposition that I felt in my bones, which is a real credit to the author's skill. The realism is balanced with an original speculative current through the recurring green light, which lends an eerie sense of possibility. The prose is intentionally spare and sensory, perfect for the protagonist's perspective, with measured pacing suited to Marty’s inward life. Readers of Douglas Stuart who value child-centered literary fiction are in for a real treat. Very highly recommended.
