Four Blind Mice by James Patterson

» Frank_Mullen - You have a lot to say--

--about your misassumptions.

You said: "My biggest complaint is that around page 300, I discovered that Cross, the main character, is African American, not white like I’d assumed."

I guess you assumed incorrectly. This is often true of assumptions.

Also: "And it was a fair assumption: Patterson is on the back cover of the book, and he sure looks like a white guy to me."

Let me be sure I understand this: Because the author appears to be white, it is fair to assume that his main character is white?

And: "My problem isn’t with the character’s race, it’s with having to readjust my mental picture of him ¾ of the way through the book."

I guess I can see this as a problem--if the character's race is that important to you.

The Detective/Doctor Cross novels are tied together with constantly evolving issues: his respect and love for Nana Mama; his increasingly independent children; his own needs for relationships with women. These are universal issues, and do not depend on his race.

I'm sorry that your misassumption of the protagonist's race was a stumbling block to your enjoyment of this novel. Perhaps you might now read some of the other Alex Cross novels with greater enjoyment.

-- posted by Frank_Mullen

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» catten - Re: You have a lot to say--

Frank,

You make some good observations, and I appreciate your comments.

Here's why I made an issue of race: When most people read a book, they create a mental picture of the character. As information from the author reveals mannerisms and physical characteristics—being petite or having hazel eyes, for instance—that image is revised, but not dramatically.

When I was pretty far into this book, I was suddenly confronted with a major shift in my picture of Cross. It's not just a matter of skin color; my revised Cross had a deeper, richer voice, for example. It's somewhat like the let-down one gets when the whole plot of a book was only a dream. It is interesting, perhaps, that the other characters weren't as difficult to adjust to fit the story.

I also think it's natural to assume an author's characters are the same race as him/her, unless something indicates otherwise.

In considering all of this, I'd still say that I think not having that piece of information earlier made the last part of the book difficult to enjoy.

Now that I know what to expect, I'm sure my next Alex Cross book will be more fun to read—now I know what he "looks" like.

One final note: I read an Alex Delaware novel (A Cold Heart) before this one and I suspect I went into this book with a very similar character in mind because they are both psychologists and investigators.

Thanks again for your input. I really appreciate hearing from readers whether they agree with me or not!

Cat

-- posted by catten

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