The Boy Detective Gets A Passing Grade

By Barrister Shaw

Sit right down, dear reader, and hear a tale of the ever-vigilant boy detective Billy Argo, a genius in the model of the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown who, in the course of his young career, foiled many a fiend with the help of his sister Caroline and childhood friend Fenton. Of course, this tale picks up 20-something years later where Billy has been living in a mental hospital ever since his own attempted suicide following Caroline’s own successful self-destruction.

Billy rides the bus, goes to work at a wig and artificial facial hair phone sales company, hangs out with the neighborhood outcast siblings, and evades several attempts on his life by his former adversaries. As for the outcasts, the brother never speaks and demolishes the other classmates at school. And the sister is hated by her peers for her awkwardness. They find a friend in Billy, who seems to understand and accept them, helping them solve the mystery of where their pet rabbit’s head went and quietly monitoring their rocketry experiments. He also goes to great lengths to find and connect with a pink-clad kleptomaniac he spots one day on the bus.

One thing you can say about this book – it’s unique. Meno clearly has great affection and sympathy for misfits and outcasts, and he brings these characters to life in this book. The Gentlemen convened to discuss the book and found our group divided. On one hand, you have a well written, often moving story with moments of almost poetic observation. On the other, you have increasingly absurd villains appearing out of nowhere, random passages and characters who appear to be weird for the sake of being weird. As Scott said, “It was like Mitch Hedberg’s description of pancakes, ‘exciting when you start out, but by the end you’re sick of it.’”

Parts of this book can wear on you – especially if you’re going to sit and wonder how buildings get disintegrated with nobody noticing, or why even a mad professor would spend his entire life ineffectually menacing someone whose mental condition is already clearly in distress. If that’s the case, this book probably isn’t for you. All of this might make sense if, as Zach suspected, Billy is autistic. The more we discussed, the more likely that seemed to be the case. If so, props to Meno for presuming the intelligence of his audience and not spelling it out or making a big deal how much of a genius he is. It’s writing that respects and challenges the reader. And if there’s anything the GBCoA appreciates, it’s being mentally challenged.

Overall Rating: 1.875 Beaver Pelt Hats

Barrister Lichtenauer: 0 (the first ever Whale Oil Lamp)
Barrister Russell: 0 (the second ever Whale Oil Lamp)
Barrister Shaw: +3.5
Barrister Wells: +4.0

Meeting Place: The Gentlemen payed homage to the heyday of the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown by investigating the mystery of the disappearing drinks at The Foundry, known for its late 70's - early 80's themed fare.

Next Up: A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah