For anyone who has ever been to high school, especially a private high school, Brutal Youth is a must read. Debut author, Anthony Breznican joins us for a trip back in time and a bit of parental comparing. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Anthony’s writing style shines through with a subtle humor and laser focused insight.
Brutal Youth reminded me of the early John Hughes movies and Winona Ryder’s “Heathers.” If Brutal Youth were made into a movie what 2014 actors would have you creating your own sort-of modern-day “Brat Pack?”
I love that comparison! “Heathers” is one I haven’t heard before, but it totally fits for Brutal Youth — kind of a twisted, scary fairy-tale version of adolescent life. As far as actors today that I would imagine as the characters … Hmm, I loved Dylan O’Brien in The Maze Runner. He shows phenomenal inner turmoil, and if he were still 15 he’d be fantastic as the lead, Peter Davidek, an unlucky but good-hearted kid who desperately wants to be braver than he is. For Lorelei, a girl whose homelife is so harsh she’s determined to be popular at school (no matter who she has to alienate) I think Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka is perfect. She’s even the perfect age — but most of all, she knows how to capture someone whose heart runs both warm and cold.
I wondered if anyone else had seen Heathers or if it was just my cult fave! For us ’80s kids {I graduated high school 1990!} which of the Brat Pack actors could you see playing in the Brutal Youth movie?
Talking total fantasy casting, I think a teenage Robert Downey Jr. would make an excellent Noah Stein, the fearless smart-ass who fights everyone else’s battles and serves as the sort of blasting-cap for Davidek and Lorelei. It would also create cool cognitive dissonance to see a few former child stars as some of the grown-ups, especially the unhinged ones. I sometimes imagined present-day Molly Ringwald or Winona Ryder as Ms. Bromine, the guidance counselor who once relished being a queen bee at the school and now resents the students who’ve replaced her. (It messes with the audience’s head, kind of like casting Ferris Bueller as the uptight teacher in Election.)
Ah, you nailed that casting! I can so see Molly Ringwald especially as Ms. Bromine. As someone who grew up Southern Baptist and completely unaware of what happens in the Catholic private school, the year-long hazing aspect left me shocked and horrified.
I don’t think these problems are exclusive to Catholic school; that’s just the environment I knew growing up. Brutal Youth could have been set a military school, or a rich kid’s private school, or anywhere there’s a strict hierarchy. I think people are hazed at work when they start a new job, and a lot of these behaviors continue well into adulthood. Humans are not so different from wolf packs — we like to assert dominance and place our teeth on each other’s throats.
Good point. We had two military schools in my hometown and the stories we heard while I was in high school were terrifying. Was bullying something that you experienced? either as the victim or the victimizer? and does it still occur today?
My high school had sanctioned hazing, but I believe they’ve done away with it now. Sure, like almost everyone, I was picked on, called names, and occasionally chased and beaten up by people who didn’t like my face or attitude — or just wanted to vent some aggression on someone. I definitely know what it’s like to be pulverized — emotionally and physically — by people who are bigger than me. Brutal Youth is about why some people who suffer horribly end up becoming even worse when they get the upper hand, while others decide “This stops with me.” All it takes is one person to show you kindness, to sacrifice something for you, and it can change your whole perspective. There are a lot of times I wish I had stood up for people I saw getting bullied when I was a small fry, but I’ve got a clear conscience about being an older kid. I followed the final line from the novel Bang the Drum Slowly: “From here on in, I rag nobody.”
There are numerous studies that show just that – it just takes one person to say “no” to take that stand, to make a world of difference. That point is drawn out in the book through the different characters. When you were writing Brutal Youth did you have any props such as clothes or songs that helped to serve as inspiration?
I still have my old scarlet red uniform tie, but it’s not a clip-on like in the book! The main song that served as inspiration is Favourite Hour, but Elvis Costello. It contains the lyric, “Now there’s a tragic waste of brutal youth …” which gives the book its title, but that song is full of other lines that inspired elements of the story. “Blessings I don’t count, small mercies and such …” That “tragic waste” line means a lot to me because I’m the kind of person who ruminates on problems, I dwell on the negative, and when we don’t count those blessings and small mercies we miss a lot of what’s wonderful about life. It also has the haunting line, “Put out my eyes so I may never spy …” That notion — I would rather suffer than cause suffering for others — is the heart of the concept “this stops with me,” and one character takes that to a very heartbreaking extreme.
Those lyrics are devastating. So deeply moving and so perfect an inspiration. Anthony, you captured the disconnect between Peter and his parents so effectively for the time period. Do you believe parents of today are better equipped or more aware of the need to stay involved in their teen’s life?
Parenthood is such an important job, but the world is full of people who suck at their jobs — including that one. There are a lot of lousy moms and dads out there, both then and now. Talk to any teacher and they’ll tell you heartbreaking stories about kids they’ve taught who come from dysfunctional or toxic homes. It’s horrifying to those of us who do love our kids and are trying so hard to be good parents, but it’s a sad fact of life. The worst parent in the book is Lorelei’s mom, who is outright abusive and dumps her own disappointment and rage on her daughter. Peter Davidek’s parents are more like a big brother and big sister who are pissed off about getting stuck with babysitting duty. I imagine they had kids young, maybe too young, and they resent the responsibility, so they’re aloof and dismissive. Peter spends the whole book trying to get their help, but they never take him seriously. His journey is about becoming strong on his own, and ultimately not needing their help.
I think that particular storyline troubled me most – that Peter ultimately learns to rely on himself. Which is probably a weird storyline to get hung up on when there are so many other ‘brutal’ aspects ~ probably has to do with my kids growing up and moving out. Overcoming empty nesting is hard! What do you see as the difference between parenting in the early ’90s to the parenting of today?
It was harder to keep track of your kids back then, so it was easier for teenagers to live secret lives. “I’m going to the mall!” But they had no idea where we were really going! There was an element of freedom there, but also trust. Now kids text photos of their whereabouts and have their emails and internet activity monitored by parents. I think moms and dads hover more over their kids — which is why they call it “helicopter parenting,” I guess. In some ways, that’s good … but you also have grown-ups breathing down your neck incessantly, which maybe infantilizes kids more than they used to be. I think rule-breaking may be necessary to forge healthy independence. It all reminds me of this poem about parenting by Philip Larkin called “This Be The Verse,” which starts out: “They fuck you up, your mom and dad. / They may not mean to, but they do. / They fill you with the faults they had / And add some extra, just for you.” The conflict between parents and kids is an eternal one. We’d better get used to it!
Hmmm, I can recall those “going to the mall” trips! Certainly glad I grew up in the ’80s as opposed to now! It is always fascinating to learn what our favorite authors are reading and loving. Although you probably get this question quite often it’s so hard to resist asking ~ What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading a lot of first-time novelists lately, maybe because I’m one and I feel a kinship. It’s tough to get readers to take a chance on somebody new, so I’m trying to seek them out. I’m starting A Tree Born Crooked, a debut novel by Steph Post, which is a grit-lit crime saga set in the Florida panhandle. I’m just getting started, but it’s clever and brimming with tension, and even though it’s getting dark and cold outside as fall gives way to winter, it makes me feel humid and sweaty from the atmosphere she describes. Next up will be A Land More Kind Than Home, by Wiley Cash — another writer I’ve been dying to check out.
Thanks so much Anthony for your time, insightful responses and for a book that resonates.
My pleasure. Thanks for giving my book about schoolkids in trouble a read. I hope the double-crosses and broken hearts made for a decent page-turner.
Yes it did. Most certainly did. {Stay tuned for my review of Brutal Youth}
