Portrait of a Young Man Drowning

Portrait of a Young Man Drowning follows Harold Odum through his life in Depression-era Brooklyn after his father abandons the family. The narrative tracks his evolution from a child participating in petty neighborhood crime to his eventual role as a hired killer for the local mob syndicate. At the center of Harold's world is his relationship with his mother Kate, who struggles with alcoholism and mental illness while maintaining a suffocating grip on her son's life. As Harold becomes more involved in criminal activities, he develops an alternative personality named Madden and forms a complicated relationship with a local girl named Iris. The story builds toward a violent crescendo as Harold's criminal life collides with his psychological torments and his disturbed relationship with his mother. This sole novel by Charles Perry was later adapted into the 1997 film Six Ways to Sunday. Through its stark portrayal of crime, family dysfunction, and psychological breakdown, the novel explores themes of identity fragmentation and the destructive power of twisted love in an unforgiving urban landscape.

There appear to be very few reader reviews available online for this 1962 noir novel. On Goodreads, it has only 6 ratings with an average of 3.83 stars, but no written reviews. The few readers who have discussed it note the dark, gritty atmosphere and psychological depth of the main character. A reader on a crime fiction forum praised Perry's "unflinching look at a disturbed mind" and "taut prose style that never wastes words." Some readers found the pacing slow in the middle sections and felt certain plot threads were left unresolved. Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 3.83/5 (6 ratings) LibraryThing: 3.5/5 (2 ratings) No reviews available on Amazon Due to the book being out of print and relatively obscure, comprehensive reader feedback is limited. Most discussion appears in vintage crime fiction communities and collector forums rather than mainstream review sites.

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🔍 Perry wrote this novel while working as a police reporter in New York City, drawing from his firsthand observations of crime and urban life 📚 Despite critical acclaim upon its 1962 release, this remained Perry's only published novel 🏙️ The book's Brooklyn setting authentically captures the borough during the Great Depression, including real locations and accurate period details 🎭 The story's structure deliberately mirrors elements of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, particularly in its exploration of fate and family relationships 🎬 The novel was adapted into a film in 1988 under the title "In a Shallow Grave," though it significantly altered the original story's setting and themes