Author's new book takes square aim at Beaverton

‘Paranoid Park’ author Blake Nelson’s new teen novel is about rebelling against SUVs

By Stover E Harger III

The Beaverton Valley Times, Jun 18, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

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Nelson, who wrote “Paranoid Park” which was later made into the award-winning Gus Van Sant film, created James as a complicated character, one who you want to root for as he grows and learns about himself.

Growing up in the “unique environment” of the Pacific Northwest had an effect on Nelson in deep ways. All but one of his books have been set in and around Portland. It was his stomping ground and he still feels a bond with the area, he says.

Locals will recognize the locales that James and his friends visit in the novel – they waste time at Fred Meyer and suck down coffee at Shari’s Restaurant.

“Cold and gloomy today. Dark when you leave for school, dark when you get home…” the narrator writes in his journal. “This is not good for you … Portland, Oregon, is one of the darkest places, too. It’s a wonder we don’t all kill ourselves. Oh, wait, we already are.”

As Nelson worked to craft the character and came up with the book’s unique narrative style (it is told as a series of journal entries, school essays and internet postings) he began to relate to his angry teenage character.

“The kind of stuff the guy does in the book is the stuff I did in high school,” he said. “I really felt like I was that kid. I was really in his brain.”

Being in his 40s now and writing for the young adult market, as Nelson has done with all of his recent novels, means trying to understand youth culture. He feels he has found his niche, giving voice to the young.

As Nelson’s career continues to flourish (he is currently doing rewrites on his next novel, “Movie Night”) he says he feels more and more comfortable with his position in life as a young adult novelist. Even if it is a different literary path than he envisioned all those years ago when he first started writing.

“My goal was to be a literary author, like John Updike or something like that,” Nelson said. “I’m never going to be John Updike, but who knows? Maybe somehow I’ll become really well known and it will pay off in the end somehow.”

Yet it feels that Nelson has already found what he is good at. Getting into the hearts and minds of youth, like James, and sharing his stories with the world.

“That’s all I’ve ever really wanted,” he said.

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