Review: Good Story, But A Little Heavy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 19, 2012
For all practical purpose, Mike Harden's life ended six years ago with the death of his wife, Ashley.  He quit his job as a police officer, opened a struggling coffee shop, adopted two small dogs, and went through the motions of life.  One cold December morning, he meets a mysterious stranger, Thomas Constant, who informs Mike his life will soon end.  However, Thomas gives him a choice--Mike can either have seven hours added to his life or he can go back in time and relive any seven hours.  For Mike the choice was relatively easy.  He asks to return to his wedding day, with the intent to kill the man who 10 years later would brutally murder Ashley.  With a slow, introspective pace, Teardrop is a tender look into a man who has truly learned from his future mistakes.Being a fan of Travis Thrasher's work, I was looking forward to Teardrop.  However, the dreamy and surreal mood that works so well in his full-length novels, doesn't work quite as well for this story.  Also, where this novella is placed within the collection causes it to be somewhat depressing to read.  By following the most upbeat and quirky of the collection, Teardrops somber mood is greatly enhanced.  Since it's very short the brooding mood becomes a bit depressing.  As a result, one of the great strengths of Thrasher's writing became somewhat of a hindrance in keeping me engaged in the story.  I love the introspective nature of Mike's character.  There is so much to learn from experience and I thoroughly enjoy this aspect of the book.  Unfortunately, with the compressed space, the atmosphere (which is well-developed) becomes oppressive and I found that I needed to take breaks to keep from being downright depressed.Most of the story is presented from Mike's mind--the mind of someone who knows his wife is going to be killed by one of the guests and knows he's going to die in seven hours.  Not only does this keep the mood pretty subdued, the story feels limited.  This book could easily have been 300 pages, but it feels compressed, and left me wanting more depth.Despite some of the issues I have with Teardrop, I LOVE the message.  I'm a huge fan of God's got things under control and doing things His way is definitely the best idea.  However, in practice it's incredibly difficult to let go.  What I like about this story is that Vince, the man Mike wants to kill, is a serial killer.  Thrasher weaves this great story of God's plan around a future that is truly gruesome and devastating, but sets it in the midst of a fantastic wedding celebration.  The dynamics are perfect for setting the stage for Mike's introspective thoughts throughout his seven hours.  Here is a man who is celebrating the greatest day of his life, knowing the woman he loves will die in 10 years, but the reader also gets to see how Mike struggles to control his future rather than relinquishing it to God.  It is a perfect story for the themes Thrasher is presenting and he does an excellent job.While Teardrop has a few issues, I still think it's a great story and an excellent addition to the 7 Hours series.  I'd love to see it expanded into a full length novel in order to explore some of the other personalities and events that are mentioned, but not expounded upon.  Though the story is rather depressing and the message is very challenging, the ending is quite uplifting and leaves the reader feeling refreshed.Review title provided courtesy of Tyndale