Review: Zandri moves outside comfort zone, readers win
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 12, 2011
Most people who pick up Zandri's "Love at First Sight" short story will be fans of his crime fiction. They'll be expecting a certain amount of murder, mayhem and mischief. This short story has none of those things. But you know what? You're going to enjoy it anyway.The story chronicles a U.S. soldier's attempt to regain his sight after going blind. A traumatic incident in Afghanistan left him with a healthy dose of PTSD, which triggered his blindness. He and his fiance spend a vacation in Italy to relax. Their rocky relationship must be fixed before his eyesight is restored.Much of the story takes place inside the soldier's mind. He deconstructs his life, his relationship and his decisions. This leaves the reader in a similar state of blindness, but not in a bad way. The story unfolds the same way the soldier perceives the world: memories flashing in and out of mind, building a tapestry that guides the reader.That tapestry is at times gripping, other times amusing and always engaging. This short read provided all the elements of a longer work. I get the feeling this is testing the waters before Zandri commits to leaving crime fiction for a novel or two. If he does, readers should be in for a treat.