Review: Thoughtful and moving
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 7, 2014
Dawn at Last by Lawrence Grodecki is an unusual novel. This is not a bad thing. The book stood out in the crowd of other books for just this reason. This author has a reflective quality to his writing. You can read a passage one way and take it in and then go back later and reread it again and find totally new meaning in it.The characters were alive, vibrant and fully realised. Never once during this story did I stop to question what the author was thinking or why he chose to take a character in the direction he did. I really enjoyed getting to know Donna in particular. I found that she was a deep and emotional character that kept me wanting to find out why she reacted to situations as she did. The more I learned about her, the more I felt a kinship with her. I was sad to see this book end, as it was the kind of book that you want to keep reading so you can stay with the people you have come to care for.This is not a fast paced book, but it has a kind of symmetrical flow where one scene bleeds into the next carefully and keeps you wanting to come back for more. Above all, this is a story of love and redemption. Love for other people, love for yourself and love of life. Each sentence had a purpose and added something valuable to the story.Watching as the characters came to realisations about themselves and one another was great, but really feeling the depth of their emotional connections was phenomenal. Lawrence Grodecki has something in his corner than many other authors don’t—he writes from the heart and incorporates much of himself into the creation of his characters.This book was long enough to enjoy over a weekend, but not so long that the characters began seeming overbearing or pointless. The writing was solid and the dialogue was interesting and kept moving in a progressive manner. I had a lot of fun reading this book, shed a few tears, and thought a lot about life and the chances we have to correct wrongs and make decisions. What more could you ask from a book?If you have not read Dawn At Last, I encourage you to take some time to do so. I recommend it.