Review: A well-written short story that begs for a continuation.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 22, 2013
I'm not real particular about the post apocalyptic genre and I am most definitely not drawn to books with Zombies in them. So by default, I would ordinarily have passed on reading this story had I known it contained both of the aforementioned subject matter that I'm not much interested in.With that said, I must say that some of the most interesting fiction I've read this year has turned out to be in the very genres I am least interested in reading and in these two genres no less. The Old Man and the Flower by Vardan Patamyan is one of those tales that stands out to me as being worth the read.It was clear to me from the very start of this book that the writer is quite the word smith. Although I didn't detect any use of meter, his prose had a very musical quality to it. It cast a very hypnotic effect upon me as I read it. The language used in this book lends itself to a very literary vein of writing which raises it above what you would expect to find in this genre. Of course, this would all mean nothing if the story wasn't any good. And it certainly shines as a intriguing work of introspection into what it would be like to be the last person alive.There was an almost Shakespearean quality to the tale, perhaps as a result of there being only one true character in the story who is revealed to us through a series of soliloquy like scenes. It was both humorous and sad to see the main character Sam develop a split personality in order to cope with his loneliness.Although I applaud the writing, I think this is one of those stories that begs to be longer. I didn't feel there was enough going on to draw me all the way in besides being a casual observer into Sam's misfortunes. I would certainly have liked to see more done with this character. But as it is, it's still a worthwhile short story.I would definitely recommend this book to fans of end of the world scenarios. 3 Stars.Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.