Review: Not Bad
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 8, 2014
This has been on my Kindle for some time and the synopsis sounded interesting so I pushed it up the list and started reading with an open mind. At only 136 pages, it's certainly not the longest book I've read but it was certainly interesting enough. The main character Pete Murphy is living in exile and is a strangely dark man who is extremely likeable. It's a shame the same cannot be said for young John who lands on Pete's doorstep with 200k of stolen money.Jack Rylance has done a wonderful job in getting across a place like Copacabana and I felt like I could shut my eyes and the image of it would just pop into my head. Along with Pete and his current situation you get a real feel for the more underworld side of the place and pretty soon we see Pete's situation worsen.The thing that I did like about this book was that it felt like the layers of the story were built up and we got a real insight into how John and Peter met, and ended up as they are today. The thing that kept letting it down for me was the fact that John was such a washout of a character. It felt like you were dealing with a young man, who had the mind and attitude of a teenager. I admit that this grated on me from pretty early on. The thing that got me through was the better side of the book featuring Peter and his current lifestyle.The actual storyline was okay, but certainly nothing that blew me away. Although I must admit you find yourself wondering and waiting to find out why Pete is having to live in exile now. I certainly enjoyed the book and most certainly the writing. For me the letdown was the other character and the fact that it wasn't quite as gritty as it could have been. This has certainly made me think to look for future Rylance books as I think future books could be great.