Review: Narcissistic book
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 31, 2013
Lolly by author Jeff Stewart comes across as a narcissistic book as the author firmly plants himself in the story rather than writing the story about the company. Also, his book is written in what I would call the first person tense. It is a lot like reading prose from Dragnet. The old Dragnet television shows would often start with prose similar to this:The story you are about to here is the truth. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent...His book is written like a gum shoe mystery book where the detective is on the case and through his investigations the story is told.When I am reading a presumed non-fiction book I like to read a business book written in non-fiction format with clear facts stated.Here are some samples from his book:"Back down to Vancouver, I got a call from my sister in Chicago, and I told her that I was working on my next book and trying to figure out where to set up shop again, but I couldn't land anywhere, and I was burned out on thinking about it. Southern California seemed the most reasonable to me." p. 14"The waitress dropped off the large plate and two waters. The first bite dripping nachos was holy. I'd been obsessing over their greatness since the last time we'd sat there." p. 135"'How did the showrooms hear about the line?'" "We identified a few showrooms that we thought would represent us well, and Chad literally walked the line in and pitched it. By end of 2009, we had grown and placed Obvious all across the country, and in a few spots around the globe. And along came Lolly." p. 143Lolly has promise if the book was re-written in a standardized non-fiction format. As now it reads more like a novel with the author firmly inserted in the story. Perhaps that's what the book is about and not the company.Recommend with caveats given.MRThe following review was written after receiving a complimentary copy.