Review: Mixed Messages
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 4, 2013
I'd like to begin by saying that I enjoyed the novella and read it quickly in one brief sitting. The pace is good, the atmosphere creepy, and the pages seem to turn themselves. I liked the author's misdirection and the fact that I found myself questioning who was dead and who wasn't. However, as I ended this journey, I found myself left with more questions than answers and would like to address some of what confused me. Messages from the Dead left me perplexed on many levels. Having never read this author's work before, I'm unsure if this was intentional or not, but my instinct says it's not.SPOILER ALERT: Read no further unless you've read the book and would like to review my discussion of the aforementioned elements.First, the title didn't seem to quite fit once the punchline, though disjointed as it felt, was revealed. There was no actual message, no advice, no plodding, no clues left by the ghosts, just the main character being threatened and attacked by one ghost and seeing and conversing with several others. If the author was conveying that their message was simply that they wanted to live again, then the title still just doesn't connect those dots since what was actually said and done by these ghosts wouldn't convey such a message to any logical thinker. I believe the ghosts' actions were all purposeful, driving the main character to an intended outcome, but this still causes me to feel as if the word, "messages" is out of place. Perhaps motivations, motives, desires, endgame, fury, or pleas would have been a better word choice.There was so much more the author could have done with this story; the set-up was phenomenal. It just didn't play out in a manner that felt satisfying, because of too many missed opportunities. It turns out my guesses regarding which characters were living or dead were correct, but it would have been so much better if they hadn't been. I thought for a bit that Donna herself was dead, that grandmother Lana was dead all along, and that perhaps the husband, Joe, might have actually been her deceased father or a deceased husband. It turns out, though, that Joe was an unsubstantial, undeveloped, and unnecessary character. I also thought that perhaps Alex was a ghost at one point, and that maybe the community college didn't exist at all, that it was instead an abandoned hospital, since everyone Donna interacted with at this school, except Alex, was a ghost, or in Andrea's case, eventually became one. I was disappointed that the only item inside the mysterious Victorian box of worth was the photo of Lana and Charlie. This wasn't a big reveal, because I had figured that part out already due to too many literary cues and clues (the man in the room, the man outside on the porch, and the statue belonging to Lana that Charlie claims he gave to someone long ago), but even if I hadn't, it just simply wasn't a big wow moment.I felt confused by the art theme. It reads a bit like the author's own interest in painting just made it's way into the story, with the mysterious, unexplained and unexplored art deity Mada and "charmed" art supplies having nothing to do with the story at all. A couple extraneous elements can serve as misdirection and are a good way to hide a surprise, but too many of these elements causes a reader like myself to feel lost and confused among what is essentially filler. That's what Mada, charmed art supplies, the missing or deceased father that we never learn anything about, and the out of place husband, Joe, all felt like to me.The ending itself felt disjointed as well. I get that Lana, Charlie, Ben, and the children were given another chance at life and that, it seems, that Donna herself was given another chance by being made young again, but this outcome feels as if it belongs in another story, one with a different set-up. My favorite part of the ending, though, is the idea that this cycle could have repeated itself numerous times. I asked myself, "Wouldn't it be awesome if Donna hadn't been fully aware of events when she looked into the mirror finding herself a child again?" but this idea didn't come directly from the author and is yet another missed opportunity.Overall, I have to give it 3 stars. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if I could, because the pace and set-up are worth 4, but as a whole, because of the unaddressed items, too many extraneous elements and confusing filler, I have to give it 3. It's worth a read, absolutely, but it's just simply not cohesive. The novella is more like multiple ideas strung together than a finished piece.DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.