Review: Clamming is Not Enough to Chase Away Similarities
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 14, 2008
The Jynx by K.C. Crowe is presented as a modern take on "The Old Man and the Sea".  While Billy's story has a different twist (as per the synopsis) the beginning just felt too darn familiar in texture to Hemingway's work.  This distracted me from fully appreciating Billy's own story.The flat storytelling, with its detailed focus on mundane matters, is one that I generally find interesting, as it highlights the author's skill as a writer and ability to engage to reader in the base-humanity of the lead character's life.  This author does a fine job of accomplishing that.A comment:~Of the first 15 sentences 12 began with they, he, Billy, Sweeney or the dog.  I usually don't notice stuff like this, but it was troubling to see this lack of diversity right off the bat.  It went away as the excerpt progressed, but was simply glaring in the beginning.I'm right on the fence as to whether I'd be interested in reading more of this book.  On the one hand I feel too familiar with what I've already read, while on the other hand, the author's writing and promised story premise piqued my interest enough to possibly go on.