Review: VERY well-written story.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 2, 2014
I'll have to say that this was a very pleasant surprise. This is GOOD. I mean really good. I'd have to lump this into that ambiguous "literary fiction" genre, so it would get the proper critical attention it deserves.The warnings for other readers: The sentences are long. Not quite Joycian, but you will wonder where you will take a breath sometimes. The words are varied and do not talk down to a reader (i.e., some of you with a less-refined vocabulary will probably be using your e-reader's dictionary function). And three-quarters of the book I got was a sample of another book. Normally, I drop a star automatically for that - you don't give reviewers the same promotional junk you put in for your readers; it's annoying. But I didn't for this one.As with many good books I've read lately, I didn't really care for the main character and wanted to swat him a couple of times. But he's very well-drawn, has a personality and you can easily envision him as a real person.At first, I was thinking the ending was a major cheat. But after thinking for a bit, it's really the only way the short story could've ended and remained a short story.I didn't read the sample that was included in the book (as I mentioned, I find them annoying, padding, and I prefer to choose what samples I read myself), but I will definitely look into this author's oeuvre and see if the quality is still as high as this one.Definitely recommended reading.