Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Looking for a book to share with your church group or your scholar student? You might want to pass on this one. But, if you're looking for a work of art that will grab hold of your emotions and senses, and that might help you understand your unruly teenager (or your neighbor's obnoxious brat), then you may have stumbled onto the perfect novel. Well, perfect might be a bit too strong. Read on to learn more... *** LANGUAGE *** If you were not offended by the language used by Donald Trump when speaking in his ‘locker room language’ to Billy Bush, you will likely find nothing offensive in this novel. Sorry for bringing politics into the discussion, but, I feel it is critical today for us to put everything into perspective. As I looked over the six titles on Kindle First this month, several looked enticing. I chose Lost in Arcadia, in part, because I needed a story of hope, after my best pal’s death on Memorial Day. Buddy was our Egyptian-born Yorkie and, to a great extent, served as my wife’s only child, since she never was able to bear children. Sorry for that intrusion, but life also has to have perspective. Books can be a temporary escape, but only when they are well-written and tickle that nerve… So, how did Lost in Arcadia scratch that itch for an escape? Read on to learn what emotions overcame me and why I posted this review. ESSENTIALS OF A NOVEL ONE: When I sit down to read a novel, I want a story where the language authentically reflects the characters portrayed. Often, this may include salty dialogue and, frankly, that is fine. My best friend as a teen spoke in a manner consistent with that shown in this story, even to his mother. Still, honestly, I didn’t let my dislike of his language prevent him from becoming my best friend. TWO: I try to be especially aware of any cliffhanger endings. With Kindle First, it is common to leave a cliffhanger ending. Sometimes, I am okay with it, and other times I am disappointed with it. Lost in Arcadia is a novel in which I probably should have expected the unresolved ending. So, I am not reducing any stars for this. Merely expressing my less than enthusiastic note that this is not a story to read as a stand-alone. I probably will read the sequel DESPITE the language, but only time will tell. THREE: Does the opening grab hold of me and keep me turning the pages as I end each chapter? That is where this fiction scores well. It has an authentic feel that tells me the protagonist is not so very different from my best friend or, perhaps, even has an attitude not unlike my older son. Just as an aside, I agree with the sentiment that foul language, especially dependence on the f-word might indicate a weak vocabulary. In this novel, though, I’m not inclined to agree. Certainly when a guy comes up with a word like febrile to describe a landscape, his vocabulary is superior to mine. FOUR: Does the writer use our five senses to get inside our psyche to convert us into witnesses of the scene? This is where the author won me over. I appreciate how he communicated the sights and sounds of life as portrayed in this lurching tale. Q - How was this book obtained? A – Bought as my Kindle First selection this month. Q - Are there a lot of typos/misspellings, grammatical errors or other editing failures? A – No. Q - Is this a fast, easy read or is it more of a leisure read? A – A page-turner, yes, but not a book to read in just one sitting. Q - My biggest pleasure or disappointment? A – The use of profanities could have been curtailed, once the attitude was established. In that sense, books differ from real life. What I mean is, in writing, once a particular curse word is used, each subsequent use has less value than the first use. I hope the editor can communicate this to the author for the second book. To give a feel for the editing, and the style and flow of this work, I am posting a brief excerpt below. Excerpt ‘…No rivers ran through Quemado, and there were no hills to mark the location as unique. No field or naturally forming arroyos made it any different from the endless expanse of nearly identical dirt and shrubs they’d passed by on the way over. Situated at the intersection of two deserted highways, few drove along either of its sun-cracked roads except truckers bringing supplies to Quemado or Red Hill or Omega or any of the other out-of-the-way particles of civilization that hadn’t yet been beaten back into dust. They parked in the only café or restaurant either of them saw in the town. The faded turquoise sign above its doorway said simply “Café,” with no indication that it had ever aspired to distinguish itself with a proper noun. The same man who took their order grilled their hamburgers and brought them to their table. He was the only person they’d seen since arriving in Quemado. After fixing their meal, he disappeared to the back room again. “It’s not that I don’t trust the food out here,” said Robert, tentatively nibbling at his burger as grease dripped down his fingers and onto his knuckles. “It’s just that what with a new E. coli or salmonella epidemic nearly every week, I don’t think it’s safe to put our lives in the hands of, let’s face it, hicks who more than likely can’t read and have never heard of, much less used, a meat thermometer.” “We’re not in Paris sampling the local cuisine. It’s a fxxxing hamburger, be an American and eat it.” They spent the rest of the meal in silence, eating slowly. After finishing their plates they walked past a single shop to the Diaz building, a large white structure double the size of the café, easily the tallest thing in sight. They were apparently the last ones to arrive and their group was waiting outside the building, next to a van that might have once been sparkling white but was now coated with what looked like twenty years of dirt and mud. A couple in their sixties stood nearby, endlessly asking questions to a bored-looking driver sitting in his vehicle. A pair of youngish men leaned awkwardly against the building, using its shade to keep off the sweltering midday New Mexico sun. “Seriously, we have to live with them?” Robert asked softly as they approached the group. “We don’t live with them, we just share a common space. Now try to be nice.” Holly stood up straighter and pretended she was at least a little less sweaty and irritable than she felt. She was disappointed when Robert didn’t follow suit. The driver introduced himself, as did the rest of the group, and they filed into the van. Holly and Robert sat at the very back, hoping to avoid conversation. As they drove away from the city, even the talkative older couple became silent. All the passengers stared out the windows as they headed away from the vestiges of society, out into the true desert. No birds flew across the sky. No lizards scampered into bushes, and as they drifted down a barely perceptible dirt road, it felt like the ubiquitous straw-colored weeds trailing alongside them were decreasing in number. Far in the distance, Holly could make out what might have been a tree, but otherwise they were driving into pure space, an expanse defined by its absences. The barely sloping hills looked almost like a palette-swapped Martian landscape, made up of hard rock with only the tiniest bits of gray-green plants poking through the crust to remind them they were still terrestrial. The drive lasted less than an hour, but it seemed like a trip through time, or to a different dimension. As they drove, the land became somewhat more green, but it was all tiny shrubs and weeds. Finally, a…’ Gandert, Sean. Lost in Arcadia: A Novel (pp. 11-13). 47North. Kindle Edition. Bottom Line: When I selected this book, my mood still was not quite into reading. Still, the first chapter served its purpose and, the further I read, the more I slipped into this futuristic tale. Though not destined to be a classic, it serves a need, warts and all. Four stars out of five. Comments regarding your opinion of this book or of my review, whether favorable or unfavorable, are always welcome. If you buy the book based on my review and become disappointed, especially, I do want to know that and I want to understand how I can improve as a book reviewer. Just please be polite. Thank you.