As I declared to Joe on Monday, I don't read enough fiction novels to give an educated literary critique of his book. He just turned to me and said "Well, did you enjoy reading it? If you did that's all that really matters." I'll be honest, if it wasn't written by a friend of mine I never would've picked it up. I'm glad I did. Most of the events and characters in the book were so drastically different from anything that I've ever experienced that it really made me step back and think about the different lives that people live. I've spent a majority, if not all, of my life surrounded by people that have the same background as me education, family life, social class, career, etc. It is such a strange experience to read a book about characters that are so different. As I read the book I kept thinking that it must be crazy to wake up everyday and have no idea where the day is going to take you. No job to rush off to, no place in particular to be, in fact little to no responsibility at all. I can honestly say I've never had anything close to that experience, except maybe during the summers when I used to be in high school, but I lived with my parents so it isn't even close to being the same. In fact responsibility was instilled in me at such a young age I'm pretty sure I was worrying about saving money to pay for college and my 401K when I was in high school. Anyhow enough about me for now, I enjoyed the book and I would recommend that you pick up a copy or borrow it from me (I know how some of you are about actually paying for things) Here are some links about what real literary critics had to say about the book.
The New York Times
Washington City Paper
For more check out the book website, which contains other reviews I was too lazy to provide a direct link to. If you are in the DC area Joe will be doing a reading this Thursday, January 31, at 7:00 pm at Politics and Prose. It'll be a great opportunity to stop by and meet the author. ~Viggy
