THE FOLLOWERS | Book Review

Title: The Followers

Author: Rebecca Wait

Originally Published: 2015

Page Count: 335 pages

Genre: Fiction 

Published by: Picador 

Date Read: July 1 - September 10 2015

I was lucky enough to win this books in one of Goodreads' giveaways back in May. I was intrigued by the synopsis, as the book centres around two characters, a mother and a daughter, who leave their life behind to join a cult in the Yorkshire moors. I have a kind of guilty pleasure for films about cults, I won't name names because that could be a spoiler for the film, but there's always been something about them that intrigues me. 

THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS | Book Review

from my instagram: roberrrrto

Title: The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories

Author: Marina Keegan

Originally Published: 2014

Page Count: 208 pages

Genre: Non-fiction / Short Stories / Essays / Memoir

Published by: Simon & Schuster UK

Date Read: August 28 - September 9 2015

I don't really recall when I first heard about this book, I just remember thinking instantly that if I found it, I'd have to buy it. These thoughts transpired from Keegan's devastating reality, but also because of the titular article, which resonated with me.

THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN | Book Review

Title: The Five People You Meet In Heave
Author: Mitch Albom
Genre: Fiction / "Inspirational"
Published by: Time Warner Paperbacks
Originally Published: 2005
Page Count: 208 pages

The novel's protagonist is an elderly amusement park maintenance worker named Eddie who, while operating a ride called the 'Free Fall', dies while trying to save a young girl who gets in the way of a falling cart that hurtles to earth. Eddie goes to heaven, where he meets five people who were unexpectedly instrumental in some way in his life. While each guide takes him through heaven, Eddie learns a little bit more about what his time on earth meant, what he was supposed to have learned, and what his true purpose on earth was. Throughout there are dramatic flashbacks where we see scenes from his troubled childhood, his years in the army in the Philippines jungle, and with his first and only love, his wife Marguerite

(Source: Goodreads)

There's something about this book that just immediately appeals to me. It's such an interesting concept that one would probably love to actually happen. Wouldn't it be great that once you die you meet 5 people connected to you in some way, who explain your life and with that you learn about yourself and about how the world works? I think it's fascinating.

Unfortunately, I felt the premise was far greater than anything achieved in the final print.  The characters were just uninteresting. I didn't really care for anything that happened to them. Yes, we know Eddie, the protagonist, is bound to die; the opening pages are marked with a countdown to his demise. But do we actually care what happens to him, do we care about the people in his life? If I'm being honest, I wanted it to be more sentimental. I was expecting some heart-wrenching story about Eddie, I was expecting some philosophical (do I say crap?) statements that are completely ridiculous but also have me weeping and feeling ashamed with myself for doing so. But we don't get this. Instead we get a series of events of a quite boring man being told that his life had some sort of purpose. 

I don't know if it's the cynic in me but I just couldn't connect with the emotions that the book was trying to unearth. The person who lent me the book said they cried their way through it; the closest I came to feeling any emotions was towards the ending, which kind of had the shred of sentimentality and philosophicalness that I so desired. Maybe my issue with this is that I want to be philosophical but my mind just refuses to be.

Overall, it wasn't a waste of my time. I enjoyed aspects such as the messages that the book seemed to possess but I just didn't get what I expected and for that I was sort of let down. 2 stars.

ONE DAY | Book Review

Title: One Day
Author: David Nicholls
Genre: Fiction / Contemporary
Published by: Hodder 

Originally Published: 2009
Page Count: 435

Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? 
Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY.

(Source: Goodreads)

My relationship with this book is a rather fond one. It will from now on remind me of long soaks, train rides, and my time in the Lake District last summer. I've been reading it for so long in theory; having had to put it down after I initially started it as it belonged to the cottage I was staying in. 

Although the storyline is one of cliché, I still enjoyed it immensely. The character of Emma is incredibly likeable and reminded me of myself a great deal. It's scary at how much, I just hope I don't have the shitty jobs she seems to end up in, although, I feel that is an inevitable part of my upcoming future. She was fresh and witty, with strong emotions and a definable personality. She has an identity crisis, almost, at the end of the book, which shows how life changes you. Dexter was infuriating at times and sometimes a boring cliché, it was a little predictable the paths he would take. Dexter probably typifies the male lead in this genre of romance or chick lit, but because I've not read much of this genre he's predictable but not something I have encountered often. I can see why avid romance readers are a bit bored of the Dexters in romantic fiction. 

The writing was colloquial and perfect. It wasn't overly pretentious or stupidly simple, it had the right balance that related well to its protagonists. The main issue I had with the book, inevitably, was its premise. It is 'one day' of this couple's life, the same day, year after year. And like normal people, not every day is interesting, it becomes tedious and sometimes infuriating that we did not get to witness the immediate impact of the events. The chapters that stood out came at the beginning and the end of the novel. The book is split into five parts and the last part was brilliant, if not a bit too sentimental. 

Overall, a fun read for someone uneducated in the genre. 4.5 stars.