Saturday, October 11, 2014

Hope / Robert K. Swisher Jr.



Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Genre: General Fiction/Metaphysical

Approximate word count:

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Bio: I have been writing since 1967. To date I have placed twelve novels with traditional publishers ranging from young adult to historical fiction. My novels received good reviews from Publishers Weekly and others. Over the past two years I have published five novels as E-books - The Bob Roosevelt mystery series (funny and snide) and a humor golf book titled Conversations with the Golf God ..all of my books are available on Amazon and other sites.”

Description:

The story examines the lives of a group of folk living in a nursing home. All are elderly except for a mentally challenged young man in his forties who is institutionalized, and who brings to them, with his simplicity of mind—hope.

Appraisal:

I think this story would appeal more to older people (like me) or to those with experience working in a nursing home or institution, because the novel is more interesting if one can relate, and younger readers probably won’t. In saying that, this was a very interesting read that I enjoyed a lot.

The writing style is unusual. The author uses short, simple sentences, which match well to the repetitive and overly restrictive existence of the residents.

Last names create a caricature feel—Ms. Steal, Ms. Sly, Grace Brethern (religious), Mr. Mouse, Mr. Dry (the facility manager) and also connote, to an extent, their personalities.

The author does a nice job highlighting many of the challenges facing both the staff and the residents of the institution, without ever preaching a particular position. A tough line to walk, but done with aplomb.

The ending would be surprising if it hadn’t been constantly telegraphed throughout the story. Nevertheless, it is bitter sweet. 

Format/Typo Issues:

Very clean.


Rating: **** Four stars

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