Reviewed
by: Pete Barber
Genre:
Literary/Coming of Age
Approximate
word count: 70-75,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Athenaide
Dallett is a Litchfield County resident and Kent School English
teacher. For more information about the author and her life visitthis website.
Description:
Based
on a true story, the book chronicles the lives of a group of college
grads who distill absinthe for fun, but find that its popularity in
the underground music scene of Boston and Providence leads to
dangerous consequences.
Appraisal:
This
is a fun, fast read. The writing is crisp and clever and peppered
with lovely, fresh imagery. The story is simple, and probably
insufficient to support a full-length novel if not for the amount of
detail woven through the main plot line regarding the characters and
settings.
I
didn’t realize the novel was based on actual events experienced by
the author until I was gathering information to write this review
(you can find out more at the link above). Basing the story on real
happenings gives the tale authenticity. But it may also explain why
Ms. Dallett delved so deeply into some of the characters – perhaps
conscious that they may read about themselves. Whether that’s the
reason or not, for me, some of the backstory meandered too far from
the plot, which slowed the pace, lowered the tension, and
occasionally caused my focus to wander.
Overall,
though, I enjoyed this well-constructed, unique story that has the
added bonus of providing a first-hand insight into the lives of Ivy
League students in the ‘90s.
Format/Typo
Issues:
None.
Rating: **** Four Stars
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