Genre: Coming
of Age
Description:
“Arguably one of England's most cherished and notorious roads, the
A303 is filled with history, wonder, and magic. Adam takes us on a journey of
adventure, self-discovery, and touching family bonds in this moving coming of
age tale.
Alex is a young man in his early twenties who has fallen into a
miserable state of mind, losing his motivation and love for life. When he
receives the heartbreaking news that his beloved uncle has passed away, leaving
Alex with all of his belongings - including his renowned VW Campervan - he sets
out to Cornwall for the funeral, rediscovering his love for life along the way.”
Author:
The son of a professional dancer and painter, Adam Gary is a British actor
and writer for TV. This novella, Southwest
on the A303, is his first book.
For more, visit Mr. Gary’s website.
Appraisal:
From a big picture perspective, Southwest
on the A303 is a decent enough coming-of-age tale with a unique story as
its foundation. However, I thought the writing could stand a bit of tightening
up, at times feeling a bit verbose. There were also bits of the story that
didn’t ring true. They were little things like an extravagant parking charge at
Stonehenge or Alex, the protagonist, jumping out of his camper van naked while
parked by the side of the road without registering that he was doing that. But
those little things add up, planting the seed in the back of the reader’s mind
that the credible sounding parts of the story might not be believable either.
Format/Typo
Issues:
The copy I received was an advance reviewer copy. I assume the book
went through additional proofreading after it was sent to reviewers and can't judge the final product in this area.
Rating:
*** Three Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 25-30,000 words
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