Book Review: This Book Will Save your Life by A. M. Homes.

This Book Will Save Your Life by A . M . Homes is focused around the life of Richard Novak who is a semi-retired stock broker from LA. The beginning of the story introduces us to his rather mundane and repetitive lifestyle which is organised and coordinated by his army of paid workers, namely Sylvia the Nutritionist, Cecelia the House Keeper and also a personal trainer, Novak’s only social connections that decide what is best for him on all accounts. With his healthy, low carb meals organised and his housekeeping tended to Novak does not have any immediate need to venture into the outside world, infact he has unknowingly not left the house for nearly a month, that is until one morning when his life takes an unexpected turn.

Novak one day finds himself in excruciating pain, he cannot explain for how long, all he knows is that the pain is on a scale of 10 out of 10.

Hours at least. But it could be for days or years – he had no idea.

Novak has sustained no injury and it feels like it is “IT” the end game, while we as the reader are thrown into the deep end trying to fathom, is he having a heart attack? Dying? Panic attack? Or perhaps merely a hypochondriac who often has behavioral episodes of a similar nature, as we do not yet know the character that is Richard Novak and nor do we know his background and character history. On the same day the pain appears, (the pain that is never truly explained by the medical physicians in the story) a sink hole appears about fifty feet from his house, it is eight feet in diameter and continues to grow as the story progresses. I personally interpret this sinkhole to represent the void in Novak’s life, the emptiness that has slowly became his existence as he has purposely removed himself from the world and any obligations he once had.  The pain he was experiencing may reflect the pent up emotion that had been unleashed, after being numb for as long as he can remember.

He lay there realizing how thoroughly he’d removed himself from the world or obligations, how stupidly independent he’d become: he needed no one, was not a part of anyone’s life.

He wasn’t sure he existed.

It is the realization of being alone that begins to smother Novak. He becomes conscious of the fact that he has no one to call apart from his ex wife or a son, whom he barely sees. It is when he is being escorted home by a hospital organised taxi driver that he steps outside his usual routine and asks to pull over at a Doughnut store, where he then meets another influential character in the story, Anhil, who is the first person Novak has held a conversation with in a long, long time. The story continues from here to lead us through the transformation of Novak’s hermit lifestyle to a new and exciting beginning. We see the caring side to Richard that is there from the start, but hidden under his inability to “live” his life. We experience the crazy events that unfold on a day to day basis as Novak simply goes from A to B while introducing the sugary sweet doughnuts from Anhil’s shop to his glorified junk food free body.

We also meet a depressed housewife who Novak befriends in the produce section at a store called Ralph’s.

I was crying because my life sucks, and he’d just been hit by a car and had a big bag of ice on his leg. I made him buy a Carvel cake.

A movie star that lives up the road, who helps Novak rescue a horse out of the sink hole. a famous writer, and many more characters that help transform this wonderful characters life.

The characters are all living somewhat lost, sad, unfulfilled or lonely lifestyles however they all come from different walks of life. Despite being wealthy, Richard Novak is far from content, it just took a long time for him to realise that. The pain was more of a wake up call, a cry for help. His body was aching for human contact and a sense of belonging. A person can have all the money in the world, but if there is no one to share it with, or nothing left to achieve, is that person going to be happy?

The structure of the story is untraditional and unpredictable. It is not a case of “Will the lost boy find his way home? Will they find the culprit?” Or “Will Mrs Smith find her true love?”…the story progresses gradually with random occurrences which are unexpected and at the same time wonderfully unique.The characters nonchalant attitudes to the most fantastically unusual events would usually be somewhat unbelievable, however A.M Homes has superbly perfected her story to portray the reactions and events in a convincing tone.  The book is sharp, witty, entertaining and most definitely funny. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and wish I could read more, and experience some of the crazy events that unfolded when Novak gave life a chance.

This Book Will Save your Life by A. M. Homes will captivate your imagination and provide you with hours of entertainment! Read the book and join Richard Novak in his life transformation and re-connection to society in the weird and wonderful world of LA. For the most authentic experience, don’t forget the doughnuts!

In reference to the title, if you are currently feeling isolated, disconnected and alone, yes this book may help open your eyes to new experiences and face the unknown, if you give it a chance. Homes will lead you part the way there in the footsteps of Novak, but it is you that must take the final steps and open that door.

Murder / Crime draft – first 576 words so far..thoughts welcome!

Evening  all, I have been feeling a little creative, itching to start writing again and so here it begins. Please see the below and let me know what you think. It will be a crime fictional story. Thoughts / Comments all appreciated. Thank you for your time.

---

Chapter 1:

It was as though the light in her sky blue eyes had been switched off; her pupils were circular tunnels of blackness, deep and uninviting, they were encrusted with a glasslike reflective shell that protected her against almost everyone, almost.  She did not scan his face or appear remotely connected to the outside world; her golden tangled hair was matted around her face and her features remained spiritless and unchangeable, that was until he spoke.

Dean Pearson, a private detective from S.P.S, Shropshire Private Services slowly removed his hands from his pockets and positioned himself onto the faded, once floral green armchair, opposite Amelia.

“Good Morning Amelia,” said the detective, forcing his voice to sound as friendly and welcoming as humanely possible. “How are you feeling today?” Amelia, the little girl leant over and stared at her feet, transfixed by her shoes she studied these as though they were about to perform a magic act. “I did as I promised Amelia, I’ve been back to see you now for 5 days in a row, would you like to chat about anything?” Dean leant forward and scooted to the edge of his seat. If it were not for the small decorative square table between them their feet would almost touch. Dean felt the little girl’s personal space was important to her; he had worked so hard the last few weeks to gain her trust and did not wish to do anything to jeopardise that. He opened his palms in a peaceful gesture and continued. “I know that you have been very nervous around Eleanor your foster mother, but she only wants to look after you – and the other children, they would love to get to know you.”

Amelia picked at a loose thread on the sleeve of her cotton jumper and nervously darted her eyes around the room, she was like a little frightened mouse and if a pin dropped she would most likely have squeaked in terror and ran into a corner and hid. After five minutes of one sided chit chat, Dean sat back in his chair and relaxed, he had said enough today, encouraged, put at ease, if the girl was to speak she would do so to her own accord. The clock ticked just past 10am, when a small whisper interrupted his silent musings. If it was not for the echo that the large and elaborate room carried, he may have dismissed the sound as distant bird song.

“Is my mummy okay?” She tweeted with an air of innocence that only a child could possess. He did not have the heart to tell her the truth, nor had he been instructed to. Her mother was gone, not just missing but confirmed dead, they had discovered this the previous night and despite Dean’s original misgivings about Joanna’s involvement in the murder case, he now believed she had been innocent.  He had prepared for this moment, practised in the mirror over and over all morning to ensure he told a smooth and convincing lie. He felt guilty and ashamed. He had solely gained the trust of this innocent 6 year old child and yet he was about to lie to her, and fill her with false hope which would later be torn apart. But for now he looked across towards little Amelia, hopes high and tears lining the rim of her eyes.

“Your mother is fine, she is at peace and loves you very much.”