Book Review: Spirit House by Mark Dapin

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Title: Spirit House
Author: Mark Dapin
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Paperback: 368 pages
Expected Publication Date: 1 Aug 2013
Summary: (taken from The Book Depository)

David is thirteen and confused. His mum has gone off with her lover and sent David to his grandparents to give her new relationship some 'space'. David's grandfather, Jimmy - a Jewish war veteran and survivor of the enforced labour on the Thai-Burma railway - is seventy. Haunted by the ghosts of long-dead comrades, the only person he can confide in is a thirteen-year-old from a different world. Funny, wise and deeply moving, Spirit House is a remarkable story of war and the fall of Singapore, of the bonds of friendship and the bonds of grief, and of a young boy making sense of growing up while old men try to live with their past.

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5

While beautifully written and an inherently interesting, moving subject, I think that Spirit House could have been organized more effectively. First, David is supposedly the main character of the novel, but we don't get to spend much time with him. Instead, we have a brief page or two that sums up his thoughts about his current situation of living at his grandparents' home while his parents are figuring themselves off, and then we're back to Jimmy's story about the war. So, don't let the summary confuse you. Despite the fact that David is the "main character" and that this novel is supposed to be about his journey into adulthood, this is really a book about Jimmy.

Now, don't get me wrong, Jimmy's story is great. It's interesting, the dialogue is witty, and the characters are memorable. (The biggest strength of this book is characterization.) Spirit House gives a lot of food for thought. It's full of great ideas that we should think about and discuss. However, the format just didn't cut it for me. I think Jimmy should have been the main character. David's story doesn't add much of interest and not a lot of time is even spent on him. Jimmy, on the other hand, spends most of the novel narrating his story about being a POW in Singapore.

I also prefer novels to be more exposition than dialogue, and that just wasn't the case in this story. It may seem like a small detail, but format is everything to me. Scripts and comics are made for dialogue-heavy storytelling, not novels.

Despite that, the characters are excellent; getting to read about them and learn about them was a pleasure. I especially enjoyed reading about Townsville Jack; he is by far my favorite character of this novel. The story itself is interesting, though it's hard not to get frustrated about the format through which it's introduced. Overall, I think those who simply like a good story will enjoy this novel. For those who are like me and get caught up in format and writing style, you may have some problems with keeping yourself in the story.

*Thank you to The Book Depository for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Book Review: NYPD Red by James Patterson and Marshall Karp

Title: NYPD Red
Authors: James Patterson and Marshall Karp
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover: 400 pages
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

It's the start of Hollywood on Hudson, and New York City is swept up in the glamour. Every night, the red carpet rolls out for movie stars arriving at premieres in limos; the most exclusive restaurants close for private parties for wealthy producers and preeminent directors; and thousands of fans gather with the paparazzi, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most famous and beautiful faces in the world. With this many celebrities in town, special task force NYPD Red is on high alert-and they can't afford to make a single mistake. Then a world-renowned producer fatally collapses at his power breakfast, and top NYPD Red Detective Zach Jordan is the first one on the scene. Zach works with his beautiful new partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald-who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend-to discover who the murderer might be. But this is only the beginning: the most brutal, public, and horrifyingly spectacular crimes they've ever encountered are about to send all of New York into chaos, putting NYPD Red on the ropes. Zach and Kylie know there's no way of telling what a killer this deranged will do next. With the whole world watching, they have to find a way to stop a psychopath who has scripted his finale down to the last explosive detail.

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5

As with all of James Patterson’s books, I eagerly awaited the arrival. I thought new fresh idea with a creative story line. The concept of New York City having an elite police group tasked with protecting A-list people who come to town, seemed very appealing to me. The problem was not with the concept, but more so the writing and lack of depth in some of the characters that were portrayed. The book had a definite division in its writing prose. It was as though the two authors wrote this book without meshing their style together. 

Right from the start, I was not able to connect with the main characters of the story. Police officer, Zach Jordon felt more like a love sick puppy, offering advice to a seasoned psychologist (woman he meets for coffee in the morning) than lead cop for NYPD Red. Zach’s newly assigned partner, ex-girlfriend and object of Zach’s love thoughts, Kylie MacDonald’s character, was so poorly written that I didn’t know if she was a seasoned cop who thought too highly of herself, or a woman out to prove she can make it in, what she thinks is, a man’s world.

The difference between the writing styles was evident in the fact that the Chameleon’s story line was fast paced, well thought of, and showed brilliance as the character unveiled layers of pain, anguish and the need for redemption. On the other hand, both Zach and Kylie’s characters showed clips of how they became attracted to each other, why Kylie went rogue but neither conveyed how the two most important characters, in terms of catching the Chameleon, managed to rise to the level of NYPD Red. Although Captain Cates, in NYPD Red, brought strength, control and a sense of humor to NYPD Red, her character was not enough to make me believe that NYPD Red was anything other than a group of one dimensional people thrown together for the purpose of writing a quick book.

I was also excited with the early revelation of the Chameleon’s name, believing that it would uncover more facets and perhaps introduce breaking points in the Chameleon’s persona, but true to the poor character writing in this book it did not. The revelation only led to a mental hospital where the police were allowed to roam freely, no real thought to patient privacy, and narrowed down, rather quickly, the plot and the players. 

The ending of the book was far worse than the beginning. The climax seemed to happen at such a quick pace that I jumped for joy when the book was over due to the unrealistic nature of the whole yacht scene.

In my opinion, this was a book that was rushed, not up to par for James Patterson and completely disappointing.

Audiobook Review: One More for the Road by Ray Bradbury

Title: One More for the Road
Author: Ray Bradbury
Narrator: Campbell Scott
Publisher: HarperAudio
Edition: Unabridged
Duration: 6 hours, 49 minutes
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

This collection from America's greatest storyteller contains 18 never-before-published stories and seven previously, but never collected, stories of the fantastic, the melancholy, and the macabre.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5
As with most short story collections, some are better than others. However, I thought that there were few good ones in this particular collection. I thought a few were quite good, but most just left me going, "eh."

The mood of these stories definitely falls on the depressing side, so if you're looking for something uplifting, don't pick this book up. I did like that it was more character-driven than anything else. Most of these stories are about people trying to find something worthwhile and fantastic in their life, but finding themselves stuck in mediocrity. There are some science fiction stories in here, but most are set in the real world.

For the audiobook, the sound quality wasn't as crisp as I like it to be. I'm not sure if it was the narrator or the  sound itself, but it was sometimes hard to understand because it seemed like the narrator was mumbling at times. There are also inconvenient cut-offs. Some stories cut off at the end of a disc and continue at the beginning. Since these are short stories, I thought the cut-off could have been a little sooner so that each disc started with a new story.

Overall, I don't think that this is one of Bradbury's best. If you're going to read it, either pick up the book or listen to a different version. I do think that print would be better, though.