Diary By Chuck Palahniuk Review

Diary

By Chuck Palahniuk

After Misty Wimot’s husband attempts suicide and ends up in a coma her mother in law suggest she keep a diary for him, writing down all of the mundane things she can think of so that when he wakes up he will know what he has missed. Misty’s diary is full of anger at her husband as she finds messages he has sealed away in houses all over the island they live on, but soon her diary takes a dark twist as the islanders push her to paint again and once she does she soon winds up regretting her decision.

This is the first novel by Chuck Palahniuk I have read so I didn’t know quite what to expect. I wouldn’t exactly classify this as a horror novel but it is twisted and demented that there cannot be another genre so fitting. The novel starts off sarcastic and mean but when your husband calls you a fat cow in messages he has left before he tries to kill himself, well needless to say you’d be pissed off too. When you hear about a woman who is surviving such an incident you would think there is no way I can understand how that character feels, but the author manages to bring each character to life so vividly you completely sympathize feeling each emotion she feels and wanting to play her drinking game right along with her. But the best part of the novel is the ending; with a spectacular twist that is sure to leave you going “What the heck?” this author definitely saved the best for last. I had thought I figured it out and then Chuck Palahniuk came out of left field with such an amazing twist I can’t wait to read more of his work.

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Exceeding Expectations By Lisa April Smith Review

Exceeding Expectations

By Lisa April Smith

There are only two things that mean anything to Jack Morgan, his daughters, and in order to protect them he must fake his own suicide. His youngest daughter Charlotte is twenty three and after years of having her every whim tended to  by her father when he dies and leaves her penniless she has no idea what she is going to do. With her older sister in a “clinic” due to having a mental breakdown after the news of her father’s suicide Charlotte knows she must do something to make money, after a suggestion from a friendly lawyer she tries her hand at modeling soon she finds the independence she craves all the while she investigates why her father had to take his own life uncovering disturbing things along the way.

Lisa April Smith does a wonderful job not only with capturing the nineteen sixties vividly yet subtly but also in enveloping not one but two beautiful romances with glimpses back to pre- World War Two encompassing the love Charlotte’s mother and father found in each other.   Even though there is a splendid romance between Charlotte and Raul this story was more about Charlotte and the pain she must overcome after losing her father and then finding a way to support herself and become independent all while searching for answers it is so well written, you find yourself easily lost in the story. I don’t usually compare authors to one another but I must say, Look out Danielle Steel it seems you have some competition for writing intriguing dramatic novels.

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Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore Review

Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d’Art

By Christopher Moore

Vincent van Gogh has been murdered; Lucien Lessard is a painter/baker/rat catcher once he learns of van Gogh’s demise he immediately heads to the Moulin Rouge in search of his closest friend Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The two of them spend a great deal of time together until Lucien’s ex-lover whom broke his heart returns and Lucien finds himself lost to Juliette  and he even begins to loose large chunks of time not knowing where or what he was doing. Lucien’s family Toulouse Lautrec’s help in rescuing Lucien from the woman, once Henri tries to intervene he begins to uncover a shocking truth that not only effects Lucien but all painters.

I have always been a fan of impressionism so I had worried that Christopher Moore may not be able to capture some of the paintings that I love, but he not only managed to make each artist outrageously funny and interesting but he brought to life some of the world’s most precious pieces of art. I have read a few of Christopher Moore’s novels before and I always end up laughing, if you have a crude sense of humor and can’t help but giggle at idiotic things then this will surely keep you enthralled if not then you may want to move on quickly. My favorite scene was Lucien as a boy in a graveyard trying to catch snails, when he spots one he says “Ah Ha” and in turn the snail says “Ah Ha” to which the young Lucien starts to run away screaming, that isn’t the entire scene of course you will have to actually read the book to find out more but it is a glimpse into the absurdity and childish humor I so love from Christopher Moore.

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Quinn Checks In by L.H. Thomson Review

Quinn Checks In

By L.H. Thomson

Liam Quinn is a former boxer, and a former art forger. After her spent time in prison he begins a new life as an insurance investigator, little by little earning the money to pay his debt to society equal to a quarter of a million dollars. His most recent case is an art theft taking him back into the world he once left behind to recover the stolen piece and save his firm a hefty sum and in return receive one for his self. Along the way he comes into contact with a mob boss, a beautiful woman, and a sociopathic teenager.

L.H. Thomson did a great job with this novel. Quinn is not your ordinary Private Eye but his study of art has given him an unusual eye for details which only goes to improve his investigative process add in the fact that he was once a boxer you have the makings for a kick butt artist and an interesting investigator. If you are a fan of mysteries I would give this one a try, you may think you know who has committed the crime but in the end you know nothing.

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Smile by Tom Underhill Review

Smile

By Tom Underhill

Tammy is an ordinary high school girl who goes about her day waiting for her mother to show up, late again, to pick her up from practice. Then things turn for the worst when it seems that everyone at school has forgotten her and he life is not her own.

At first I was a bit confused, the short story by Tom Underhill did not seem like his others that I have previously read, reviewed, and enjoyed, but then he did not fail in twisting things around to piqué my interest and hold it in his clutches. Once again Tom Underhill has created a brilliant short story that is definitely worth the read.

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Negative Space by Betsy Miller Review

Negative Space

By Betsy Miller

 

This is a short story, about seven pages in all, about a woman who has recently suffered a miscarriage and her struggle with that fact.

The story was well written, and very beautiful I can only imagine the pain that Michelle Green was going through. I should point this out before I continue I don’t have children but I am married. When the main character, Michelle, started talking about, in essence, how she and her husband where not whole just the two of them it irritated me, then we have the sentence that drove me mad “For him the one they had lost would be interchangeable with the one yet to come.” Maybe I am spoiled by having a wonderful husband who stands by me and doesn’t mind that we can’t have children but I cannot picture any man who would act this way. I give it 3/5 stars because like I said it is well written and beautiful, some women out there will love this story I am just not one of them.

 

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