don't recall ever having read a book like this before the writing style is very unique almost like you are not reading something happening in the real world.
It's hauntingly beautiful in many ways but equally disturbing in places too,
Adam's sister disappeared seven years ago and yet he has now begun to receive letters from her in New York, with no return address, Despite this Adam decides to visit New York to find her,
At several points in the book I began to question whether what I was reading was actually happening, or was it all in the imagination of Adam I began to get a little ansty with the events as they happened and I got an uneasy feeling.
This of course was all down to the brilliant writing as I said it is not like anything you've read before so just go with it,
One character whom I despised throughout the book and has not been redeemed on post analysis is Nigel, He really took the biscuit as a character and I found myself tutting when his latest antic landed on the page, I'm still wondering now whether I got the true measure of him could he be that awful
When you near the end of the book I think you will realise why the book has the tone it does.
I am now revisiting parts of the book in my mind realising why they were maybe written that way, Especially the poundshop gifts from Mr and Mrs Smith!
I'm giving this bookout ofstars, My thanks to Love Books Group Tours for an advance review copy of the book,
You can buy the book by following this link sitelink to/CGDZu All reviews can be found at sarahsvignettes, wordpress. com
I want to begin by mentioning how well packaged A Letter from Sarah is, The cover is simple yet effective and I love the font choice and colour, It ties in nicely with the idea of the letters coming from New York, At the top of the page for each new chapter, there is ripped paper and a piece across the bottom follows through the entire book, It's almost as though the story has been written on paper, At the end of each chapter, there is a silhouette of the Manhatten skyline,
The story itself is far from simple though, Dan Proops has crafted an intimate observation of how the loss and resulting grief from a situation can take over your life and impact on those around you.
Essentially, it shows how the not knowing what happened could literally drive you mad, We meet Adam, the protagonist, seven years after his sister, Sarah goes missing, With no word from her in this time, suddenly, letters from Sarah start to arrive, This leads Adam to try to find track her down, no matter what,
My thoughts about A Letter from Sarah have taken a while to settle in my mind, This isn't because I didn't enjoy the story, I just wasn't sure what to make of it, Dan Proops has a style of writing that I've not read before, Some of the time, I was trying to decide whether I was reading thoughts and feelings from Adam's imagination or whether it was his reality, As I write this, I think what I was reading was Adam verging on the edge of madness,
This book was not what I expected, Even so, something kept me reading, wanting more, The twist at the end was not something I saw coming and reflecting on this, Dan Proops has created a haunting and disturbing story, You'll have to read the book to find out more about this,
I read a copy of the book sent to me by the publisher in return for an honest review, Al my reviews can be found on sitelinkwww, bookreadday. wordpress. com
A Letter from Sarah is a brilliantly written novel by Dan Proops, by one of my favourite publishers Urbane Publications, The story is full of characters that your entirely convinced are real people,
Its heartbreaking for Adam as his sister has been missing for seven years, Meanwhile Adam is looking after his poorly father, Adam valued his best friend phoning him regularly on the difficult time when Sarah went missing, but now his best friend has no job and no money and he is in need of somewhere to stay for a few days, will Adam let his old friend stay with him and his difficult father When Adam out of the blue receives a letter from Sarah he automatically thinks that the letter is a fake, but soon something is written within a letter that no would really know, only Adam and Sarah.
Adam is fortunate enough to have a girlfriend that he can easily confine in, With unexpected hurt and betrayal, I recommend reading A Letter from Sarah Excellent portrayal of mental health, manipulation, and how those closest to you can be the cruelest.
This has to be a must read for!!
Dan Proops has done an amazing job with A Letter From Sarah, I dont know how Adam hasnt already snapped from the pressure, a Father who he has a love/hate relationship with, a Sister who has been missing foryears with no clues as to why, a girlfriend Cassandra who I took an instant dislike to.
. and dont even get me started on Nigel!
I loved every page of this book, a book thats written, in a way, that I felt like I was right there with Adam.
Feeling what he felt and hanging onto those letters that I wished and hoped sooo much that they were from Sarah, it all seemed so real,
I was totally invested in this story, from the first page to the very last, It toyed with my emotions, I felt sadness, loss and heart break but also felt infuriated at the same time, who knew a book could do that!
Loved the inside of the book too, it looks liked ripped paper pages with a lovely NYC skyline, great tie in to the story.
A great read, highly recommended and an easystar rating from me! Hats off Dan, hats off! Ok the only reason I finished this book was spite.
And so I could slate it in this rant,
The characters in this book are unbelievable and hard to relate to, The plot, although having a few good ideas, was executed terribly and the dialogue/pose sounds like it was written by an Alevel student with a triggerhappy view of theasuruses.
The actions of all of Adam's family make little sense, If just one of them had been sensible the plot would never have taken this shape, There are also a few parts of the plot that seem half baked, like the sections where we meet Edmund, a chain smoking priest and it seems for a few chapters like the story is going to take some kind of evangelical turn only for this to be abandoned for a cringeworthy adam and eve sex scene.
Also several times Adam's lack of funds is alluded to, but he somehow manages to keep on drinking lots of whiskey and coffee, booking trips to New York and buying lime marmalade I assume you can only get this in waitrose, without worrying.
Either don't include this as a plot point or have it have some weight, otherwise it just seems to make struggling for money seem trivial,
Why do all the characters get into arguments and then just respond by proffessing love for opponents,
Maybe I've completely missed the point of this book but I found reading it like pulling teeth!
And finally, how on earth dose a failed novelist and an uninspired sculptor afford to
like in abedroom house in Earl's Court.
.