Review of Sip Lake

[Renee S]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Sip Lake" by joseph basara.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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"Sip Lake" by Joseph Basara is a romantic comedy narrated from the perspective of Owen Cloud, an orderly working the night shift at a hospital in Cypress City, Florida—a fictional place created by the author. The story is set during the summer of 1977. The chapter titles follow the progression of the summer months, beginning with May and concluding with September. Throughout Cloud's time at the hospital, he struggles with finding love and confronts his foolishness. He spends much of his time in self-reflection and amusingly converses with himself, even indulging in self-pity sometimes. Eventually, he comes to understand that love often blossoms from friendship.

I liked the reference to Robert Burns' poem "Comin' Thro' the Rye," having recently discovered Burns myself through another enjoyable book. The story details the day-to-day routine of a night shift orderly and offers realistic characters and experiences. While the mundane aspects may be tedious, I found them reflective of real life. Most of all, I enjoyed the inclusion of amusing or peculiar names for people and places like Moo-Cow Ranch, Pops Manatee, Chigger Town, Stew Foote, Pokey Baird, Elijah Needlefish, Eartha Pease, Adam Seahorse, Dr. McCatfish, etc.

However, there are two drawbacks I must mention. Firstly, there are a few minor grammatical errors or typos present in the book. These didn't take away too much from my enjoyment, but they were noticeable enough to me. Secondly, the abundance of character names, many of whom are not central to the plot, made it somewhat confusing. Whether this was intentional or not, I can't say for sure.

Overall, I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars. Despite the flaws mentioned above, I found it enjoyable. This book is suited for mature audiences due to its inclusion of profanity and mild sexual content. I recommend it to adults who appreciate light romantic comedies and don't mind slow-paced and ordinary but realistic storylines.

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Sip Lake
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[Gerry Steen]

From your review, I believe that this book will have me chuckling throughout the story. I am dying to know about the patients and other staff members that Owen meets in his line of work. There are bound to be some interesting characters and some funny events. Thank you for this enlightening review.

[Renee S]

From your review, I believe that this book will have me chuckling throughout the story. I am dying to know about the patients and other staff members that Owen meets in his line of work. There are bound to be some interesting characters and some funny events. Thank you for this enlightening review.

Mostly, the funniest part is the character names. Many of these characters aren't central to the plot and are just mentioned briefly, without much detail or any funny events involving them. You may enjoy reading all these funny names, if not the whole book. Thanks for leaving a comment.