Review of Teething Problems

[Seetha E]

A strong plot set up around a boy finding out that his mother has lied to him about is true identity. I like your honest summary that highlights what you liked and disliked about the book. Interesting. Hope the author takes note of your comments..

[Gerry Steen]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Teething Problems" by Mark Fletcher.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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There is an old proverb that says, “What the fathers sow, the children reap.” This expression came to my mind when I started reading this book, Teething Problems by Mark Fletcher. This story began with a young man in his twenties who heard a knock on his door, and a man called him by his name and told him that he was his father. The young man, who is the protagonist of this story, discovers that the father whom he weeps for and visits at his grave is not his real father. The young man finds himself in front of a big lie drawn by his mother. How is he going to be able to face this and accept it? This is what we are expected to know after reading the book.

The fact that the mother portrayed the fake father as a symbol or superhero dad formed a large part of the protagonist’s memories and thus part of his imagination became a reality for him, and his discovery of this lie destabilised the truth on which he drew his life. The author was able to show the extent of the fragility of the relationship between the protagonist and his mother, especially after her success in her professional career. This appeared in the sarcastic style used by the author on the lips of the protagonist when he talked about his attitudes towards his mother or her reactions. In some situations, like when he mentioned the New York story and his desire to be independent of her and to get his own space, that showed the contradiction between his feelings towards his joy in his memories of honouring his fake father and the complete opposite towards his mother’s success and his unwillingness to share this success with her, which made the impact of her lie on him deeper and greater.

What I liked here was the author’s use of the protagonist as a narrator. We listen to the story through him and thus see things from his perspective. This partly facilitated knowing his personality. The hero spoke as if it were a conversation between two people, one of whom was me as a reader, which gave me the feeling that I was a part of the events. Accurately describing the details surrounding situations or events, such as describing the mother’s house and the places where the protagonist searched when he tried to find evidence to prove that his mother was an alien.

What I did not like here was the impression left by the author that I would enter into a specific story. Then he took me to a completely separate situation. I really liked the main theme of the story, which was the return of the real father. I had hoped that the author would build on the events in a deeper way, but he prolonged the situation between the protagonist and Diane, who is his girlfriend, in a way that made the book implausible in part, and I did not feel connected, so the book lost the enjoyable part that I felt when I started reading it.

Despite the points that I did not like and that I mentioned earlier, the book holds the possibility of writing a coherent story on a wonderful topic if the author wrote the events in a more relatable and in-depth manner. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. The book is well edited. I recommend this book for mature adults because of the profanity it contains. It will also be interesting for speed readers. This is the book that you can read during your long train trip. The book can be finished in one sitting.

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Teething Problems
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When I was in my twenties I would have had difficulty accepting that someone else was my father, especially if my mother had hidden this fact from me. The plot of this story is interesting and the editing is great. I hope the author takes your critique into account to refine the story.