Review by JenJenJen -- Yesterday by Samyann
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JenJenJen
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- Latest Review: "Yesterday" by Samyann
Review by JenJenJen -- Yesterday by Samyann
[Following is a volunteer review of "Yesterday" by Samyann.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Yesterday, a Novel of Reincarnation, by Samyann is an enjoyable piece of fiction that could fit into a number of genre, and therein lies its appeal but also its weakness. It is a historical work, a romance, and could be called a mysterious novel of the supernatural; they all attempt to enlighten readers through the theme of continuity of life and love through the ages.
Amanda is a young woman living in Chicago who can’t seem to catch a break. Everyone she loves dies tragically. She is about to give up when she meets Mark, The Hunky Cop, who seems just SO FAMILIAR! This relationship is explored in the present and past by previous life regression sessions that are admittedly fascinating. Wouldn’t we all like to be able to just sit down and “go there”? The novel’s strengths include the author’s descriptive writing style, which is eloquent and evocative. There were just a few minor issues of metaphors pushed a bit too far, particularly in conversations. The author is skilled in setting a visual picture; in one scene Amanda pinches a rhododendron leaf for no real purpose. These visual bridges don’t advance the plot but they move the reader into the scene quite nicely.
The book is extremely well edited for grammar. It is cleanly written and reads well and easily. The author did a lot of research and included it gracefully into the arc. Those points earned it a 2 out of 4 in this reviewer’s opinion.
This is a novel that you put down and then think about for a while, and that is a good thing. Now, some of the things you think about are the inconsistencies and what you would like to have seen explained better. But there is nothing here that insults the reader’s intelligence or makes her want to delete the work from the bookshelf. It is a solid piece of writing that has a few speed bumps that either slow you down or stop you in your tracks for a while. But you read on.
Set in modern day Chicago, Chicago Fire era Chicago and the Civil War years in both the deep south (Charleston, SC) and Chicago, the pace and flow is fragmented by that ambitious attempt of multiple settings. This appears to be an author who could have used the editing assistance of an experienced publisher. The grass roots feel of self-published work without the efforts and interruptions of a middleman (editor) are part of the excitement and appeal of this new phenomenon of directly-posted work by hundreds and thousands of authors. In this case, an editor could have scratched through the rock to find the gem that is in there. Make no mistake, this is an author with skill and flair, but just as a painting can lose the viewer’s interest with too varied a palette this novel suffered from too much color, not enough cohesion.
Like most romance novels, this book gives us only beautiful main characters. They are exquisite, have great hair, are graceful, and cut like Fabio used to be! The men take control by settin’ the little lady up on the counter using their brute (but gentle and respectful) strength to make them shut up and listen. The ladies run from these fellows who appear to be based on the Rhett Butler model and obviously can’t stand them until: the kiss. (Or the romp in the hay, depending upon the time period.) The cover is a lovely oil seascape, but a shirtless man with a damsel looking adoringly at him would have been more honest a glimpse of what is inside.
The author threw this reader a few times with unexpected catastrophes. For example, early in the book, the prose is lovely, descriptive and one becomes lulled with words. Then – WAIT! WHAT? With absolutely no hints, no foreshadowing, no warning, something truly awful happens. We are talking major disaster here, the kind that is on the news for weeks and the cover of every newspaper and website in the world; but it only serves as a vehicle to bring the two protagonists together and is quickly left in the concrete dust, with barely a mention. And questions. There are questions. How was the heroine filmed in her moment of courageous glory? Surveillance camera? There are a few more examples throughout of sudden plot advances that make the reader stop and read the paragraph again. Did that say what I thought it said?
For all the very nice prose, the characters remain just a bit weak and not fully fleshed out. And we have more questions. If the hunky cop was from a family where the father and grandfather were both Chicago policemen, how is it Mr. Hunk still has an Irish accent and speaks a mean Gaelic? (At all the right times). The heroine, Amanda, is a hot mess. Everybody she loves seems to just up and die. All the characters drink and drink a lot in virtually every scene, but this lady needs to consider a 12-Step program. The earthy guardian-godmother Mary (who hasn’t died yet) introduces her persona by mentioning she would like to jump Hunky Cop’s bones. She comes across as trying way to hard to be irreverent and hip.
The historical folks fare a bit better. Bonnie’s character development as a child is poignant. Her relationship with the family servants is moving. I think the jury might be out about the liberal use of slave vernacular. Some will hate it, find it racist. Yet it does clearly depict who is talking in a number of brief segments. Jack is not well developed except for his importance as a protector to Bonnie.
Issues with style are also troublesome. Some of the book is written in present day Chicago. Those sections tended to be stiff conversations with a few epithets thrown in to let you know we are modern day. The sections of the past were better written, and the author has true skill as a historical fiction writer. Some of the segments are life-regression segments and while interesting, it was not clear how they differed from the historical work. Are we to assume that the sessions morphed into more detailed plot advances told by a narrator? The sessions of regression included the analyst’s voice leading the subject. The historical segment dropped all that and replaced that voice with a narrator. One print touch that helped was that character thoughts were all shown in italic font.
And then there is reincarnation. Much of the world believes in some form of reincarnation, and if your world view includes life after life after life, then you’re good to go. If not, you will need to suspend belief to be able to buy into an analyst that leads subjects effortlessly back to very detailed memories of previous lives. Even believers might have a problem with the concept that the new lives morphed out of ancestors’ lives: same country, culture, sequential time periods, correct names on tombstones and every family mementos. That pushes it. This reviewer has done a bit of genealogy research and really hopes she is not the reincarnated soul of some of those folks!
The neatly-tied-up ending was predictable, satisfied the romantic in all of us, and yet it crossed the line into fantasy. (Which adds another genre.) And it left s with the big question: do you really want to KNOW who you were, who he was, and how they lived and died? Would that information really help us clean up the hot messes or our own lives?
This reviewer would happily read any other book written by this author because of his/her skill in line-by-line descriptive prose. It almost makes up for the speed bumps along the way, and as mentioned earlier, those speed bumps could be smoothed out. The book either needs to be much shorter, less cumbersome, or much longer and better explained.
******
Yesterday
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like JenJenJen's review? Post a comment saying so!
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Yesterday, a Novel of Reincarnation, by Samyann is an enjoyable piece of fiction that could fit into a number of genre, and therein lies its appeal but also its weakness. It is a historical work, a romance, and could be called a mysterious novel of the supernatural; they all attempt to enlighten readers through the theme of continuity of life and love through the ages.
Amanda is a young woman living in Chicago who can’t seem to catch a break. Everyone she loves dies tragically. She is about to give up when she meets Mark, The Hunky Cop, who seems just SO FAMILIAR! This relationship is explored in the present and past by previous life regression sessions that are admittedly fascinating. Wouldn’t we all like to be able to just sit down and “go there”? The novel’s strengths include the author’s descriptive writing style, which is eloquent and evocative. There were just a few minor issues of metaphors pushed a bit too far, particularly in conversations. The author is skilled in setting a visual picture; in one scene Amanda pinches a rhododendron leaf for no real purpose. These visual bridges don’t advance the plot but they move the reader into the scene quite nicely.
The book is extremely well edited for grammar. It is cleanly written and reads well and easily. The author did a lot of research and included it gracefully into the arc. Those points earned it a 2 out of 4 in this reviewer’s opinion.
This is a novel that you put down and then think about for a while, and that is a good thing. Now, some of the things you think about are the inconsistencies and what you would like to have seen explained better. But there is nothing here that insults the reader’s intelligence or makes her want to delete the work from the bookshelf. It is a solid piece of writing that has a few speed bumps that either slow you down or stop you in your tracks for a while. But you read on.
Set in modern day Chicago, Chicago Fire era Chicago and the Civil War years in both the deep south (Charleston, SC) and Chicago, the pace and flow is fragmented by that ambitious attempt of multiple settings. This appears to be an author who could have used the editing assistance of an experienced publisher. The grass roots feel of self-published work without the efforts and interruptions of a middleman (editor) are part of the excitement and appeal of this new phenomenon of directly-posted work by hundreds and thousands of authors. In this case, an editor could have scratched through the rock to find the gem that is in there. Make no mistake, this is an author with skill and flair, but just as a painting can lose the viewer’s interest with too varied a palette this novel suffered from too much color, not enough cohesion.
Like most romance novels, this book gives us only beautiful main characters. They are exquisite, have great hair, are graceful, and cut like Fabio used to be! The men take control by settin’ the little lady up on the counter using their brute (but gentle and respectful) strength to make them shut up and listen. The ladies run from these fellows who appear to be based on the Rhett Butler model and obviously can’t stand them until: the kiss. (Or the romp in the hay, depending upon the time period.) The cover is a lovely oil seascape, but a shirtless man with a damsel looking adoringly at him would have been more honest a glimpse of what is inside.
The author threw this reader a few times with unexpected catastrophes. For example, early in the book, the prose is lovely, descriptive and one becomes lulled with words. Then – WAIT! WHAT? With absolutely no hints, no foreshadowing, no warning, something truly awful happens. We are talking major disaster here, the kind that is on the news for weeks and the cover of every newspaper and website in the world; but it only serves as a vehicle to bring the two protagonists together and is quickly left in the concrete dust, with barely a mention. And questions. There are questions. How was the heroine filmed in her moment of courageous glory? Surveillance camera? There are a few more examples throughout of sudden plot advances that make the reader stop and read the paragraph again. Did that say what I thought it said?
For all the very nice prose, the characters remain just a bit weak and not fully fleshed out. And we have more questions. If the hunky cop was from a family where the father and grandfather were both Chicago policemen, how is it Mr. Hunk still has an Irish accent and speaks a mean Gaelic? (At all the right times). The heroine, Amanda, is a hot mess. Everybody she loves seems to just up and die. All the characters drink and drink a lot in virtually every scene, but this lady needs to consider a 12-Step program. The earthy guardian-godmother Mary (who hasn’t died yet) introduces her persona by mentioning she would like to jump Hunky Cop’s bones. She comes across as trying way to hard to be irreverent and hip.
The historical folks fare a bit better. Bonnie’s character development as a child is poignant. Her relationship with the family servants is moving. I think the jury might be out about the liberal use of slave vernacular. Some will hate it, find it racist. Yet it does clearly depict who is talking in a number of brief segments. Jack is not well developed except for his importance as a protector to Bonnie.
Issues with style are also troublesome. Some of the book is written in present day Chicago. Those sections tended to be stiff conversations with a few epithets thrown in to let you know we are modern day. The sections of the past were better written, and the author has true skill as a historical fiction writer. Some of the segments are life-regression segments and while interesting, it was not clear how they differed from the historical work. Are we to assume that the sessions morphed into more detailed plot advances told by a narrator? The sessions of regression included the analyst’s voice leading the subject. The historical segment dropped all that and replaced that voice with a narrator. One print touch that helped was that character thoughts were all shown in italic font.
And then there is reincarnation. Much of the world believes in some form of reincarnation, and if your world view includes life after life after life, then you’re good to go. If not, you will need to suspend belief to be able to buy into an analyst that leads subjects effortlessly back to very detailed memories of previous lives. Even believers might have a problem with the concept that the new lives morphed out of ancestors’ lives: same country, culture, sequential time periods, correct names on tombstones and every family mementos. That pushes it. This reviewer has done a bit of genealogy research and really hopes she is not the reincarnated soul of some of those folks!
The neatly-tied-up ending was predictable, satisfied the romantic in all of us, and yet it crossed the line into fantasy. (Which adds another genre.) And it left s with the big question: do you really want to KNOW who you were, who he was, and how they lived and died? Would that information really help us clean up the hot messes or our own lives?
This reviewer would happily read any other book written by this author because of his/her skill in line-by-line descriptive prose. It almost makes up for the speed bumps along the way, and as mentioned earlier, those speed bumps could be smoothed out. The book either needs to be much shorter, less cumbersome, or much longer and better explained.
******
Yesterday
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like JenJenJen's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Yesterday" by Samyann
