Review by rik17 -- Lemoncella Cocktail by Rene Natan

[rik17]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Lemoncella Cocktail" by Rene Natan.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Lemoncella Cocktail, by Rene Natan, is a fictional standalone contemporary novel set in Ontario, Canada. It falls under the genres of thriller, drama and romance. The work begins by following Patrick Carter, a young man having a violent childhood, which motivates him to stay out of trouble and mind his own business. However, saving a fourteen year old girl from drowning gradually introduces him to a dense network of police and criminals. Those who tried to kill the girl will come after him as well, realizing which he opts to plunge into the middle of this violent world. In this journey he comes across people he slowly starts loving and caring for, as well as individuals who will stop at nothing to eliminate not only Patrick, but also those who have become very close to him.

From the first page itself, the frequent grammatical errors are a big turn-off. There are five errors each in the first two pages, while the rest of the book has very few pages that are grammatically flawless. The mistakes are of all kinds. There are misspelling of words, for instance, he had inside, knowledge and dedication (instead of he had insight). Names of characters change in more than one occasion, like, Calander becomes Calanger multiple times. Also, modal auxiliaries are absent regularly, for example, I wait here (instead of I will wait here). There are wrong uses of tenses as well, like “Stay where you’re and dropped the gun!” (instead of drop the gun).

However, my overall reaction to the book is positive. The reason is that the virtues of the work are rare for the genre, therefore highly valuable. Right from the start none of the women is objectified and the approach is retained throughout the work. There is absolutely no instance where exploitation occurs for sexual escapism. This aspect makes it clear that this is a work of a female writer, but it should act as an inspiration for all writers irrespective of gender. Secondly, each character is extremely rooted to his or her circumstances, and is hopeful for a bright personal future. Most importantly this is true for secondary negative individuals, who are more inclined towards addressing their own well-beings, rather than following the order of their bosses like lifeless pawns. This makes them extremely convincing as human beings, and is a refreshing approach to such a world. Thirdly Natan attaches small details into her characterizations, which further enriches their personalities, for instance, Patrick’s love for history, another key character’s wish that his soon-to-be-born is a boy, and so on.

In such a scenario, where the vision is to treat characters as regular human beings, it is disheartening to see certain character behaviors that are unconvincing. A child, who learns that both of his parents, as well as his sister are dead, starts jumping up and down in excitement the very next moment when he gets the opportunity of driving a car. Characters are more interested in moving things forward, and they never take a moment out to actually realize what they have lost. In another instance, a character sees her picture appear on TV as an individual who is most wanted by the police. Rather than finding means to run off, her immediate reaction is to drop into a shopping mall filled with people to fetch a gun in the middle of the food court from a man who too is in the wanted list. Even in disguise, such a move from an ordinary individual, as she is portrayed to be, is extremely illogical, and dampens the overall authenticity of characters. Such occurrences also erode the subtlety in the contrivances of the story.

Regarding the story, the manner in which the plot unfolds is admirable. Natan uses very little shock or surprise elements, and instead applies a very constructive approach where the reader is prepared for anticipation of an event. The resulting storyline is for the most part highly interesting and unpredictable, especially the manner in which the key antagonist gets caught towards the end, which is refreshing and hilarious. Natan applies shock elements only for occurrences that are not directly encountered by the four or five main protagonists. The murder of three people on a plane and the attack in the hospital occur suddenly and rather abruptly. However these are essentially side occurrences. But future readers need to be cautioned that this is not a fast-paced slick narrative. Things move at a rather slow pace, with characters often taking time out to focus upon what to eat and how to decorate the house. For me, such elements in this genre feel highly refreshing and original, though others may not feel so. Also, for a work whose content is considerably complicated with involvement of quite a few characters, the narrative is very easy to follow.

Considering all of this, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. There are quite a few flaws in the work, the most prominent of them being the incessant flow of grammatical errors. Also characters sometime behave illogically which clearly exposes the plot maneuverings. Presence of these issues restricts my rating to 3. However, the virtues of the work are extremely strong. Characters are multi-dimensional, rooted and treated with dignity, especially the females, which is very rare. There is humanness at the heart of the plot, which is never lost for the sake of pace. The result is an intriguing and refreshing work suitable for mature adults who admire slow paced character driven thrillers that pay more attention to consequence rather than action.

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Lemoncella Cocktail
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Like rik17's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Manang Muyang]

I am amazed by your thorough analysis of this thriller. While the grammar issues seem daunting, I am drawn to read it by the positives you identified.

I also wonder why the author chose the title. It is quite extraordinary. (I don't drink, though. Is this a concoction like a Bloody Mary?)

[rik17]

Thank you so much for your kind words.

Yes do give it a read when you have time, because the intentions behind the work are admirable.

The drink is a concoction that the male protagonist Patrick comes up with later on in the work. Though the title doesn't have a direct linkage to the plot, I think it signifies the blend of a lot of diverse elements that goes behind any creation, be it a drink, or a story.

[readandsmile]

The book is not for me but I like your review. You carefully analyzed each incident. I'm glad that I learned something new in your review. Cool.

[rik17]

Thank you so much. I'm really glad you liked the review.