Official Review: The Divide by Richard Green
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- Latest Review: "The Divide" by Richard Green
Official Review: The Divide by Richard Green
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Divide" by Richard Green.]
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The Divide, a self-published work of fiction by Richard Green, gives a look into the diverse lives lead by people on the opposite sides of a massive shipping channel in the newly shaped UK. Decades after global warming and health factors caused drastic changes in the region, the UK is now divided into the Promised Land and Helland. The book follows the President of the U.S. as he goes on a tour of these lands. He comes across countless discoveries in the lives of the people there that are new and exciting in his eyes. The plot to this book seemed interesting enough, leading me to believe that it would provide a realistic look into a future that people around the world may be awaiting, should we continue to waste our natural resources day in and day out. While the story did focus on highlighting our imminent doom as inhabitants on an increasingly crowded and diseased globe, it did not deliver in presentation. Among other things, I found it lacking in persuasive technique and evidential support that could have backed up Green’s arguments. In effect, it didn’t administer the sort of heavy impact I felt that the basis for the book had the potential to deliver.
As an advocate for sustainability, organic eating and healthy living, I felt compelled to read The Divide upon seeing the book’s synopsis. As I read through the first couple chapters, however, I felt an increasing struggle to go on. Grammar was a huge issue in The Divide. Green’s writing was rife with punctuation, spelling and other grammatical errors, such as incorrect usage of homophones like hear and here. After the first couple chapters I endeavored to accept the lack of proper grammar and attempted to like the novel, despite these shortcomings. The grammatical errors were so numerous I couldn’t help wondering whether the piece had been reviewed and edited before publishing. If the story had been presented with a more realistic and credible approach the incorrect grammar would have been easier to ignore. However, this was not the case. The grammatical errors only added insult to injury.
The characters of the president and officers Morrant and Burgess seemed to serve no other purpose than to exchange witty banter and agree with all the notions presented to them. All three of these characters (who all seem to blur together into one), continuously accept the ideas Green casts before them, simply on the grounds that his arguments are “logical,” or “common sense.” Aside from the witty banter and the complaisant agreements, these characters repeated the same handful of silly exclamations throughout the story. They were all shocked and awed at various technological, agricultural, architectural and social developments and living conditions they encountered in their trip through the Promised Land and Helland. If the future UK were to become so changed by the effects of global warming and other environmental factors, then other parts of the world would have experienced similar changes and developments, therefore, the shock and awe of the president and his officers is not credible. Parts of the entire world would have been affected, if not in the same way, similarly to both sides of the Divide.
Despite my qualms over grammar and presentation, I wasn’t entirely displeased with The Divide. Green does discuss issues that are important to consider. The ending to The Divide was especially surprising. It left me wondering if the author intentionally presented the president and his officers as conformists in an attempt to support a deeper message I somehow failed to grasp. Green’s final parting messages (delivered through the character of Major Savage) were redeeming and thought provoking. The Divide stresses that what we do today will have a strong and lasting effect on tomorrow and questions how we can take action against it.
Based on my reading experience, I rate The Divide 2 out of 4. I do think the book deserves a .5, which would make it a 2.5 out of 4. From my observations the book was meant to get the reader thinking about certain global issues of our times, and it succeeded in doing so. Though the grammatical errors and nondescript characters bothered me a great deal, I appreciated the idea behind Green’s story and enjoyed seeing his perception of a futuristic world affected by the increasing problems we face today. If you have an interest in sustainable practices and like to contemplate strategies for overcoming big issues like the decline of health and food quality, this book may be for you-even if you have to struggle through some parts.
***
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As an advocate for sustainability, organic eating and healthy living, I felt compelled to read The Divide upon seeing the book’s synopsis. As I read through the first couple chapters, however, I felt an increasing struggle to go on. Grammar was a huge issue in The Divide. Green’s writing was rife with punctuation, spelling and other grammatical errors, such as incorrect usage of homophones like hear and here. After the first couple chapters I endeavored to accept the lack of proper grammar and attempted to like the novel, despite these shortcomings. The grammatical errors were so numerous I couldn’t help wondering whether the piece had been reviewed and edited before publishing. If the story had been presented with a more realistic and credible approach the incorrect grammar would have been easier to ignore. However, this was not the case. The grammatical errors only added insult to injury.
The characters of the president and officers Morrant and Burgess seemed to serve no other purpose than to exchange witty banter and agree with all the notions presented to them. All three of these characters (who all seem to blur together into one), continuously accept the ideas Green casts before them, simply on the grounds that his arguments are “logical,” or “common sense.” Aside from the witty banter and the complaisant agreements, these characters repeated the same handful of silly exclamations throughout the story. They were all shocked and awed at various technological, agricultural, architectural and social developments and living conditions they encountered in their trip through the Promised Land and Helland. If the future UK were to become so changed by the effects of global warming and other environmental factors, then other parts of the world would have experienced similar changes and developments, therefore, the shock and awe of the president and his officers is not credible. Parts of the entire world would have been affected, if not in the same way, similarly to both sides of the Divide.
Despite my qualms over grammar and presentation, I wasn’t entirely displeased with The Divide. Green does discuss issues that are important to consider. The ending to The Divide was especially surprising. It left me wondering if the author intentionally presented the president and his officers as conformists in an attempt to support a deeper message I somehow failed to grasp. Green’s final parting messages (delivered through the character of Major Savage) were redeeming and thought provoking. The Divide stresses that what we do today will have a strong and lasting effect on tomorrow and questions how we can take action against it.
Based on my reading experience, I rate The Divide 2 out of 4. I do think the book deserves a .5, which would make it a 2.5 out of 4. From my observations the book was meant to get the reader thinking about certain global issues of our times, and it succeeded in doing so. Though the grammatical errors and nondescript characters bothered me a great deal, I appreciated the idea behind Green’s story and enjoyed seeing his perception of a futuristic world affected by the increasing problems we face today. If you have an interest in sustainable practices and like to contemplate strategies for overcoming big issues like the decline of health and food quality, this book may be for you-even if you have to struggle through some parts.
***
Buy "The Divide" on Amazon
Latest Review: "The Divide" by Richard Green
