Official Review: Beauty and the Singularities

[Wyland]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Beauty and the Singularities" by John C Waite.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Professionally, as an editor, John Wilson seemed content wooing his growing female fan base through his twice-weekly newspaper, at the expense, unfortunately, of his own personal love life. At the same time, more for convenience than true friendship, he increasingly found himself in the company of an equally popular DJ, Bear Stinson, who was mostly known for his voice rather than his looks.

When a construction crew working on a new site stumble upon a lead-clad casket containing a “beautiful woman,” Bear urges John to delay a run of his newspaper to check out the unfolding breaking news story. Other than the perfectly preserved body, and a date on the casket which appears to suggest that the occupant has been dead for 150 years, John is deeply troubled by the strange likeness of the face “staring” back at him. He feels he knows or might have known this young woman, but he can’t exactly figure out where; at least that’s the case until he returns to the office and a shocking revelation begins to unravel itself! So, how is this “beautiful woman” connected to John’s elusive love life?

Exploring contrasts in life, the eight stories in Beauty and the Singularities by John Waite helped me dissect some riveting (every day) news occurrences with crystal clarity. Some of these incidences included violence in relationships, vandalism, terrorism, divorce, infidelity, apocalypse, and even, work-life balance. I felt that his stories were well thought out because they appealed to my emotions and values. In one incident, I thought that it was bad enough that drugs got trafficked right under people’s noses, but I felt it was even worse to kill a kid just because he’s meddling during the drug delivery process, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Separately, Waite’s macabre tone reflects the fact that one’s happiest moment in life can end in an endless nightmare the next minute or the fact that even while one person is celebrating the other is dying. Moreover, what remained unsaid in these stories was just as important as it gave me an opportunity to fill out the missing details with my own and others’ life experiences.

In addition, I liked the fact that Waite’s characters came from different parts of the world, even though some were stereotypically portrayed, much to my chagrin. As well, not unlike the real world, love was the one commodity that wouldn’t go around all the characters. As a result, some persons were left to make do with mates of other species in an attempt to meet their primal fancies!

As I conclude, Waite’s writing is quite realistic; what’s more, it has the added advantage that the stories portrayed are short, and anyone can find the time to indulge in them. Unfortunately, on the contrary, I found the editing, wanting: there are a couple of wrongly used words, wrong capitalization in sentences, and some typos. As a result, I mark the book down by one star to rate it at 3 out of 4 stars.

Lastly, the book is an engaging read suitable for adults in relationships, and to those who want short stories that don’t take a lot of their time. On the other hand, it may be least suited to those who are sensitive to situations involving people having intimate interactions with animals.

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Beauty and the Singularities
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[Ngozi Onyibor]

The book seems like a collection of charming stories. Your summary is so alluring, I can't wait to read the rest of the stories. Thanks for your beautiful review.

[Juliet+1]

Thanks for a great review! I'm putting this book on my "want to read" list right now. I love short stories and really admire writers who can create an entire story with plot, setting, characters, etc. in such a small space.

[kandscreeley]

Even with the errors, this sounds fascinating. What does the beautiful woman have to do with John? I need to find out. Thanks!

[Helene_2008]

I really do not like the idea of humans and animals having "intimate relations". While the whole well-perserved, sleeping beauty part sounds interesting, I'll have to skip. Thank you for the review and the warning!

[Meg98]

Thanks for this compelling review! This sounds like a charming collection of stories. It is a shame about the editing though... great job! Can't wait to read this one.

[spluficvictory]

This book looks like a suspenseful one. I don't really like it when authors neglect their book editing though but I think this book will make a good read. I like the fact that his stories we're well thought out and one can easily relate to it and live through it. Thanks for the review

[Wyland]

The book seems like a collection of charming stories. Your summary is so alluring, I can't wait to read the rest of the stories. Thanks for your beautiful review.

thanks for your kind comments, Michelle, much appreciated!

[Erin Painter Baker]

I really enjoy short story collections, and this one sounds like it has a great premise/connecting theme. I will have to look for it.

[Gabriel Merêncio]

Short stories are really fun to read, especially if they cover a wide variety of subjects. I'm particularly interested in John Wilson's story. Thanks for the review!

[AvidBibliophile]

Inappropriately intimate interactions with animals or just an appreciation for wildlife? Because that can get murky real fast I love a good macabre tone and unsolved mystery, but the editing and grammatical errors I could also do without. Might be worth jumping into this mesh of combined short stories! Thanks for the helpful review.

[unamilagra]

This sounds like a collection that really touches on some profound themes. Too bad the editing was poor, I hope the author fixes it. Great review!

[Wyland]

Thanks for a great review! I'm putting this book on my "want to read" list right now. I love short stories and really admire writers who can create an entire story with plot, setting, characters, etc. in such a small space.

Thanks, Juliet for your kind comments.

[Wyland]

Even with the errors, this sounds fascinating. What does the beautiful woman have to do with John? I need to find out. Thanks!

Yeah, quite intriguing, doesn't it? thanks for your kind comments.

[Wyland]

I really do not like the idea of humans and animals having "intimate relations". While the whole well-perserved, sleeping beauty part sounds interesting, I'll have to skip. Thank you for the review and the warning!

Thanks, Helene for your kind comments.