Official Review: The Imagination of Tom Logan
Posted: 13 Nov 2013, 09:33
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Imagination of Tom Logan" by Paul hanlon.]
Tom Logan is like many of us, he has a job he doesn't like and feels that he has a greater purpose in this world. Tom's endeavour to better himself and become a writer ends up as a series of comical interludes, which pushes him further away from his purpose.
For a début novel Paul Hanlon has done remarkably well but he is writing for a niche audience, really. To read The Imagination of Tom Logan, you would have to enjoy reading dark humour, where the protagonist might just be you. I will give it a 3 out of 4 star rating and recommend it to all aspiring writers and lovers of twentieth century satires, I won't give it a 4 because I think the author could have done better. I could have given it a 2 star rating but its redeeming factor was that it made me laugh. This book kept reminding me of Dickensian characters and Huckleberry Finn albeit with a modern perspective.
Tom Logan's life is as ordinary as his name with ordinary problems, which are insurmountable mountains to the one facing them. Tom's take on his life, his hopes and aspirations in being a writer makes the solutions to his problems humorously catastrophic. You can’t help but feel sorry for Tom. All his peers, the ones he has funny memories about, have all grown up to become successful and confident adults, thus deepening Tom’s angst about his life.
While reading the book, I felt as if I knew some of those characters Hanlon created. Therein lies the author’s true talent, he can create believable and life like fictional people. However, this début novel might just be autobiographical and Hanlon might be Logan with a few twists and name changes. That is a question, only, Paul Hanlon can answer.
However, one significant detail that you might notice (you might not if you are hooked to the humour) is the book's plot. Is the plot Tom’s writing aspirations? If so, what happens to them? Does Tom become a writer? Or, does he abandon his ideals and succumb to a mundane life. In Tom’s own words,
As the author has already written about the writer, does he have more books under his belt? If so, I hope he would concentrate on a structured plot next time and continue to bring to life humorously believable characters.
***
Buy "The Imagination of Tom Logan" on Amazon
Tom Logan is like many of us, he has a job he doesn't like and feels that he has a greater purpose in this world. Tom's endeavour to better himself and become a writer ends up as a series of comical interludes, which pushes him further away from his purpose.
For a début novel Paul Hanlon has done remarkably well but he is writing for a niche audience, really. To read The Imagination of Tom Logan, you would have to enjoy reading dark humour, where the protagonist might just be you. I will give it a 3 out of 4 star rating and recommend it to all aspiring writers and lovers of twentieth century satires, I won't give it a 4 because I think the author could have done better. I could have given it a 2 star rating but its redeeming factor was that it made me laugh. This book kept reminding me of Dickensian characters and Huckleberry Finn albeit with a modern perspective.
Tom Logan's life is as ordinary as his name with ordinary problems, which are insurmountable mountains to the one facing them. Tom's take on his life, his hopes and aspirations in being a writer makes the solutions to his problems humorously catastrophic. You can’t help but feel sorry for Tom. All his peers, the ones he has funny memories about, have all grown up to become successful and confident adults, thus deepening Tom’s angst about his life.
While reading the book, I felt as if I knew some of those characters Hanlon created. Therein lies the author’s true talent, he can create believable and life like fictional people. However, this début novel might just be autobiographical and Hanlon might be Logan with a few twists and name changes. That is a question, only, Paul Hanlon can answer.
However, one significant detail that you might notice (you might not if you are hooked to the humour) is the book's plot. Is the plot Tom’s writing aspirations? If so, what happens to them? Does Tom become a writer? Or, does he abandon his ideals and succumb to a mundane life. In Tom’s own words,
Tom Logan or Paul Hanlon might not be " …the new JK Rowling." but he did write a book about a common man, aspiring writer, with a normal childhood, normal family life and no stardom or abuse to shoot his book into the limelight.Life doesn't come with a plot. It doesn't come with a cohesive narrative or a guaranteed happy ending. There’s some sense of structure: you are born… then… All that awaits you after that is the cold, eternal embrace of the grave. As comedies go it is definitely towards the black end of the spectrum.’
As the author has already written about the writer, does he have more books under his belt? If so, I hope he would concentrate on a structured plot next time and continue to bring to life humorously believable characters.
***
Buy "The Imagination of Tom Logan" on Amazon