Review of A Girl Named Dara
Posted: 23 Aug 2021, 09:26
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Girl Named Dara" by Tom Flynn.]
Every one of us, at some point in our lives, has been captivated by someone who we think is the most amazing person on earth and we find ourselves falling deeply in love with them. However, as it is normal in life, the course of love doesn't always run smoothly.
A story of art, poetry, music, friendship and ultimately, love, 20-year-old Jeff recounts how he and beautiful Dara cross paths after they meet in Poetry class. Dara takes a special place in his heart within a short period and as he barely has control over his new situation, he sails through life strongly influenced by his heart yearnings. It is a bittersweet process and Jeff finds himself engulfed in the mystery hovering around this exceptionally beautiful lady whom he yearns for, and there comes Carey who is an amazing, simple and beautiful soul who has a soft spot for Jeff. What does this roller coaster of emotions have in store for Jeff? What is it about Dara and Carey that will compel Jeff to make a bold decision for himself? We can only find out by going through life with Jeff while reading this book.
Tom Flynn's book, A Girl Named Dara, has many positive aspects. The most conspicuous and commendable aspect is the author's good use of punctuations, expressions, paragraphing, and a lack of excessive high-sounding words, which makes the book easy and relaxing to read. In the same vein, the author has powerful descriptive skills that easily conjure vivid mental pictures of the situations being described and which the readers can relate to real-life situations.
Also, the writer flaunts his effortless and versatile knowledge of art, poetry and music through the inclinations of individual characters in the story, making the book interestingly informative. His multilingual prowess is also noticeable in his infusion of expressions in Russia and French. The inclusion of characters from different nationalities gives off an interesting guess on the readers' part about the nationality of the chief protagonist and in what part of the world he tells his story from until they eventually get to know later in the story, though not at too late a time.
However, though the book is laced with a lot of positive aspects, it is not without a few negative points. I feel the writer's approach to suspense is not powerful enough at the beginning of the story, which has a lot to do with plot building. I almost got bored while reading as the storyline initially appeared flat, without dynamism and mundane. An average reader might easily get bored and skip pages because he or she wants to know if there are more interesting turns to the story. An impatient reader might sadly quit reading without getting to have the revelation that going forward, it is a great story because of its semblance to reality.
Generally, I will give Tom Flynn's book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars because it was professionally edited and is refreshing to read till the end, regardless of the negative aspects. It did not receive a perfect rating because of its weak plot building at the beginning of the story. Finally, I recommend this book to young people who are still in the process of understanding their emotions and would like to learn that it is a phase we must all go through. Also, this book is recommended to art and poetry lovers.
******
A Girl Named Dara
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Every one of us, at some point in our lives, has been captivated by someone who we think is the most amazing person on earth and we find ourselves falling deeply in love with them. However, as it is normal in life, the course of love doesn't always run smoothly.
A story of art, poetry, music, friendship and ultimately, love, 20-year-old Jeff recounts how he and beautiful Dara cross paths after they meet in Poetry class. Dara takes a special place in his heart within a short period and as he barely has control over his new situation, he sails through life strongly influenced by his heart yearnings. It is a bittersweet process and Jeff finds himself engulfed in the mystery hovering around this exceptionally beautiful lady whom he yearns for, and there comes Carey who is an amazing, simple and beautiful soul who has a soft spot for Jeff. What does this roller coaster of emotions have in store for Jeff? What is it about Dara and Carey that will compel Jeff to make a bold decision for himself? We can only find out by going through life with Jeff while reading this book.
Tom Flynn's book, A Girl Named Dara, has many positive aspects. The most conspicuous and commendable aspect is the author's good use of punctuations, expressions, paragraphing, and a lack of excessive high-sounding words, which makes the book easy and relaxing to read. In the same vein, the author has powerful descriptive skills that easily conjure vivid mental pictures of the situations being described and which the readers can relate to real-life situations.
Also, the writer flaunts his effortless and versatile knowledge of art, poetry and music through the inclinations of individual characters in the story, making the book interestingly informative. His multilingual prowess is also noticeable in his infusion of expressions in Russia and French. The inclusion of characters from different nationalities gives off an interesting guess on the readers' part about the nationality of the chief protagonist and in what part of the world he tells his story from until they eventually get to know later in the story, though not at too late a time.
However, though the book is laced with a lot of positive aspects, it is not without a few negative points. I feel the writer's approach to suspense is not powerful enough at the beginning of the story, which has a lot to do with plot building. I almost got bored while reading as the storyline initially appeared flat, without dynamism and mundane. An average reader might easily get bored and skip pages because he or she wants to know if there are more interesting turns to the story. An impatient reader might sadly quit reading without getting to have the revelation that going forward, it is a great story because of its semblance to reality.
Generally, I will give Tom Flynn's book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars because it was professionally edited and is refreshing to read till the end, regardless of the negative aspects. It did not receive a perfect rating because of its weak plot building at the beginning of the story. Finally, I recommend this book to young people who are still in the process of understanding their emotions and would like to learn that it is a phase we must all go through. Also, this book is recommended to art and poetry lovers.
******
A Girl Named Dara
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
