Official Review: Illusion by Nassim Nakad

[bookowlie]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Illusion" by Nassim Nakad.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Illusion by Nassim Nakad is a fiction novel based on true events that took place in Las Vegas. The book is written in the first person and the main character’s name is never mentioned. It is a retelling of a man’s possibly imagined experiences while on a Vegas vacation. The story begins with the main character apparently drunk and tripping on acid (or not) at a whorehouse with Jess, a girl he met in Vegas. He thinks he stumbled into a weird reality show, as he sees cameras everywhere. The question is whether he is hallucinating or the events really occurred. He figures that different people must have slipped drugs into his drinks – the man in the garage who gave him water in a green glass, the director who left a drink for him on the table, etc. He keeps referring to “Mr. Director”, as if he is part of a reality show.

His feelings turn to paranoia and hate, and he thinks everyone is out to get him. He believes eyes are always watching him. At one point, he wonders if he was given a paranoia and truth drug as an experiment that the “Director of the reality show” is documenting.

The plot switches back home to Kuwait halfway through the book and, days later, the main character states that there are no drugs or alcohol in his system. However, he is still paranoid and thinks he is acting in a show. He attempts to make sense of the recent events in Vegas. He starts remembering that he and Jess went out to different clubs, mixing alcohol, marijuana, and Ecstacy (and other possible drugs). This may have caused a fake reality. His friends suggest someone might have slipped LSD or a date-rape drug into his drink in order to steal his money.

Although the premise of the story is unique and interesting, the plot was confusing. The disjointed feel of the story was probably intended given the subject matter. However, the hallucinatory storyline was difficult to follow through much of the book as opposed to shorter passages. It became like a boring brain teaser after a while. It took me a relatively long time to read this short book, as I had to keep re-reading sections. I think the plot might have worked better as a short story, since the discussion of weird thoughts and paranoia became repetitive in a full-length book.

The story improves once the main character thinks a bit more clearly and tries to recall the events in detail to determine what happened. There are a few interesting passages where he uses common sense to reconstruct likely scenarios of different strange occurrences. The Vegas scenes are so confusing that it’s difficult to reconcile realistic ideas with the prior hazy events. Still, the Final Analysis chapter at the end is heartfelt and thought-provoking.

There are several photos scattered throughout the book, giving the feel of a non-fiction book. Some of the photos are blurry and strange. I thought this was a good way to illustrate the main character’s weird thoughts. However, there are two extremely offensive photos, particularly one of a masked woman wearing a bra and possibly no panties, spread eagled with her hand on her private parts. The photo is overtly sexual and offensive in this type of book and doesn’t appear to have any connection to the story. The only possible connection is that he mentions he wants to relax. It’s not clear who the woman is; I thought I could have even been mistaken in assuming the main character was a man.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Although the premise is quirky and thought-provoking, the execution of it is hard to follow and confusing. This may be what the author intended in a real vs. illusion plot. However, the flow of the story is awkward and many of the man's thoughts are repetitive. I recommend this book to readers who like an offbeat plot and don’t mind being confused while reading. As for me, I usually enjoy brain teaser stories, but my brain felt scrambled by the time I finished this book.

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Illusion
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[nassimnakad]

well thank you for the review, I find it honest with its positive and negative point mentioned... I just don't like the rating and was hoping something above average.
Maybe the reviewer missed some important points: the main character is a photographer and has been introduced by Jess as the famous Italian photographer and it's her pictures with the mask that are spread all over the pages and that's why the last picture is with her legs spread wide and it's for the purpose of giving that non fiction feel... at the end the book is intending to let the reader wonder if it was a fiction or not in another way real vs illusion.
On the other hand, It's a pleasure to read that it was difficult to follow and left the reviewer scrambled, the repetition was made on purpose to highlight something new every time such as the points that the reviewer missed, probably because he's not into that genre of story telling and would like to read a story with a simple plot that starts somewhere and reach an end without any confusion in the middle.

[TammyO]

Thanks bookowlie for a nice, detailed review of this book. All I can say is Oh My!

[nassimnakad]

I must admit that bookowlie had a detailed review, he did notice the difference in the writing of the first half which is mostly under the effect of drugs and the second part which follows a logical and analytical reasoning...
I understand he's frustration and confusion but it was done on purpose and he mentioned so and still didn't like it because of his own reading preferences. He just missed few important points that make a big difference but that will probably push other readers who are interested about the subject to read it and rate it themselves.

-- 02 Jun 2015, 07:48 --

Thanks bookowlie for a nice, detailed review of this book. All I can say is Oh My!

I must admit that bookowlie had a detailed review, he did notice the difference in the writing of the first half which is mostly under the effect of drugs and the second part which follows a logical and analytical reasoning...
I understand he's frustration and confusion but it was done on purpose and he mentioned so and still didn't like it because of his own reading preferences. He just missed few important points that make a big difference but that will probably push other readers who are interested about the subject to read it and rate it themselves.

[ALynnPowers]

Thanks for the review. This is definitely not a review for me, but I'm glad you could recommend who would like it.

[bluemel4]

Great review. I think I would have a difficult time getting through this book. Glad it ended well.

[bookowlie]

well thank you for the review, I find it honest with its positive and negative point mentioned... I just don't like the rating and was hoping something above average.
Maybe the reviewer missed some important points: the main character is a photographer and has been introduced by Jess as the famous Italian photographer and it's her pictures with the mask that are spread all over the pages and that's why the last picture is with her legs spread wide and it's for the purpose of giving that non fiction feel... at the end the book is intending to let the reader wonder if it was a fiction or not in another way real vs illusion.
On the other hand, It's a pleasure to read that it was difficult to follow and left the reviewer scrambled, the repetition was made on purpose to highlight something new every time such as the points that the reviewer missed, probably because he's not into that genre of story telling and would like to read a story with a simple plot that starts somewhere and reach an end without any confusion in the middle.

-- 02 Jun 2015, 09:24 --

I must admit that bookowlie had a detailed review, he did notice the difference in the writing of the first half which is mostly under the effect of drugs and the second part which follows a logical and analytical reasoning...
I understand he's frustration and confusion but it was done on purpose and he mentioned so and still didn't like it because of his own reading preferences. He just missed few important points that make a big difference but that will probably push other readers who are interested about the subject to read it and rate it themselves.

-- 02 Jun 2015, 07:48 --

Thanks bookowlie for a nice, detailed review of this book. All I can say is Oh My!

I must admit that bookowlie had a detailed review, he did notice the difference in the writing of the first half which is mostly under the effect of drugs and the second part which follows a logical and analytical reasoning...
I understand he's frustration and confusion but it was done on purpose and he mentioned so and still didn't like it because of his own reading preferences. He just missed few important points that make a big difference but that will probably push other readers who are interested about the subject to read it and rate it themselves.

Thank you for your comments on my review. Please understand that my thoughts on the book have nothing to do with my reading preferences. I enjoy reading a wide variety of genres and am overly observant and analytical by nature. I also not a big fan of books with a simple plot that neatly move along to an easy conclusion, as you suggested.

I know it was mentioned that Jess introduced you as an Italian photographer later in the book. The way the one sentence was written, it wasn't clear whether this was a true statement or it was Jess just telling people that was what you were - "People in the club were telling me that I'd be famous or were asking for my business card, maybe because of the way that she was introducing me, as a famous Italian photographer." Although this sentence is in the logical and analytical reasoning section, I still think it wasn't clear that the character was a photographer, based on the way it was written. Just my opinion. It certainly wasn't clear that the overtly sexual photo was taken by a professional photographer. In fact, the author mentions that the character just wanted to relax right before the photo is shown on the following page.

I appreciate your comments and can understand your frustration with some parts of the review. I certainly did not base my comments and rating on my own reading preferences. If anything, that would have helped since I appreciate a unique premise and offbeat subject matter. Please note that the review is one person's perspective of your book. Other people may have different perspectives after reading it, whether positive or negative. It is unfortunate that you revealed spoilers in your initial comment. By doing so, another reviewer that might be given the chance to read and review your book will already have this information.

-- 02 Jun 2015, 09:26 --

Thanks for the review. This is definitely not a review for me, but I'm glad you could recommend who would like it.

I assume you meant "definitely not a book for me"?

-- 02 Jun 2015, 09:28 --

Thanks Tammy, Alynn, and Bluemel for your comments. The book was certainly a unique read.

[ALynnPowers]

Thanks for the review. This is definitely not a review for me, but I'm glad you could recommend who would like it.

I assume you meant "definitely not a book for me"?

Bahahaha! Yes.

Me now speakings the Englishes good.

[bookowlie]

Thanks for the review. This is definitely not a review for me, but I'm glad you could recommend who would like it.

I assume you meant "definitely not a book for me"?

Bahahaha! Yes.

Me now speakings the Englishes good.

Ha ha ha - good one. I thought I had to punch myself again.

[gali]

The premise sounds intriguing. Thank you for the well written review.

[bookowlie]

Thanks Gali! I enjoyed some parts of the book. The gratuitous sexual photos were certainly not one of the parts.

[nassimnakad]

Thanks for the review. This is definitely not a review for me, but I'm glad you could recommend who would like it.

I'm glad too you were given an idea about the book content from bookowlie, I definitely don't want it to be read by the wrong readers...each has his preferences. I personally won't read a romantic story or a drama no matter how well written it is.

-- 02 Jun 2015, 11:29 --

Thanks Gali! I enjoyed some parts of the book. The gratuitous sexual photos were certainly not one of the parts.

I'm glad at you enjoyed some parts of the book and you are recommending it to the right readers. As per the offensive sexual picture, It's how the story starts and without giving any more spoilers, I kept the picture to the end to contrast the need to relax and let go with that very daring and sexual nature of Vegas temptation.
Obviously it didn't work with you and I respect your opinion.
If you are interested in watching a 3 minutes short that I shot after Vegas and before publishing the book you can visit my website and check shorts/ experimental... nassimnakadcom

[bookowlie]

Thanks for the recommendation about the short video on your website.

The structure of the rating system here results in no middle ground. There is no halfway point in 1 to 4 stars and there are no 1/2 points allowed. On Amazon, the rating system is 5 points, so there is more room for a middle of the road rating. Either way, it would be interesting to read other people's opinions of the book.

[LivreAmour217]

Thank you for your thorough review. The book certainly sounds unique, but I think I'll have to pass on this one.

[nassimnakad]

i mentioned my short film illusion and you mentioned the same quote i used to start with
here's my personal view and the back cover of my book:
the language of the universe is mathematics... Logic is a mathematical sequence... a sequence is part of a film... a film is 24 lies per second.
Art is the creation of minds... Creation is but an illusion... illusion dissolves with a constant reality... reality is a persistent illusion...
everything has been told, recycling is another form of making an art your own...
I believe in creation, I believe in art and most of all I believe in illusions. Nassim Nakad