Official Review: degree of exposure by eric newman

[ritah]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "degree of exposure" by eric newman.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The book, Degree of Exposure by Eric Newman, is an unrestrained satirical composition glazed with doses of humor throughout its narrative. The novel is considered to be a work of fiction, first published in 2007 by AuthorHouse.

Jack Baxter is an aspiring writer, this, of course, serves as his primary motivation for signing up for Frank O’Malley’s creative writing class. Frank’s teaching approach and blasé attitude of “writers write” has Jack doubting his qualifications for the course. What’s worse, his lecturer seems to have an undefined romantic relationship with his stunningly beautiful classmate, Janice Mitchell, who, unfortunately also happens to be Jack’s object of affection. As a result, he finds himself rather contemptuous and dismissive of Frank. A class assignment to “write something funny” inspires him to amuse his crush by featuring her name and likeness as the heroine of his comic book; this gives him the much-needed confidence to challenge his instructor in more ways than one.

The author chose to refer to the main divisions of his book as ‘classes’ rather than ‘chapters,’ I thought this to be clever as it flowed with the narrative and setting of the story, with each class (chapter) beginning in a classroom setting. What I found to be stimulating is the novelist’s decision to incorporate a parallel plot within a plot, this technique worked well and succeeded in keeping things interesting.

I liked that some of Jack’s comic book characters dealt with real life struggles as this made them more relatable. What’s even better is that the writer used humor to narrate their stories and interactions. An odd factor in the book is when Ken Arnstruther (one of Jack’s comic book characters) stumbles on to Janice’s car and immediately decides to wire it so that he can drive the car to town without permission. What is more strange, was Janice’s’ reaction as she appeared cool and unbothered by the fact that this man that she was just getting to know, took her car (actually her brother’s) without asking! In my opinion, this doesn’t seem like a normal reaction most people would have which made the characters feel a little less realistic keeping in mind that, that bit of the story had no comical effect.

The plot, characters, and setting of the story fit in well together. Going in my expectation of the book was quite high, thanks to the blurb. The novel did manage to make me laugh, however, not as much as I had anticipated. I’d recommend the novel to fans of satire and ‘British’ humor. Overall, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.


******
degree of exposure
View: on Bookshelves

Like ritah's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Donatelloo]

Book seems to enlighten the mood of reader ..
Very nice review ❤❤

[juliusotinyo]

Hi,
Thanks for an insightful review. The book sounds like a worthy read.

[ritah]

Thanks Darakhshan and Julius if you want a book that carries humor to some of life's tough situation...This is the book you ought to read. The characters were very interesting to say the least.

[kandscreeley]

This is an interesting review. I don't think the book is for me based on your review, but I appreciated reading it. Thanks!

[ritah]

This is an interesting review. I don't think the book is for me based on your review, but I appreciated reading it. Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to read my review.

[Donatelloo]

I am reading much like dark tales these days. And I realize I am too much into those, that my mood seems to be on edge of anger or somehow depression all the time . So, I guess I should read this and laugh . You often read humorous novels or this one is the first one?

[ritah]

I am reading much like dark tales these days. And I realize I am too much into those, that my mood seems to be on edge of anger or somehow depression all the time . So, I guess I should read this and laugh . You often read humorous novels or this one is the first one?

Oh, wow. That's so intense! Hope you find something to lift your mood. This one is the first I can remember picking up(I guess it's my first ) I mostly watch TV shows that have a lot of satire and humor in them - after reading the blurb I was like I have to read this one because it sounds like what I love to watch & I do love a good laugh, a little to much actually.

[Donatelloo]

I am now looking forward to pick novels like this . And I decided not to read anymore of those novels for atleast sometime. I watched 'The dictator' today and I was laughing the whole time and trust me it felt so good.
I really appreciate writers of such humorous novels and movies

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

I need a book like this to relax to, one with lots of humour! Laughter is the best medicine after all, right? Thank you for your review.

[Donatelloo]

I need a book like this to relax to, one with lots of humour! Laughter is the best medicine after all, right? Thank you for your review.

I agree

[ritah]

I am now looking forward to pick novels like this . And I decided not to read anymore of those novels for atleast sometime. I watched 'The dictator' today and I was laughing the whole time and trust me it felt so good.
I really appreciate writers of such humorous novels and movies

I too appreciate writers that narrate their stories with humor keeping readers in mind. I agree the world needs more laughs!

-- 17 Aug 2017, 20:52 --

I need a book like this to relax to, one with lots of humour! Laughter is the best medicine after all, right? Thank you for your review.

Absolutely! Books that can humor tough life situations and actually make the readers laugh while at it, are pretty chill.

[Manang Muyang]

I would appreciate a few laughs myself. This author seems to serve laughter in healthy doses. The book title and cover art and classes instead of chapters are sterling samples.

Thanks for the engaging review, Ritah!

[ritah]

I would appreciate a few laughs myself. This author seems to serve laughter in healthy doses. The book title and cover art and classes instead of chapters are sterling samples.

Thanks for the engaging review, Ritah!

Ooow, thank you! I appreciate you reading my review, you ought to read the book too, laugh a little and let me know what you think.

[Brandon101]

Sounds like a great book. Thanks for your review. The idea of a plot within a plot is fascinating to me.