Review of In Search of Achilles

[Abraham Ozo]

[Following is a volunteer review of "In Search of Achilles" by Marco van den Berg Scholten.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Marco van den Berg Scholten, in his book In Search of Achilles, writes about Johan van Geesteren, a young man who observed that previous profound values were exchanged for less moral ones. He had noticed that humanity was beginning to lose the essence of their humanity, or what made them human, and human contact was now reduced to an exchange. Johan, regardless of these changes, decides he is going to steer free from such ugliness to preserve his sanity. It's more than just a novel; to me, this book exposes the human mind to the behavioral adaptation of humans. Grab a copy of this book to find out more!
 
Johan, out of concern, had observed how the lives of his childhood friends had been greatly affected by this new open-minded critical rationality. Two of them, Bimmy and Achilles, had raised so much concern to him. I love how the author captures vividly and expresses the emotions of Johan in cases where this new cultural norm bothered him accurately in this book. I could almost feel how Johan felt.
 
There was a lot Johan got to learn from his uncle Leo, and I enjoyed the relationship between the two characters. However, I couldn't find anything to dislike about this book. Although it was quite a lengthy read, every single page was amazing. It's also impressive to note that as a debut novel by Marco, I could not find a single grammatical error while I read through; hence, this book was exceptionally edited.
 
One thing about change is that it is constant. While Johan begins his search for humanity through philosophical means and other methods, what he discovers along the way are valuable things readers can learn from. I will rate this book 5 out of 5 stars because of the reasons I have stated earlier in this review. This book would have been excellent for a wide range of audiences regardless of age or race, but the presence of profanities scattered throughout the book may reduce its level of appeal to some readers. Readers who enjoyed settings in Europe and historical novels will also find this read delightful.

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In Search of Achilles
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