Review of Deadpan

[Rizka Nurfadillah]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Deadpan" by Richard Walter.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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This is a novel filled with sarcasm. Some parts provide entertainment and laughter, especially regarding its holographic teleportation which allows the main character, Dwight Bridges, to go anywhere and meet important people in the area. Dwight Bridges is a Buick dealer in a place called Hoghzswaloww Hollow, West Virginia. I'm not sure which part I missed, but I'm still puzzled about Bridges' status as a comedian with the stage name Richie Ritchie. However, his status as a comedian is what's intriguing here.

Bridges' use of teletransportation or time machine is an interesting aspect for me. Although, I'm confused by the chapter transitions. The peculiar and amusing thing is when Bridges is confronted with four female musicians with unique names: Arlene, Marlene, Charlene, and Dharlene. They are women who serve Bridges. In several parts of Chapter 3, these women serve Bridges while naked.

The novel presents a considerable critique of racial and religious prejudice. Perhaps, on the other hand, the Jewish community is somewhat marginalized. Nevertheless, at the end of the story, the author balances these sarcastic narratives with a fairly just ending. I've never encountered a novel with this type of plotline before. It's quite confusing when each chapter has to leap with a different background story, so just as the reader begins to immerse themselves in the story, they're confronted with a new setting in the next chapter. There's a sense of disjointedness when reading this novel. It's a bit confusing.

Overall, I can give a rating of 2 out of 4 stars for the storyline. Because I didn't quite like the jumping storyline in each chapter. Perhaps the author could consider a more significant sequential storyline in several chapters before switching to a different storyline in the next chapter. This could prevent readers from feeling confused and allow them to delve deeper into the story of this novel. Additionally, I feel the content of this novel will generate pros and cons from certain circles, although that seems to be the intention of this novel. The title alone describes the content of this novel.

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Deadpan
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