Official Review: Unavoidable Collisions by Francesca Carillo
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Official Review: Unavoidable Collisions by Francesca Carillo
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Unavoidable Collisions" by Francesca Carrillo.]
Flash fiction is an apt description for Unavoidable Collisions by Francesca Carillo. It is short, to the point and there is little superfluous description.
It relates the drama of a robbery at a fast food diner and eight characters who get caught up in the incident. The action starts straight away just moments before the robbery and concludes on the last page. In between there are flashbacks establishing the identity of the characters, the links between them and, in some cases, explaining their presence at the event.
The style is very sparing and the author doesn't specify either a time or location for the action. I felt maybe it was her intention to convey the idea that these could be any people, at any time and at any place, brought together by pure chance. But because they ARE these particular (even peculiar) people, driven by their personal motives, the events inevitably unfold in this particular way.
I thought the construction of the story is clever; the fact that the action of the book from its fateful beginning in chapter 1 to the finale on the last page probably takes no more than one hour; and I liked the cryptic chapter headings which are reminiscent of 19th century novels. Sometimes her method of conveying information tacitly works well but other times I found the cut to the bone style a little dissatisfying. For me there were a lot of unanswered questions; What was the 'Masterpiece'? What was in the cardboard box? How did the woman end up in the car park? Maybe other readers can read between the lines, but it seems I need things spelled out.
For me the characters were remarkably unsympathetic, they all seem dysfunctional and some are positively psychotic but, in the circumstances, it may be just as well not to get too emotionally attached to any of them. Sometimes I thought they acted quite unrealistically; if you suddenly sensed someone else in your supposedly empty apartment would you carry on with what you were doing regardless? And some of the links between the characters were a bit tenuous and contrived.
The thing that really spoiled the book for me was the number of grammatical errors which should have been picked up at proofreading (' His looked wife is perfect in every photo.', '...and he haven't even begun.') and it's the reason I'm only giving it 2 out of 4 stars.
I prefer a story that I can escape into, with characters I can empathise with and maybe more sense of the author's presence, but I appreciate Ms Carillo's skill which is evident in the construction and style of this book.
***
Buy "Unavoidable Collisions" on Amazon
Flash fiction is an apt description for Unavoidable Collisions by Francesca Carillo. It is short, to the point and there is little superfluous description.
It relates the drama of a robbery at a fast food diner and eight characters who get caught up in the incident. The action starts straight away just moments before the robbery and concludes on the last page. In between there are flashbacks establishing the identity of the characters, the links between them and, in some cases, explaining their presence at the event.
The style is very sparing and the author doesn't specify either a time or location for the action. I felt maybe it was her intention to convey the idea that these could be any people, at any time and at any place, brought together by pure chance. But because they ARE these particular (even peculiar) people, driven by their personal motives, the events inevitably unfold in this particular way.
I thought the construction of the story is clever; the fact that the action of the book from its fateful beginning in chapter 1 to the finale on the last page probably takes no more than one hour; and I liked the cryptic chapter headings which are reminiscent of 19th century novels. Sometimes her method of conveying information tacitly works well but other times I found the cut to the bone style a little dissatisfying. For me there were a lot of unanswered questions; What was the 'Masterpiece'? What was in the cardboard box? How did the woman end up in the car park? Maybe other readers can read between the lines, but it seems I need things spelled out.
For me the characters were remarkably unsympathetic, they all seem dysfunctional and some are positively psychotic but, in the circumstances, it may be just as well not to get too emotionally attached to any of them. Sometimes I thought they acted quite unrealistically; if you suddenly sensed someone else in your supposedly empty apartment would you carry on with what you were doing regardless? And some of the links between the characters were a bit tenuous and contrived.
The thing that really spoiled the book for me was the number of grammatical errors which should have been picked up at proofreading (' His looked wife is perfect in every photo.', '...and he haven't even begun.') and it's the reason I'm only giving it 2 out of 4 stars.
I prefer a story that I can escape into, with characters I can empathise with and maybe more sense of the author's presence, but I appreciate Ms Carillo's skill which is evident in the construction and style of this book.
***
Buy "Unavoidable Collisions" on Amazon
Latest Review: "The Sanctuary" by Cassandra R. Siddons
