Official Review: The Object of Your Desire (Novella)
-
zoedecicco
- Posts: 107
- Joined: 10 Dec 2014, 12:04
- Favorite Book: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
- Bookshelf Size: 5
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-zoedecicco.html
- Latest Review: "The Bad Path to Enlightenment" by Lee A. Eide
Official Review: The Object of Your Desire (Novella)
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Object of Your Desire (Novella)" by John D. Ottini.]
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
This enjoyable novella reads as the voice of a psychiatrist, caught up in a grisly mystery after he has an affair. It is difficult to describe the story without giving away the plot, so I will remain intentionally vague, but his life slowly unravels throughout the course of the book, with disastrous consequences.
All the ingredients of a good mystery story are here. The plot is exciting. The tension builds well, and there are secrets and conflict between characters, which give it a good dose of irony. The awkward situations that the narrator increasingly gets himself into are particularly entertaining.
I was intensely fascinated by the introduction of a physically repulsive client of the psychiatrist, who is convinced that women won’t leave him alone. There is an intriguing and rather humorous obscurity that surrounds this character throughout the story, and so I was disappointed when he was not really developed much further.
In fact, most of the characters seem to remain fairly two-dimensional. There isn’t even much depth to the narrator, despite us being inside his head. Even when he reveals feelings of guilt and regret, he isn’t overly convincing.
It is not clear how we are meant to feel about the man we trail along with throughout the book. There are times that I became quite frustrated with him, as he makes some choices that don’t seem rational, such as holding back information from police that could be important, due to ‘patient privilege’. I didn’t find his decision convincing in light of the gravity of the circumstances, especially when he happily discusses the same information openly with his wife.
He also fails to notice some clues at the same time we the reader are discovering them, which feels incongruent, and makes him appear stupid and annoying.
The biggest issue with this book, however, is that the author does too much telling, and not enough showing. This is a side effect of the first-person perspective. The author has tried to balance these issues by using a lot of dialogue, to introduce others’ points of view, but it does not seem to help, as it also is highly descriptive.
The psychiatrist and his secretary launch into a none-too-convincing shouting match early on in the book, which is like watching an awkward soap opera. The discourse is clichéd and obvious. It needs to be more clever than this, implying the tensions and relationships between the characters, rather than them simply shouting synopses of their issues at each other, just for the reader’s benefit.
This is just one aspect of an amateur feel to the book that grates a little at times. There are some typos, and the word ‘hellacious’ is used to describe traffic twice within four pages. The narrator makes a lot of flippant quips and one-liners, often as mini ‘cliffhangers’ at the end of chapters. I’m sure they are intended to be clever, but they just seem a little trite.
This is a fast read (I read it in a single sitting), and is more like a quick romp, than slow and satisfactory lovemaking. Events happen one after the other in quick succession, and before you know it, it’s over.
The ending is moderately clever, though perhaps a little gimmicky. I feel there is a missed opportunity here, as I’m left thinking ‘so what?!’. The implications of this ending could perhaps be explained a little more fully.
Despite being a fun read, and the author having a good grasp of the mechanics of storytelling, I can only give this book two out of four stars.
I would liken it, not altogether unkindly, to a story for young children. It’s content certainly isn’t for kids, but I use this analogy due to its systematic plot, undemanding dialogue, minimal depth, description and scene-setting, and the bang! at the end. It is extremely formulaic, and will please those with simple tastes.
***
Buy "The Object of Your Desire (Novella)" on Amazon
Buy "The Object of Your Desire (Novella)" on Barnes and Noble
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
This enjoyable novella reads as the voice of a psychiatrist, caught up in a grisly mystery after he has an affair. It is difficult to describe the story without giving away the plot, so I will remain intentionally vague, but his life slowly unravels throughout the course of the book, with disastrous consequences.
All the ingredients of a good mystery story are here. The plot is exciting. The tension builds well, and there are secrets and conflict between characters, which give it a good dose of irony. The awkward situations that the narrator increasingly gets himself into are particularly entertaining.
I was intensely fascinated by the introduction of a physically repulsive client of the psychiatrist, who is convinced that women won’t leave him alone. There is an intriguing and rather humorous obscurity that surrounds this character throughout the story, and so I was disappointed when he was not really developed much further.
In fact, most of the characters seem to remain fairly two-dimensional. There isn’t even much depth to the narrator, despite us being inside his head. Even when he reveals feelings of guilt and regret, he isn’t overly convincing.
It is not clear how we are meant to feel about the man we trail along with throughout the book. There are times that I became quite frustrated with him, as he makes some choices that don’t seem rational, such as holding back information from police that could be important, due to ‘patient privilege’. I didn’t find his decision convincing in light of the gravity of the circumstances, especially when he happily discusses the same information openly with his wife.
He also fails to notice some clues at the same time we the reader are discovering them, which feels incongruent, and makes him appear stupid and annoying.
The biggest issue with this book, however, is that the author does too much telling, and not enough showing. This is a side effect of the first-person perspective. The author has tried to balance these issues by using a lot of dialogue, to introduce others’ points of view, but it does not seem to help, as it also is highly descriptive.
The psychiatrist and his secretary launch into a none-too-convincing shouting match early on in the book, which is like watching an awkward soap opera. The discourse is clichéd and obvious. It needs to be more clever than this, implying the tensions and relationships between the characters, rather than them simply shouting synopses of their issues at each other, just for the reader’s benefit.
This is just one aspect of an amateur feel to the book that grates a little at times. There are some typos, and the word ‘hellacious’ is used to describe traffic twice within four pages. The narrator makes a lot of flippant quips and one-liners, often as mini ‘cliffhangers’ at the end of chapters. I’m sure they are intended to be clever, but they just seem a little trite.
This is a fast read (I read it in a single sitting), and is more like a quick romp, than slow and satisfactory lovemaking. Events happen one after the other in quick succession, and before you know it, it’s over.
The ending is moderately clever, though perhaps a little gimmicky. I feel there is a missed opportunity here, as I’m left thinking ‘so what?!’. The implications of this ending could perhaps be explained a little more fully.
Despite being a fun read, and the author having a good grasp of the mechanics of storytelling, I can only give this book two out of four stars.
I would liken it, not altogether unkindly, to a story for young children. It’s content certainly isn’t for kids, but I use this analogy due to its systematic plot, undemanding dialogue, minimal depth, description and scene-setting, and the bang! at the end. It is extremely formulaic, and will please those with simple tastes.
***
Buy "The Object of Your Desire (Novella)" on Amazon
Buy "The Object of Your Desire (Novella)" on Barnes and Noble
"80% of success is showing up" - Woody Allen
"There are no small parts, only small actors." - Constantin Stanislavski
"There are no small parts, only small actors." - Constantin Stanislavski
Latest Review: "The Bad Path to Enlightenment" by Lee A. Eide
-
Skillian
- Posts: 1026
- Joined: 16 Nov 2014, 00:52
- Bookshelf Size: 102
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-skillian.html
- Latest Review: "The Christ Killer" by Robert Attenborough
Oh! It sounds really intriguing...though that is unfortunate that there isn't enough showing instead of telling. I have mixed feelings on whether or not I will give the book a try.. but great review! Since it is a short read I think I will keep this in mind for a rainy day.
I love LOVE. <3
Latest Review: "The Christ Killer" by Robert Attenborough
-
Hurricane John
- Posts: 35
- Joined: 27 May 2014, 13:50
- Currently Reading: Everything To Lose
- Bookshelf Size: 3
Hi Skillian
I do hope you'll give it a try. I would love to hear your thoughts on the novella..
Best Regards
John D. Ottini
-- November 2nd, 2015, 11:54 am --
This novella is now a part of my 'Reason To Kill: Collected Mystery Stories' eBook.
http://amazon.com/Reason-Kill-Collected ... B00RNCD7VC
I do hope you'll give it a try. I would love to hear your thoughts on the novella..
Best Regards
John D. Ottini
-- November 2nd, 2015, 11:54 am --
This novella is now a part of my 'Reason To Kill: Collected Mystery Stories' eBook.
http://amazon.com/Reason-Kill-Collected ... B00RNCD7VC
