Review of The Party Line

[Aisha Yakub]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Party Line" by Dennis D. Gagnon.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Party Line by Dennis D. Gagnon is a work of autobiographical fiction. This is a story of a young adventurer in his junior year of high school in 1971. He is confronted with delicate issues that require mindful solutions. Some of the events and characters are real, and they shaped the author's life. However, the author adds concepts like aliens, demons, and monsters. This is a philosophical book that talks about the party line consciousness, friendship, bullying, and other themes.

The author has written this thought-provoking book with the conclusion that some universal thoughts and concerns run through the fabric of human existence. Questions about divinity, purpose, reason, faith, and emotions are asked by many people. As a part-time philosophy professor, the author gifts young students a fictional account of his early trials and experiences.

I enjoyed reading about the narrator's friendship with a character called D. Both characters had different preferences, and their physical appearances were the exact opposite of each other. D. had a religious background, but the narrator did not care about divinity. Their academic paths were also different. However, the conversations and events that happen around them are interesting to read about. This showed how unique people could still have similarities. I learned about the power of suggestion; this means getting people to see what isn't there.

I like how the plot unfolded. The narrator takes us on a journey with his experiments. The narrator explains that the party line effect is what led him to see the world as being filled with gods. He also explains that the party line effect is the existence of unmitigated evil in the world. At first, he tried to communicate with aliens, but it was futile. However, subsequent attempts yielded faint results. I was eager to know why this experiment initially failed and what changed the results.

There are a lot of philosophical concepts used in this book, and some of them were quite disturbing. This was my only concern about this book. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I saw no reason to rate it less. This book was perfectly edited, as I didn't come across errors in it. It was thought-provoking, and everything written in the description of the book was sufficiently written about in this book.

The author has written this book for general readers without a grounding in philosophy. However, I think this book is best suited for people with open minds and readers of philosophical materials, as the general reader may have a hard time understanding and accepting these concepts. I recommend this book to deep and abstract thinkers.

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The Party Line
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[Ruth Frances A]

I have always wondered how people from different backgrounds and differences in appearances and ideals complement each other. Perhaps the book has explanations since the supernatural and philosophical seem to be part of the theme therein. I am interested in this book because it is intriguing. Great review.

[Mildred Echesa]

I am reading this book apparently and doing far so good. The book seemed dull, but as you said, it unfolds, and we realize D is dead. Thanks for the informative review

[Francis Aderogbin]

Bullying caught my attention in this review. It has become a great menace in schools. I would like what the author has to say about it. Thanks for this great review.

[rose203]

The book sounds like an excellent surreal mind-trip. Great review.

[Stizzy Monday]

You've written a wonderful review with a good summary! I'd like to read this book to learn about the tragic accident and the powers behind it. Can't wait to read this book. Thank you for the review.

[Fanny Lebura Ueh]

I totally enjoyed reading your review. This review has piqued my interest, and I look forward to reading this book and finding out more details for myself. Thank you for the honest feedback.
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