Review by MsTri -- My Author Is Dead by Michel Bruneau

[MsTri]

[Following is a volunteer review of "My Author Is Dead" by Michel Bruneau.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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What if our characters knew they were characters? What if they were held to a bunch of “Rules”, hoping to be “good characters” who would one day get to meet their Author? What if one of them rebelled, declaring there is no Author? Michael Bruneau explores just these questions in his delightful tale, My Author is Dead.

My Author is Dead is the story of a boy living in a “village of morons” inhabited by Authorists, who are held to a strict set of silly Rules. One day, while hiding out from a Perfectionist named Cassandra, he meets a little girl and is quickly taken with her. Unbeknownst to him, June is actually a Kafkaist, and therefore a member of a group who are mortal enemies to Authorists. This meeting is the first domino in a series of events which soon see Adam facing legal charges, which could result in his erasure.

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. It appealed to my love of the unusual and gives meaning to the phrase “outside the box”, as it takes many rules of storytelling and throws them right out of the box. While the story doesn’t completely break the fourth wall, the tale does have ample talk of the Author (always capitalized), erasure, being of good character, and other literary terms. The story is also full of cynicism, inside jokes, and tongue-in-cheek humor, which add to the fun. One outrageous example of the latter is "Fornication Under Consent of the Kritikillar" (hint: look at the first letter of each word). The chapter titles were cleverly named, as well.

The characters are all well-written and have various idiosyncrasies, making them all the more believable. From the Small Visionary to the torturer to grandpa, I really felt like I was visiting a village and meeting many of its members. The villages themselves were also well-written, and I could picture them in my mind’s eye.

Besides being a wild ride, the story also makes one stop and think. The concepts of Authorists, Kafkaists, and Illiterantes are thinly-veiled references to political and/or religious divisions, and I found myself questioning my own beliefs and where I stand on the side of some things. To my mind, any story that can get one to think while also entertaining is an A+ story. For all these reasons, I give My Author is Dead 4 out of 4 stars, though I wish I could give it 5 or even 10 stars. On a side note, this book also won the Garcia Memorial Award for Best Fiction Book of the Year 2017, and I can see exactly why.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there area few grammatical errors, such as a word missing here or there, but nothing so overwhelming that I felt it hindered my enjoyment. I did not, however, notice any spelling errors.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a unique story that makes its own mold and does things its own way. You will never see storytelling in the same way again.

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My Author Is Dead
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[Ljessup]

I just picked up a copy of this book and cannot wait to read it. I have been reading different reviews on it and you have done a great job! I love books that make me think all while keeping me captivated, and it sounds like this is the perfect story for just that. I also love the fact that it has humor mixed in with it along with cynicism. I am thrilled that I decided to grab this book! Well done!

[Vermont Reviews]

Great review.
Vermont Reviews

[Gingerbo0ks]

It's intriguing when something is described as storytelling "outside of the box". I might have a look into this. Thanks for the review.