Review of Duplicity

Neshboy Aburi · Post by **Neshboy Aburi** » 14 Aug 2021, 20:03

[Following is a volunteer review of "Duplicity" by Fin C Gray.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

Duplicity is an intriguing view of human psychology under the intense influence of existing societal pressures through the eyes of author Fin C. Gray. It is essentially a look at human behaviour as determined by the conflicting factors of ambition, family ties, drug abuse, religion, alcoholism, homosexuality, terrorism, and ultimately death. This is all told in an entertaining and dramatic story.

Tom is living a good life. He is rich and over-ambitious. He has no established religious beliefs to speak of. In addition to this, he has a doting close-knit family and a thriving queer side that only he knows about, or so he thinks. This all comes crashing down when Alison, his devoted and loving wife, is diagnosed with deadly cancer. From then on, all life choices he and his family make seem to lead to very bleak outcomes. Seeking to resolve his inner conflicts and searching for his identity, his son Daniel takes the darkest path of them all. This blind choice has major ramifications that are felt all over the world. The tragic life of Tom and his family is a lesson on how we should not live our lives. It also shows that we have to ultimately live with the consequences of our choices. Gray also explores the link between childhood trauma and future decisions made as adults through the tragic life of his character Daniel.

Fin C. Gray is an outstanding narrator. The amount of time invested into this masterpiece is evident. After the dramatic bomb explosion in the first chapter, I could not put this book down. His genius is also shown by his ability to explore many conflicting themes that he wanted to put across, while at the same time taking care not to confuse the reader. His choice of Duplicity as the title to reflect the contradictory similarities between the lives of Tom and Daniel was a masterstroke. He narrates by constantly oscillating between the past and the present, thus allowing him to include a lot of information into an average-sized book that would have otherwise required many volumes. I also liked his writing style. The detailed description he uses is so convincing that I felt the emotions of the characters over and over again. I also have to commend the editorial work done on the book. I found no major typos or grammatical errors worth mentioning here.

Gray is also very daring. He says it as it is with no sugar-coating or hiding behind a facade of being socially correct. Pointing out all that can easily go wrong in a seemingly perfect world takes character and bravery. Something else that intrigued me was his thoughts regarding homosexuality. Through his character Daniel, he implied that it was genetic then, at other times, it was triggered by experience. The jury is still out there regarding this, but I have to commend the author for his thoughtful insight.

On the other hand, the strong language used in this book is overwhelming. The level of profanity employed in the dialogues is excessive. I felt that the strong language did not necessarily match the context of the scenes that it was often employed. Toning it down a bit would work better. I could only guess that this reflected the liberal nature of the author.

In summary, I give this book a massive thumbs up and rate it 4 out of 4 stars. I only discourage conservative people and minors due to the language used. Otherwise, for thrill-seekers especially those willing to experiment and are not content with the status quo like me, I welcome them to marvel in the beautifully chaotic world of Fin C. Gray.

******
Duplicity
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Tarie07 · Post by **Tarie07** » 27 Aug 2021, 17:22

I have read this book and I have to admit you have done its review great justice!

Neshboy Aburi · Post by **Neshboy Aburi** » 28 Aug 2021, 08:40

Tarie07 wrote: ↑27 Aug 2021, 17:22 I have read this book and I have to admit you have done its review great justice!

I am happy you like my review. It was an exciting book and I would award it maximum stars over and over again. Thanks.

the_bibliofile · Post by **the_bibliofile** » 28 Aug 2021, 13:54

Your childhood and upbringing shapes and forms a major part of who you are as a person and it seems like the author has delved into this in detail in this book. Thank you for the well-drafted review!

markodim721 · Post by **markodim721** » 28 Aug 2021, 14:30

I like the fact that the plot of the novel is extremely designed and fantastically carried out. Thanks for the reading recommendation.

Chiwelite O · Post by **Chiwelite O** » 30 Aug 2021, 00:41

Your review is superb! I would love to check this book out! Thank you.

Neshboy Aburi · Post by **Neshboy Aburi** » 30 Aug 2021, 01:24

the_bibliofile wrote: ↑28 Aug 2021, 13:54 Your childhood and upbringing shapes and forms a major part of who you are as a person and it seems like the author has delved into this in detail in this book. Thank you for the well-drafted review!

It does and this author has captured this In this fantastic book. Thanks for your good comment on my review.

Neshboy Aburi · Post by **Neshboy Aburi** » 30 Aug 2021, 01:33

Chiwelite O wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 00:41 Your review is superb! I would love to check this book out! Thank you.

I am happy you like my review. This book is honestly superb. Hope you read it soonest though, u don't know what you are missing out on.

Neshboy Aburi · Post by **Neshboy Aburi** » 30 Aug 2021, 08:53

I have gone through many reviews of this book and all the reviewers seem to have rated it 4 out of 4 stars. This should explain it all to all potential readers.

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 30 Aug 2021, 19:17

Your description of the author's writing style is quite impressive. This novel would intrigue me were it not for the excessive profanity. I appreciated your suggestion that the author tone it down! I enjoyed your thoughts about this book and its author. Great writing!

Neshboy Aburi · Post by **Neshboy Aburi** » 25 Sep 2021, 10:03

kdstrack wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 19:17 Your description of the author's writing style is quite impressive. This novel would intrigue me were it not for the excessive profanity. I appreciated your suggestion that the author tone it down! I enjoyed your thoughts about this book and its author. Great writing!

You should read this book or any other book by him. You will be amazed by how well he uses English. Thanks for stopping by.

Paluk Pathania · Post by **Paluk Pathania** » 13 Nov 2021, 10:17

The themes covered in this work are extremely pertinent in today's world. I would definitely like to read this one. Thanks for your honest review!

J Edwards · Post by **J Edwards** » 17 Nov 2021, 16:25

I agree with you that it would be quite impossible to put down a book that begins with a dramatic bomb explosion. This book seems to be very good. Thanks for your review.