February 10, 2016

Listen to the Lambs


"Beneath the intersection of I-20 and I-75, where stray trash tumbles about carelessly and dreams lay aborted, where Coke cans substitute for ashtrays and discarded, warped, pissy mattresses serve as sleeping quarters for discarded, warped, pissy people—beneath that invisible expanse of earth and sky dwells a man named Lazarus." ~ 1%

Lazarus leaves all that is familiar to him—his wife, his children and his home—for a possession-less life. He crosses paths with five strangers that call themselves The Family, and whom later save him from the consequences of a brutal act.

The cover is a great image of open brown-skinned hands. The words are written well in the beginning of the story. The author previously wrote a novel that I still cannot get out of my head (Perfect Peace). So I wanted to like Listen to the Lambs. I really did. Then he lost me.

I really don't know what other way to describe this novel other than 'weird.' I must have muttered this word at least nine times while reading it. Certainly not weird because of the main character's homelessness but of how and the domino effect. Surely Lazarus was not the first man to have felt he lost everything when the economy tanked. Shit, I felt that way in late 2008. But to have up and left his family high and dry? I could not understand; perhaps because I am not a man. But as a responsible human, I too provide. I too had the best of everything. And I too was content with less. But I simply could not be empathetic to Lazarus when he chose to leave his own family to join The Family. Say what now? Weird.

There are characters I do not like. There are main characters I love to hate. Then there are characters that annoy me or I simply do not understand the choices they make. I may not have agreed with Lazarus' actions but it would have been more bearable to read Listen to the Lambs if his actions and the story that followed were clearer. Perhaps I would have enjoyed reading this novel if it was satirical. For these reasons, it was a struggle to not fling this eBook to the side and yell, "Weird. NEXT!"

Listen to the Lambs will be published on February 16, 2016. Pass it. Read it. Do what you will. 

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are honestly my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Listen to the Lambs
Author: Daniel Black
Published: February 2016
Pages: 325
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♡

 

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