Nowhere Man
John M Green
Pantera Pres
PJ O’Rourke describes Green as ‘Just like Michael Crichton… only better.’ After reading this part thriller, part science fiction novel, I can only assume O’Rourke wrote such a glowing review because he was a) drunk, b) bribed by a wad of cash or c) had a momentary absence of his senses. As for the brilliant novelist Michael Crichton, I feel hugely affronted on his behalf to have his talents compared to Green.
Sonya (and no I don’t know what her surname is because the author in his wisdom does not bother to mention it when we, the reader, first meet her. In fact as one astute "fan" told me, you have to turn to page 31 to learn it's 'Wheen') arrives back after her morning run to discover her husband Michael is missing. Suspecting foul play, she sets out to investigate his disappearance. Sonya, the red lipstick wearing, motorbike riding, sexy, University professor(no cliché was spared when it comes to our heroine) comes across a computer software game that accurately predicts the future of the stock market. Which brings us to the only interesting (and surprisingly well written) part of the book. Using the software, Sonya successfully rides through the stock market crash, saving her house from the clutches of the big bad bankers before they foreclose on her.
Does Sonya finally solve the riddle of her husband’s disappearance? Personally, I could not endure the torture long enough to find out. The story told with excruciating clumsiness is a long yawn stretching over far too many pages. What I would like to know however is how the editor could do such a disservice to the author, the publisher and the reading public by allowing such a clumsy work released into the market. 1 star – for effort!
About Me
- Banafsheh Serov
- Australia
- I am passionate about the written language. I love writing, reading, reviewing, selling and promoting books. I am an independent bookseller with over 20 years of experience in the book trade. Together with my partners, I actively aim to improve our bookstore's range and services to better reflect the needs of our community and clientele. In 2008, my memoir 'Under A Starless Sky' was published by Hachette, Australia. Since then, I had a short story 'Jasmine Petals' published in 'Stories of Belonging' (Finch) and in 2013, released my first full-length novel, The Russian Tapestry, also by Hachette. I am currently writing my second novel. I strive daily to improve my skills and stretch the limits of my craft. My love of books has naturally lead to reviewing. You can follow me on Twitter @B_Serov, Facebook www.facebook.com/BanafshehSerov and Goodreads www.goodreads.com/author/show/1429016.Banafsheh_Serov
9 comments:
I normally like your reviews, but this time it's like we've read two entirely different books. My husband gave me Nowhere Man after loving it, and I read it last weekend and couldn't put it down. I found it a great thriller. Shame you didn't like it, but I loved it.
Banafsheh, I disagree entirely with your criticism of Nowhere Man. First, if you are going to attack a book, you should get your facts straight. Sonya is not a lawyer, but a university professor – which is not only stated in bold on the back cover blurb, but first mentioned in Chapter 1, page 1. Her surname that you are so worried about not knowing (Wheen) is first given on page 31, and lots more times afterwards. Yes, she rides a motorbike. Why is that so bad? I ride one too, as do lots of women. I even wear leather. I bought my copy of Nowhere Man after hearing an inspirational interview with the author on The Book Show on the ABC.
I’m glad I did, not only because I found it a gripping and well-written page-turner, but also because I identified so much with the main character Sonya and her dilemma. Her husband goes missing in Chapter 1, leaving her in the lurch.
My husband left me and our daughter 11 months ago. When I got to the end of this book, after crying and laughing several times, and read the last paragraphs, I punched the air and shouted “Go, girl!”
Whether John M. Green intended it or not, he has written a wonderfully feminist thriller. I strongly recommend it, whether your husband has left you or not. This book should be entered in the Barbara Jefferis awards for painting women in a positive light.
Reviews are highly subjective and hence when it comes to our enjoyment of 'Nowhere man', we just have to agree to disagree.
And although I disliked the book, for the past 2 months it was faced out in the New Release section of my bookstores.
Hi Banefsheh. I'm sorry, but i'm totally with all the others who liked 'nowhere man' and disagree with your big negative spray.
i had seen ads for it then saw jennifer byrne give a review of it on her abc tv show (first tuesday book club) last week. she said it was great fun and that she liked it.
jennifer's recommendations are almost always to my taste so i bought it as i often do when she raves about a book, and i spent a whole day reading it. i couldn't put it down.
i know it's all subjective, but i really think your critique is so full of invective, to me it's quite over the boundary. i hope you don't mind me saying so.
in any case, nowhere man is a fantastic thriller and a really good story with characters i got very entangled with.
i think john m green is a new writer to watch and i wish him well. i sioncerely hope a mean-spirited review like yours wont dishearten him him from continuing to write, and if he does see it, at least you have included the other positive comments as balance. we dont have enough good aussie thriller writers as it is.
i recommend nowhere man to anyone who wants to stay on edge right to the end.
hey banafsha
you have another blog, book geek, but you don't post any comments like these that disagree with you on it. i left you one there a while ago on this book nowhere man, but it's never come up there. i'm sure i wasn't impolite or anything.
it seems pretty unfair to the author (and your own blog readers), if you ask me, to post a very critical if not very rude, and in my humble opinion, totally wrong review, then invite comments, but refuse to post them.
i think that is not good blogosphere behaviour.
if you dont want to post comments, you should take down the review.
The point of a review is to comment on the book and my opinion is that 'nowhere Man' is badly written. Period.
You can disagree all you like. Its still BADLY written.
As for Book Geek, I no longer use it and I didnt think the comment added anything that you (and I believe you are all the SAME person) had not covered already
I did make it through to the end of this book as the story seemed to have so much potential. However I was thoroughly disappointed. So much was left hanging and unexplained that could have been woven into something much more satisfying. If felt like this was a first draft, though at the end the author mentions he spent years writing it. I too was affronted that this was compared to the work of Michael Crichton.
I agree entirely with your review and was glad to find someone with a similar view after almost giving up hope of finding a realistic review on the internet.
I couldn’t believe I couldn’t find a negative review, other than a few meaningless ones that just say things like ‘blah’. I was thinking maybe John M’s a really nice bloke and no-one wants to hurt his feelings or maybe, as I’ve read in the newspaper, selling books is all about marketing these days and he has the resources to manipulate what can be easily found on search engines. Or maybe because he’s a powerful, wealthy lawyer and investment banker it’s best to keep on the right side of him.
I bought Nowhere Man a few days ago at the exorbitant price of $36.99 (surely a mistake I now realise) after my sister told me she’d heard really good things about it. I had to stay home to rest a sore back so was able to read it all pretty much in one sitting, which I usually find is a great way to read a ‘thriller’. I don’t remember ever being so disappointed by a novel. The characters are shallow and their motivations confusing, the plot is poorly constructed, so many things go unexplained and so many threads of the story go nowhere.
The first part, setting up the story, was reasonably interesting so I did keep reading but overall the story reminded me of some of the compositions I used to write in primary school where, at seven or eight, I could set up a basic sort of plot but had no idea how to finish it and had to opt for the ‘and then I woke up and found that it was just a dream’ ending.
I can see why publishers found the plot ‘absurd’ and rejected it, forcing John M Green to do his own publishing. Most of the people I can think of who would enjoy a ‘financial thriller’ would be very put off by the supernatural elements of the plot – I think this is a jarring contradiction in style.
AvidReader
Whenever there is an investor who is willing to splash around money the distributors and magazine/papers hoping to attract that money are under pressure to promote and write favourable (or at the very worst neutral) reviews.
I like the back story to this novel and I congratulate Mr. Green on his commitment to his passion. I only wished he had written a better book. Like you, Avidreader, when I part with my hard-earned income, I get annoyed when I don't receive value for money!
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