Tuesday 13 June 2017

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion



The best thing I can say about The Best of Adam Sharp is that it is nothing like The Rosie Effect.

Graeme Simsion writes about Adam - a middle aged man (nearing 50) in a relationship with Claire. When, boom - Angelina (no, not Jolie, but think Jolie - this one's a blonde bombshell from his youthful first love days) gets in contact via email. Out of the blue. Completely. Hmmm.

So part one is should he, shouldn't he get in contact again? Claire is perfectly lovely, the IT job is what all jobs should be - manageable and sufficient, the life lived is, well, ordinary. I should mention that Adam is a music buff of note, and there are references to his loves - some of which I recognised, and those I did, I hummed, affectionately. I also kept meaning to look at the soundtrack, which is a fantastic idea - to listen as you read - but didn't.

Then part two. Let's just say part two gets interesting. So obviously, and this isn't a big spoiler, he does. He gets so much more than he bargained for - in every sense.

I liked this book. I loved the musical references. I thought the examination of Adam's emotions and relationships was interesting. It was mildly funny too, and cleverly written. The sexual content is not for the prude, and I blinked a couple of times and wondered if my eyebrows were disappearing into my (receding) hairline.

So what's not to like, I hear you ask. Well, for me, the unending tone of cynicism that just pervaded everything about this book. Poetic, I suppose, but not enjoyable. In short, nothing like the Rosie effect.

3 stars
ISBN: 9781250130402

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