This Book Will Save Your Life - A.M. Homes

A 57-year-old man experiences a pain attack and when he’s asked in hospital who he wants to call, he doesn’t know what to answer. Existential angst sets in, “He didn’t want to die. He couldn’t die. He hadn’t even lived yet.” Nothing serious can be found, though, and when he’s back home, he decides to change his life. So far, so unoriginal, tons of books must have been written in the western world about this subject (I doubt that Hindus and Buddhists bother what with their belief in rebirth), if an author uses this plot, they must wrap it into a captivating story to make readers want to read it. What has A. M. Homes made of it? The story is set in ...

This is the first book by A.M. Homes that I have read and thus I had no preconceptions of my own approaching it. The professionals' reviews uttered things like 'glass-sharp' and 'acid-etched' while the readers' ones were more along the lines of 'nice' and 'uplifting'. And Stephen King said that it might even save somebody's life. There is little doubt that "This Book Will Save Your Life" won't do any such thing, in fact it's one of those books that one enjoys a lot while reading, but which leaves no lasting impact. On the surface, it's an enjoyable story of emotional redemption, of a man re-establishing his connections with human world and his own ...

Firstly, let me say, this is not the sort of book I usualy read. I am into Micheal Crichton, Stephen King, and when I feel intellectual, Richard Dawkins or something related to therapy or social constructionism. It was only when I was heading for Waterstones checkout with a bunch of 'murder, death, kill' books under my arm I thought: "Time to do a bit of more chilled reading", lol. So, after looking at the front cover, and being surprised at the reviews on the back (I thought it was a diet book at first), I decided to buy it. It is what I would call a bubble gum book (bit like bubble gum pop): It is pleasant, not very taxing, ...