 |
|
|
|
Reviews of books by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism.
 |
|
|
|
|
Fill out your email address
to receive our newsletter!
|
|
|
|
|
 Get new reviews the instant they are posted to the site with RSS
What is RSS?
|
|
| Search Box (type in author's last name or one key word) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 At the start of Contagion, Patrick M. Garry paints Walt Honerman at the funeral of his uncle held at a local senior center. The author vividly depicts the hope the elderly have toward people that are willing to talk and listen to their tales and for this, Walt is a perfect friend. What drives the story forward is Walt’s uncle’s insistence that he drive to a baseball game in order to catch a fly ball from a record-breaking pitcher.
Reviewed by Sheri Harper
Contagion
by Patrick M. Garry
Inkwater Press
www.inkwaterpress.com
ISBN: 978-1-59299-280-5
In Contagion, Patrick M. Garry allows his supporting heroine Moira Kelly to steal the story away from hero Walt Honerman, a man drifting through life except for his relationship with an uncle who acted as father to him while he was growing up. Other than this slight flaw, Contagion is an engrossing read about how relationships make life worth living. The characters in Contagion are well portrayed and unusual in that they have very casual ties at the start of the story and these ties strengthen as the story progresses.
At the start of Contagion, Patrick M. Garry paints Walt Honerman at the funeral of his uncle held at a local senior center. The author vividly depicts the hope the elderly have toward people that are willing to talk and listen to their tales and for this, Walt is a perfect friend. What drives the story forward is Walt’s uncle’s insistence that he drive to a baseball game in order to catch a fly ball from a record-breaking pitcher. Walt doesn’t really want to take the trip but he agrees to please his uncle and everyone in the senior center finds it fuel for discussion. Adrift and expecting to lose some of his best friends, Walt lets an elderly man named Izzy and a young woman, Moira Kelly talk him into taking them along.
The problem with hero Walt is he is not a very likeable character—a bit boring and not very motivated. It surprises the reader to find out that Walt actually has some money set aside from his work as a carpenter. Moira Kelly on the other hand, blooms into a vivid life-seeking young woman, and her secret at the end is sad but a bit predictable. What captures the reader’s attention is the way Moira Kelly pulls people into the growing circle of friends along for the ride and at once the reader understands the reason for the title and the theme of the story.
The plot of the story follow a road trip story line with situational humor, but when Walt, Izzy and Moira arrive at their destination, the story become something of a mystery involving Izzy’s past, a lost love, missing money and a crime. Izzy is quite the quirky old man. Although baseball is a very limited part of the story, it actually serves to define who Walt Honerman really is and who he wants to be in quite the surprising fashion.
Overall, fans of Patrick M. Garry from his earlier books, In the Shadow of War, Saving Faith, and A Bridge Back will find this book appealing and a quick and easy read, as will many others.
About the reviewer: Sheri Fresonke Harper is a poet and writer. She's been published in many small journals and is working on her second science fiction novel. See www.sfharper.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
