Official Review: Beauty Rising by Mark W. Sasse
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Official Review: Beauty Rising by Mark W. Sasse
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Beauty Rising" by Mark W. Sasse.]
This book is about a middle aged man and his journey towards realizing who he is as a person. It begins with his going to Vietnam to spread his fathers ashes where he meets My Phuong under less than wonderful circumstances. It begins 3 years into the past where Martin recalls his trip to Vietnam with flashbacks of his fathers dying wish and the funeral that pushed him into going to the country. This is very uncharacteristic of Martin and shows a belated start to achieving his independence from his controlling parents. The second part of the story is told from My Phuongs perspective, beginning where she meets Martin in Vietnam until she meets him again 3 years later in America. The final section is about their lives and how the two help each other realize their goals in life, if not in the way that would be expected.
Their where a few things that I really liked about this novel, the first being the way that Martin’s point of view varies in Part I. At first it is a little confusing since it goes from Vietnam back to the U.S. then back to Vietnam, but once you realize what is occurring it helps appreciate the more subtle aspects of the book like the setting and what the characters are actually saying and doing.
“And we did it right there in the banana grove”
I also liked the humor within the novel as well. It may not be that funny to anyone else reading, but there were bits of dialogue that stood out as something that I needed to write down. It came out funny because of the stark contrast between the words and the personalities of the people who said them.
There were only a few things that I disliked within this novel. The most memorable was the ending of the book. Yes, the ending ties up loose ends and rounds out the story that is being told. However, the ending was much too rushed and because it was so rushed it felt more like I was reading a fiction book rather than being immersed within the story. It was just too abrupt for my liking.
The other problem that I had was how Martin was developed as a character. He seemed to juvenile compared to all the characters in the novel and his reactions to the situations that he was put into did not match how I think a normal person would react.
Even with these unfortunate situations I thought that the book was very good and I was able to finish it very quickly because of the pace of the events. There weren’t any dull moments within the book and for that it deserves a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "Beauty Rising" on Amazon
This book is about a middle aged man and his journey towards realizing who he is as a person. It begins with his going to Vietnam to spread his fathers ashes where he meets My Phuong under less than wonderful circumstances. It begins 3 years into the past where Martin recalls his trip to Vietnam with flashbacks of his fathers dying wish and the funeral that pushed him into going to the country. This is very uncharacteristic of Martin and shows a belated start to achieving his independence from his controlling parents. The second part of the story is told from My Phuongs perspective, beginning where she meets Martin in Vietnam until she meets him again 3 years later in America. The final section is about their lives and how the two help each other realize their goals in life, if not in the way that would be expected.
Their where a few things that I really liked about this novel, the first being the way that Martin’s point of view varies in Part I. At first it is a little confusing since it goes from Vietnam back to the U.S. then back to Vietnam, but once you realize what is occurring it helps appreciate the more subtle aspects of the book like the setting and what the characters are actually saying and doing.
“And we did it right there in the banana grove”
I also liked the humor within the novel as well. It may not be that funny to anyone else reading, but there were bits of dialogue that stood out as something that I needed to write down. It came out funny because of the stark contrast between the words and the personalities of the people who said them.
There were only a few things that I disliked within this novel. The most memorable was the ending of the book. Yes, the ending ties up loose ends and rounds out the story that is being told. However, the ending was much too rushed and because it was so rushed it felt more like I was reading a fiction book rather than being immersed within the story. It was just too abrupt for my liking.
The other problem that I had was how Martin was developed as a character. He seemed to juvenile compared to all the characters in the novel and his reactions to the situations that he was put into did not match how I think a normal person would react.
Even with these unfortunate situations I thought that the book was very good and I was able to finish it very quickly because of the pace of the events. There weren’t any dull moments within the book and for that it deserves a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "Beauty Rising" on Amazon
Latest Review: "The Kiss" by Michelle Bolanger
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Ronilson Mendes
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I love fantasy too! Especially books like Harry Potter and Mistborn. The world-building and magic systems really pull me in. Do you have a favorite fantasy author?
