Official Review: Phone Calls by Bela Feketekuty
Posted: 21 Feb 2020, 04:33
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Phone Calls" by Bela Feketekuty.]
An IT course brings together an unlikely couple, Jane and Bill. Jane is a chemical engineer for a drug company, and Bill owns his own company that develops mobile apps. This story explores their relationship by detailing a variety of trips they make together; more importantly, it explores the impact that financial differences can have on a relationship.
Phone Calls: Love and Money by Bela Feketekuty is an 11-page narrative poem. It's written in the first person, with Bill as the narrator. Bill regularly thinks about the differences between himself and Jane, namely in terms of their financial differences. She owns a Porsche and a seventh-floor, two-bedroom condo with a balcony and spectacular view; she buys a South Sea pearl necklace for $17,100 and a Monique evening gown for $20,000. Meanwhile, Bill is driving his twenty-year-old Corolla, struggling to pay for things between app sales, and renting a small one-bedroom apartment "with no balcony."
These constant comparisons take up a bulk of the narrative. While Bill seems to be trying to persuade the reader that Jane is obsessed with wealth, he appears to be the only one who is continuously thinking about it. While she compliments him for a variety of things, like having the guts to be his own boss and his spontaneity, his only positive thoughts about her are purely superficial, like how beautiful or successful she is. She might be flippant about her wealth, but he is obsessed with it. For example, Jane's sister-in-law, Abby, asks Bill when he plans on proposing, and he thinks she's putting her nose in their affairs because "Jane made more money than her husband." This is such an odd takeaway from the conversation and shows that Bill assumes that others are also preoccupied with comparing Jane's wealth to their own.
The author's choice of exploring their relationship by detailing trips they go on together is an interesting one, as it makes the relationship seem ungrounded in reality. All of the negatives he sees are just as ambiguous; they are assumptions, not facts. This allows the poem to be read in a multitude of ways; the reader is invited to explore the impact of love and money in Bill and Jane's relationship, as well as how strongly these factors influenced each character.
Phone Calls: Love and Money is a free verse poem that employs descriptive language, allowing the reader to clearly picture the scene without getting bogged down by too many details. There's some depth and richness in some of the straightforward imagery; "We kissed in the shadows" is one line that I thought had a lot of layers to it. I found the lack of other typical literary devices, like similes and metaphors, interesting. Perhaps this is to show that what they went through together is incomparable. The length of stanzas varies; the only pattern I noticed is that the stanzas were longer when Bill was anxious.
I only found one error, which leads me to believe this poem was professionally edited. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, as I thought there was a lot of food for thought, and I like how the author employs the unreliable narrator, which allows the reader to get different messages, depending on how much credibility they give to the narrator. If you like stories that are about how money impacts relationships, I strongly recommend this quick read. Lovers of straightforward contemporary poetry that explores relationships via an unreliable narrator will enjoy this as well. There's no profanity, and while sex is briefly mentioned, it is not discussed in detail.
******
Phone Calls
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
An IT course brings together an unlikely couple, Jane and Bill. Jane is a chemical engineer for a drug company, and Bill owns his own company that develops mobile apps. This story explores their relationship by detailing a variety of trips they make together; more importantly, it explores the impact that financial differences can have on a relationship.
Phone Calls: Love and Money by Bela Feketekuty is an 11-page narrative poem. It's written in the first person, with Bill as the narrator. Bill regularly thinks about the differences between himself and Jane, namely in terms of their financial differences. She owns a Porsche and a seventh-floor, two-bedroom condo with a balcony and spectacular view; she buys a South Sea pearl necklace for $17,100 and a Monique evening gown for $20,000. Meanwhile, Bill is driving his twenty-year-old Corolla, struggling to pay for things between app sales, and renting a small one-bedroom apartment "with no balcony."
These constant comparisons take up a bulk of the narrative. While Bill seems to be trying to persuade the reader that Jane is obsessed with wealth, he appears to be the only one who is continuously thinking about it. While she compliments him for a variety of things, like having the guts to be his own boss and his spontaneity, his only positive thoughts about her are purely superficial, like how beautiful or successful she is. She might be flippant about her wealth, but he is obsessed with it. For example, Jane's sister-in-law, Abby, asks Bill when he plans on proposing, and he thinks she's putting her nose in their affairs because "Jane made more money than her husband." This is such an odd takeaway from the conversation and shows that Bill assumes that others are also preoccupied with comparing Jane's wealth to their own.
The author's choice of exploring their relationship by detailing trips they go on together is an interesting one, as it makes the relationship seem ungrounded in reality. All of the negatives he sees are just as ambiguous; they are assumptions, not facts. This allows the poem to be read in a multitude of ways; the reader is invited to explore the impact of love and money in Bill and Jane's relationship, as well as how strongly these factors influenced each character.
Phone Calls: Love and Money is a free verse poem that employs descriptive language, allowing the reader to clearly picture the scene without getting bogged down by too many details. There's some depth and richness in some of the straightforward imagery; "We kissed in the shadows" is one line that I thought had a lot of layers to it. I found the lack of other typical literary devices, like similes and metaphors, interesting. Perhaps this is to show that what they went through together is incomparable. The length of stanzas varies; the only pattern I noticed is that the stanzas were longer when Bill was anxious.
I only found one error, which leads me to believe this poem was professionally edited. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, as I thought there was a lot of food for thought, and I like how the author employs the unreliable narrator, which allows the reader to get different messages, depending on how much credibility they give to the narrator. If you like stories that are about how money impacts relationships, I strongly recommend this quick read. Lovers of straightforward contemporary poetry that explores relationships via an unreliable narrator will enjoy this as well. There's no profanity, and while sex is briefly mentioned, it is not discussed in detail.
******
Phone Calls
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
