3 out of 4 stars
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The book My Trip to Adele, by R.I and A.I Alyaseer is a fictional novel. The book is self published and was released in late 2016. The tale revolves around three main characters; Elias from Rome, Nadia from Amman and Yaser from Las Vegas. Apart from the characters' tumultuous personal lives they also share a deep appreciation for the British singer and vocalist, Adele, her recent albums and desire to attend her upcoming concert in Italy. The entire book can be taken as a tribute to the singer as there are numerous lyrical renditions of her work on every chapter. The effect this brings is to effectively capture the prevailing emotion at each scene. A unique effect worth commending.
The story begins with Elias in Rome, who, after an encounter with a fortune teller visits his hometown in Morocco to undo a breakup hex put on him. He sets upon the journey to partly unravel the caster's intentions and also seek closure on an unusual affair he had with Malika 8 years ago. His attempts, however, leads to an unexpected outcome leading him back to Italy. Yaser, lives in Last Vegas USA. His marriage has hit the rocks with daily constant bickering and arguments with his wife Mariam. In a desperate attempt to re-ignite their love he plans to attend Adele's concert in Italy with Mariam. This too becomes a source of conflict and their attempts to find a compromise would rock the relationship to its core. Nadia in Amman, Jordan. A single mother in a deeply partriochial society, where her freedom is stifled and opinions scrutinized because of her gender. Usually to her disadvantage. She perseveres and tackles these challenges culminating with a fall-out with her estranged ex husband and boss over her request to attend Adele's concert in Italy.
The book is primarily themed on family life, love and traditions. The authors help provide insight to otherwise difficult compromises made in maintaining and establishing relationships. The challenges faced especially by Yaser, I couldn't help but feel attached and throughout? the novel I kept contemplating with the character for a resolve.
The story is told from 3 different perspectives, which in itself is quite the challenge. However, the plot flowed effortlessly, I personally enjoyed the well developed character profile, locations and traditions. In particular, the souks, performers and even the dark alleys of Marrakech was a big hit for me. Despite the less stellar nightlife as is common with tourist sites, I was reminded of my childhood hometown in coastal East Africa.
I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Although I enjoyed the story and especially took the separate storylines as a nice touch, am not an Adele fan. Although I was familiar with maybe 2 out of the more than 20 songs referenced in the novel, I still found it had to relate to the message. I'd recommend this book to fans of the British songstress, though I admit, reading this book inspired me to listen to some of her songs.
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My Trip to Adele
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