Official Review: TJ by Boris Beedle

[srkilgour]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "TJ" by Boris Beedle.]

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Normally when I read a book, I find it very easy to form an opinion either I love the book or I hate the book. Tj by Boris Beedle however is not one of these books. For me, there was really no story to it and it was like a soapbox for Beedle to go off about anything and everything; however, I found myself still reading this book, because Beedle’s actual writing is fantastic. I think for a different subject, Beedle could and would be a great writer, but for me this book was just a long tirade against everything.

TJ is a handsome and successful actor, who has not seen his father in 25 years since his father, Tony, left him and his sister, Theresa, at the age of six. Tj decides it is time to meet with his father and hires a private investigator to find him. The book starts out with them meeting in a hotel room for the first time. The entire book consists of them rambling on about everything under the sun for over five hours. The real question is though will Tj forgive his father for leaving him and his sister? Will they have a relationship after this first long night together?

I really enjoyed Beedle’s writing. He is a very smart man and knows how to write well. I liked the concept of the book with Tj meeting his father after so long; however, I wish it was not just a long tirade, because I think this book could have helped a lot of people that have gone through a lot of the same things. The concept was there; the execution was not.

I felt that the whole book was just Beedle on a soapbox preaching to everyone and his theories to me were just ridiculous. It was a very cynical view on life and yes, Tj had a hard childhood but he made something of himself, so it was disappointing to see all his negative views on everything in life. It jumped from one theory to the next to the next not having any real connection. The flow of the conversation was very unrealistic. If you are meeting with your father after 25 years, you would never talk about over half the stuff that they talked about. There was only dialogue in this book and it was hard to keep up with who is talking for pages on end.

I would give this book a 2 out of 4 stars. I found it difficult to decide what to rate this book. For some people this book is going to be outstanding, for others you will find yourself annoyed with the whole book and the soapbox type of feel that it has. I would definitely recommend this to the type of person that has a lot of different theories on life and do not mind reading about others’ philosophies.

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[amybo82]

When I read a book, I always try to reflect on two main elements: the story and the writing style. Your review hit both of those points, and I can definitely see why you were conflicted over how to rate the book as a whole.

[khudecek]

When I downloaded this book, I thought there might be something in there that I could relate to since my own father abandoned my family when I was seven or eight years old. I was hoping to see what their potential reconciliation was like and compare it to my own, such as it was.

There's nothing to compare. This book is filled with bitterness, disillusionment and cynicism not to mention it is anti-parent and misogynistic. I have yet to lay eyes on my father and it's been 42 years but we do speak on occasion and there is none of this going on. Do you know why? Because rather than cry and carry on and act out because, "Oh poor me, my dad left me when I was a little girl and never contacted me all the years I was growing up", I got over my anger and forgave him. He's not perfect. I'm not perfect. We aren't perfect but rather than drag that around and play the blame game which this book is unabashedly doing, I moved on. Life keeps moving and how you choose to live it, whether it be wallowing in self-pity or standing up straight with your head held high, is up to you. There are obstacles to overcome no matter what your upbringing is. Some do have it tougher than others and yes, there is a vicious cycle that occurs with bad parents raising more bad parents but ultimately, it is up to you. Are you going to sit around and feel sorry for yourself or are you going to say, "Screw it. I'm better than this" and actually do better for yourself?

Now for the other stuff. This book was overlong with incredibly long and sometimes boring dialogue. The author used the book as his soapbox, which many authors do and the characters touched on every subject imaginable. It was so long, there were times when I forgot who was speaking and it got to the point where I didn't care. I just wanted them to shut up for a minute. Do something other than talk. Look at each other. Tap your fingers on the table. Something. Anything. Please! I'm sick of listening to your diatribes already and even if I agreed with what was being said, I'm tired of reading it. I get the point. Okay? Move on now.

The biggest irritant in the story was Jenna. What did she have to do with anything? Pages and pages of her rambling on about her sordid little life and how it affected her. I did not care! She had zero reason for being in the story other than she was TJ's friend and manager. Then she has pages of dialogue where she's forcing her views on Navy, who really does have a part in the story. I wanted to yell at her to shut up! I don't care! Maybe if she'd been in the room with TJ and Tony, it would have been better but TJ was quoting her verbatim on some long, boring conversation that they'd had whenever, bashing their parents of course, and he remembered every word. Huh.

I don't know who Boris Beedle is but I do think he is connected to the entertainment industry in some way. He sure knew a lot about it. I don't keep track of the entertainment industry or celebrities but I think he knew more than the average bear.

If you want a book that will make you think yet will drain you mentally, this is the one for you.

[Skillian]

Wow! I don't think I have ever had so many mixed feelings about a book from reading a review! haha. I really don't know what to think... but thanks for the review! hmmm.... I may do some digging to see what else I can find out about it... just to put my mind at ease. haha.