3 out of 4 stars
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Official Review: The Compulsive Move!, by Phillip Cornell
The Compulsive Move is the story of Kevin, a young man who is striving hard to make a better future for himself. As the story opens, Kevin is struggling to make the money in order to fund his move from St. Louis to Chicago in order to pursue his dreams of art school.
This story is all about dreams– what it means to have them, what one has to do to achieve them, what one does when other people don’t believe in your dreams, and when to consider giving up on your dreams– or alternatively, choosing to keep following them.
This is a very real story. There is no dramatic deus ex machina that produces an intense or surprising ending. Nothing magically happens to make Kevin succeed or fail. It seems pretty clear that there are thousands of Kevins in the world, people who have a goal, and who set up a plan to pursue that ambition, and work hard to achieve their heart’s desire. But even the best laid plans are no guarantee, and sometimes despite one’s best efforts, life or luck get in the way, making it exponentially difficult to get what one wants.
The pacing is steady but also leisurely. The reader gets little glimpses at the forces that might hold Kevin back, the dedication Kevin devotes to his goal, and his reasoning behind his actions. Kevin is bright and dedicated to making his dreams come true, but he is by no means perfect. Sometimes he makes mistakes or takes unnecessary risks, but more often than not he shows himself for what he is– a young man who is still figuring out how life works. This story is actually pretty short– it’s a novella rather than a full-fledged novel, but there is a lot packed into a relatively brief space.
At times one wishes that Cornell revealed a little more about Kevin’s youth and connections with his family. When certain family members are dismissive or hostile to Kevin’s goals, one gets the sense that something must have happened to their own dreams in the past that may have embittered them. Also, several passages are a little stilted and need a bit of polishing in order to flow more elegantly.
By the end of the narrative, it becomes clear that Kevin’s story does not end alongside the novella. It’s very possible that Cornell will write more about Kevin in the future, and I look forward to seeing more of Cornell’s work.
I give this book three out of four stars.
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The Compulsive Move
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