Official Review: 'Rosie, Bara, Gerry & Tom'

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MarisaRose
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Official Review: 'Rosie, Bara, Gerry & Tom'

Post by MarisaRose »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "'Rosie, Bara, Gerry & Tom'" by Peter Wood Cotterill.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Rosie, Bara, Gerry & Tom: a novel by Peter Wood Cotterill is a fictional account of four first person narratives. The four main characters, Rosie, Bara, Gerry and Tom, are all connected in one way or another. Bara and Gerry were married at one time; Tom and Gerry were good friends in the past, and Rosie and Tom are lovers. However, things become a bit twisted when, one day, Gerry goes looking for Tom and runs into Rosie instead. Gerry and Rosie start up a relationship; meanwhile, a chance encounter finds Tom and Bara reconnecting. Set in England and parts of Africa, this book follows the foursome over multiple decades as they grow and their relationships change.

This book is really about people: how they face relationships, how they grow over time, and how people change but also remain the same. The most successful aspect of this book is the unique voice the author gives to each of the four main characters. Rosie, Bara, Gerry and Tom all have chapters told through their first person narration. Without reading the title of the chapter (which would start with the name of the character at the focus of the chapter), it was easy to tell who was narrating. Each of the four characters speak differently and have unique thoughts that are clearly attributed to their individual personalities. The author masterfully brought to life four unique, understandable personas, making their stories that much more interesting.

Although the author succeeded in many aspects, there were a few drawbacks to this story. First of all, when we are first introduced to Rosie, her chapters are very difficult to interpret. She is a non-native speaker and has a very thick accent, as well as a poor handle on the English language. Despite this being an accurate representation of her character, the writing style for her narration was very difficult to decipher and significantly hindered the flow of the story. However, as the story progresses and Rosie’s understanding of English improves, this is reflected in her narration, and her portions become much easier to get through.

Additionally, there were a few points in the story where the pacing dragged and it became difficult to connect with or care about the characters. Generally, I enjoyed reading about Rosie’s growth and Tom’s struggles, but I had difficulty liking Gerry or caring about Bara. This book is relatively short, and it didn’t feel like there was enough time to develop all four of the characters so the reader could feel a stake in their outcomes, leading to a lack of interest in the overall ending of the story.

Rosie, Bara, Gerry & Tom is a difficult book to rate. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the unique voice he gave to each of the four main characters. However, the general story was sometimes lacking and the pacing felt off at times, preventing me from giving it the highest rating. Therefore, I decided to rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. Readers who enjoy books about different perspectives and those interested in international stories will enjoy this author’s style.

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'Rosie, Bara, Gerry & Tom'
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

I love that the author was so successful at giving each of the characters their own voice. The pacing would definitely bother me, though. I'm not sure I'd get through the book. I'll have to think about it. Thanks!
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MarisaRose
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Post by MarisaRose »

kandscreeley wrote:I love that the author was so successful at giving each of the characters their own voice. The pacing would definitely bother me, though. I'm not sure I'd get through the book. I'll have to think about it. Thanks!
Yes - the author created vivid characters in this book. Thanks for commenting!
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Post by KeriCraven »

From your review the story sounds both interesting and maybe a little difficult. I would be bothered by the pace. There are some stories where the slow pace full of information is welcoming. Then there are stories where they are fast paced but lacking information. Thank you for your review.
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davidemkt
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Post by davidemkt »

The Author has Touch my previous relationship i was Gerry there was this girls loved me much but i didn't care at all, but there was a reason for it, and because this book has reminds my past will going to rate it "5". am happy that we sometimes learn through books and recover from our bad behavior that was bad aspect in our life, to me the author has succeed in reflect community based stories that always happen even though the Book is Fictional but i enjoy it according to the review made by online book store and i want to read it
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Post by meteku4 »

I love exploring human relationships and how interconnected we are. Your review sounds great and interesting, but I guess the story is a bit difficult.
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kislany
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Post by kislany »

Pity that the book dragged a bit at times. I enjoyed your review and thanks for being honest about the book. Not quite sure if it's for me, tbh.
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Post by Athena Moon »

I honestly got confused with the introduction of characters. I always do that when it comes to several main characters in the book, but I genuinely got interested in the questions about the relationship raised in the story. I am looking forward to learning it from the book! Thanks for the review!
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Post by kjuliah »

The book indeed has a very high impact to my heart. Every lines has a “uhg” feeling. I love it. I might read it again.
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Post by Smrity »

Pity that the book dragged a bit at times. I enjoyed your review and thanks for being honest about the book. Not quite sure if it's for me, tbh.
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Post by Kat Kennedy »

I enjoyed your review. I wondered about this book from the title. It's kind of like an old movie, Bob and Carol, Ted and Alice. The plot may be similar. It's been a while since I've seen it.
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Post by Aimy »

Your review has highlighted the interesting aspects of the book. Developing four different characters in a book which is not very long, could have been challenging for the author.
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Post by Sarah Immanuel »

Honestly this is a hard story. I was not so amused when I read it. I'd rate it 2 out of 4.
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Post by Ashley Simon »

It's too bad that the story dragged and you had difficulty connecting to the characters. I usually enjoy novels like this - I'm a sucker for first person narration. Thanks for the review, MarisaRose!
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Post by Mercelle »

This sounds like a great book but I also have trouble internalizing distorted perspectives.
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