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[Following is a volunteer review of "The Sojourners" by T. L. Hughes.]

In a new novel The Sojourners, T.L Hughes has created a sprawling, imaginative story of friendship, perseverance, and self discovery, that is at times mired by its own ambition. Set in 1980’s Europe with its onset in London, Mike Hogan and his friends embark upon a grand adventure that begins with the final days of their failing aspirations towards becoming famous video editors. Through a humorous narrative littered with cultural references, the friends find themselves on disparate tracks, with Mike in particular working through a breakup, and beginning the process of stripping himself of the superficiality that may have prompted the dream in the first place. Mike discovers that life has more to offer than fame, riches, or whatever might come of self-aggrandizement, and he embraces who he truly is.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Though I tend to like these sort of narratives of self discovery, what tends to make them banal is quite present here. Much of the plot is written with a moment by moment account of events that hints at a lack of a sort of editorial conciseness that generally lends import to scenes. It reads like a story twice as long as was necessary, where had the scenes had more focus, been trimmed down to the necessary, more focus could have been offered to the building of a character study, and the plot would have moved in a more free flowing way. I do not fault Hughes whatsoever for the imagination it takes to create a world populated with as much as was written, but in the end, much of it was meaningless. For those readers who adhere to the Chekhovian standard of necessity in writing, they will find there is too much purposelessness in this book. It seems the philosophical musings of the protagonist and those around him are derived from the wisdom of freshman in their dormitories, lack a strong counterpoint, and are written without a trace of irony. The poetry inserted here and there seemed like unneeded artistic flourishes that border on distraction.

The messages programmed into the plot are important, and central to the human experience, so in this aspect I did not mind the derivative nature of the plot. There is almost a sort of commentary on the commonality we all share to be read into here, however it is my opinion that the author was not doing this purposefully.

For a more sophisticated reader, this story is not nearly the worst example of this sort of trope however one might become bored early on as I did. For teens and twenty-something consumers looking for the lessons we all must learn; that we are more than our perceived purposes, that we are unique and have much to offer to the world, and that we are capable of change at any time, this may indeed be an important read. It was quite well edited, and virtually error free. In the end, a valiant effort in need of trimming.

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The Sojourners
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The sojourners by T.L Hughes is a book that explain the experiences and struggles of this world to make a living.

I, too, got quickly bored with this book. I chose it because it claimed to be "historical fiction." I guess it is a memoir that pulls in aspects of the author's childhood, such as his hometown. It also includes some history, such as the concentration camp, ancient cities, who was president, and which American songs were top hits. However, in general, it did not seem "distant" enough in the past to be considered "historical." I agree with you that some parts of the story were too detailed (especially bathroom and inebriation depictions), and the poetry did not seem to belong.

This sounds like a boring book. I may have to take a pass on this one. Thanks for the review.