Review of Amora

[Madeleine W]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Amora" by Grant Hallstrom.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Amora by Grant J. Hallstorm is a book that talks about the impact of choices that people make during their lifetimes. This book covers both hopelessness and a feeling of renewal and forgiveness. The story follows a man and his wife as they make decisions, the good and the bad, that not only impact their family, but their entire futures. It starts with a wedding and married bliss that slowly changes due to the actions and choices that the two main characters make throughout the book.

Grant Hallstorm has done a wonderful job of using historical events that most people have a basic knowledge of and can use to help enhance the realness of this story. He notes at the beginning of his book that the book is based on real events. The way he writes the story and the details that he puts in the descriptions of clothes and the interaction of people at events, help to make it believable that these people were real, and that these events have happened. Something that was very enjoyable was the description of banquets. Hallstorm did not focus on what was in the room as much as the mood and interaction of people who were participants. This made it easier to connect with what was happening and evoke a stronger sense of participation from the reader.

There are many storylines in Amora and at times, especially at the beginning, the main storyline gets cut off to introduce a new one. This can make it a bit choppy to read at times and the storylines are not always referenced to bring a conclusion. For example when the wife, Amora, is referenced later in the book, it is not always clear why her story was left out until that point of the book. It would have been better had the author made the layout clearly a collection of individual points of view with more of an interwoven pattern, rather than the current and more isolated telling of each person’s point of view.

I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. It is an enjoyable book to read and has an interesting storyline that is engaging to the reader and interesting to follow. The choppy nature of parts of the storytelling keep it from being a full 4 stars. Trigger warning: this story does make reference to rape and child death.

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Amora
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