Review of The Society of Living Poets

[Mary Lou Mills]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Society of Living Poets" by Andrew McCollister.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Society of Living Poets by Andrew McCollister is the story of four eclectic individuals who form a group to share their poetry. Tyler, a good-looking but deviant Bostonian, finds it easy to attract targets to act out his inner wolf. The only people who recognize that we all wear masks are his dead brother and Adam. Harold’s story is told in the letters that he writes to Adam. For the most part, we only see Harold’s letters. There is one letter from Adam. Harold is at a seminary in Cleveland, preparing to be a Catholic priest. Everyone seems to know that Harold is gay except Harold. He has an assignment to write a letter to someone asking forgiveness. He asks Adam to forgive him for any undue pressure he put on him. Much of Sarah’s story is told through her sessions with her therapist, Brian. She is from North Carolina but has spent time in New York City. There is some fabrication in the tale she weaves for Brian. After all, she loves to write stories. She is still in love with Adam. Adam is also from North Carolina, but he moves to California. Adam’s story is intertwined with everyone else. He is the most mysterious and the most influential. I encourage you to read this book to solve the puzzle.

I like the way that this book drew me in. As I read each person’s story, I felt like I was putting together the pieces of a puzzle. The diverse characters played an important part in the story of each of the other characters. All four members of the club are highly intelligent. I enjoyed this book so much that I read it a second time! I didn’t want to miss anything.

The only thing that I didn’t like about this book is that Sarah’s story jumped around to different time frames. I would have preferred to read it sequentially.

I rate The Society of Living Poets 4 out of 4 stars. Although an editor was mentioned, I found several errors. There was a whole page of conversation between Sarah and Adam that was repeated word for word. I found that distracting. I wondered at first if my Kindle had jumped back to an earlier point in the book. Regardless, the characters were well developed and consistent throughout the book. It's very rare that I would spend the time to read a book the second time.

I recommend this book to mature audiences who are tolerant of liberal views and enjoy a psychological thriller. A homophobic person will not enjoy this book. Some Christian readers may be offended by Mr. McCollister’s opinions of the Catholic seminary. There is sexual content.

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The Society of Living Poets
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[markodim721]

I think both the plot and the characters are brilliantly conceived. Thanks for the good review.

[Mary Lou Mills]

I think both the plot and the characters are brilliantly conceived. Thanks for the good review.

Thank you.