Review of Cooperative Lives

[Yulisa Sanchez]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Cooperative Lives" by Patrick Finegan.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

From the outside everything seems ordinary and routine. Average people, typical neighbors, simple families, all very normal until their lives are inadvertently intertwined and changed forever.

A talented writer, Patrick Finegan, author of Cooperative Lives, starts the book in a slow, easy manner. Major characters are tenants of the apartment building set in a midtown Manhattan address with Central Park and Carnegie Hall at its doorstep. The reader is eased into the story starting with George Wallis (Wally), who is one of the tenants and is a devoted husband and father as well as a brilliant hacker, then followed by everyone else. Another character is co-op tenant Mildred Whiting Blaszczyk, who not only wants to be known as a top romance writer, but also has a son who works for the government. The neighbors of the co-op all live their lives separately with little regard to the people they share a building with. The residents have their own priorities dealing with their interesting but complicated lives. The intensity progressively increases until the suspense hits its peak about halfway through the book when one day an accident involving an M7 bus brings these distant neighbors into each other's lives. Thus, the reader is left hanging over a chasm of riveting possibilities.

The book brings together separate characters and mixes their stories in an unpredictable way which left me amazed at the author's writing talent. This story has so much going for it. Packed with action and drama, yet the author does not lose the reader in the intensity of the plot as it unfolds all of its secrets.

What I like most about this book is the way the author weaves the story by changing the character’s perspective and the timeline. The author moves the characters between the present and the past to include backstories and subplots which aides in adding complexities to each character. This also creates an artificial suspense to the storyline and increases the tension as well as provides a deeper glimpse into each character’s lives. Unfortunately, this also causes a bit of confusion especially since there is no clear indication when the point of view or the plot changes. I think an extra space between the paragraphs or a symbol would have aided in recognizing when the change occurs within a chapter.

A positive aspect of the book is how the author brilliantly catches the essence of New York City. Not just the feeling in the scenes, but also the sights, sounds, and smells. The attention to detail is quite admirable especially when the author utilizes New Yorkers’ highly individualistic traits such as the lack of eye contact, lack of intimate connections, quick pace, and the unique small talk. This special writing style added an extra layer of literary artistry that thrusts the reader into the world of each character.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I could see how the book exemplifies the way simple life events can create a tangled web of intense drama. This book makes you see how inconsequential and random events can connect to create a really good story. It also showcases how we affect everyone around us, in both small and big ways, and how we can coincidentally meet people from the past again in the future. Overall, I would say this book is a great representation of the world we live in today. I found nothing I disliked about this book.

I found no grammar errors so I would say this book is professionally well edited. Based on my reading experience, I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. Anyone who enjoys a light read full of intrigue and suspense, but also shows a fantastic display of real human behavior would enjoy this book. There was some sexual content and profanity so I would say this book is not suitable for children or teens.

******
Cooperative Lives
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[markodim721]

The author's approach in which he moves the characters from the present to the past, with the inclusion of subplots, seems very interesting (although it can distract attention from the essence of the book).

[NancyDrew12]

I'm curious as to what this accident was. And why exactly does it bring them all together. I like how immersive this book seems. Lovely review!

[Paluk Pathania]

I liked how the author seems to fulfil the idea of changing 'ordinary' to something unimaginable. Not only I'm intrigued but also very curious to explore the layers of the same. Great job with the review!