3 out of 4 stars
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The novel Ends of Madness by Elizabeth Tebby Germaine is an exploration into contemporary human interactions. Unlike in any other period in history, we are faced with an unprecedented influx of knowledge. Additionally, and tied to this, our complex modern lives have also given us more time in our hands than we know what to do with it. Sometimes it's simply about our wrong life choices. In this respect, the characters in this novel find themselves balancing between living their everyday lives interdependently while still searching for answers to the myriad of problems (and madness) afflicting them. The book is the final installment to the Trilogy Series including: Jonathan's Mistake, a shocking story and Jonathan and the White King.
George is the owner of the Manor House in the village of South Witters. It's attracting large numbers of people wanting to take part in its mysterious games that has even caught the attention of the local press. On the other hand, Jonathan is his friend and a former priest, who left the priesthood because he stopped believing in a lot the Bible taught. After the death of his wife, Jonathan befriends Pamela, a young woman with psychic powers. Meanwhile, he shelters his younger cousin, Natasha, who has just lost her mother and sister in a road accident and is struggling to come off a cocaine addiction, and Natasha's friend, Belinda, who is a homeless girl that suffers from psychiatric problems.
Wanting to help in the games, Jonathan brings over his household to his friend's house. No sooner do they reach than Belinda runs off in the middle of a dark and stormy night. Apparently with her condition, she couldn't cope with meeting all the new people at the Manor: George and his girlfriend, Sylvia; Anthea and her autistic brother, Hugo; and Anthea's wealthy boyfriend, Maxwell. So the games are suspended, and they start searching for Belinda for hours in the rain returning only at the break of dawn. After some frantic searching to no avail, George and Jonathan decide to involve the police. In the meantime, after some soul-searching brought up by the games and the endless pressure to create new ones, George makes a startling decision to gift the Manor House to Jonathan. For the simple reason he'll know what to do with it. As fate will have it, however, Jonathan's girlfriend is developing a heavy sense of foreboding about the Manor. Is this connected to her psychic powers? What does this mean to their developing relationship? Moreover, as if sensing the same thing, Hugo talks of some dark energy having come into the house from the grid. What is going on? And what will it mean to everyone?
Jonathan is a kind-hearted man. As the story unfolds, there is something about him which enables people to tell him their darkest secrets; or perhaps it's because he's drawn to people in desperate circumstances, like his girlfriend Pamela who has just lost a brother; Belinda who is homeless and suffers from mental problems. He is even available to offer a helping hand to his friend as he organizes the games. No wonder then George rewards his chivalrous nature by gifting him the Manor House. Notwithstanding, it's also through his inquisitive nature that I come to learn of his contentious passages in the Holy Scriptures, and of the Essenes, who are a group of ancient, mystical people who lived in Palestine.
The other characters are Pamela who helps Jonathan think things through and calms him. Through her powers, she also saved his life once while depressed and contemplating suicide. Natasha is his only remaining blood-relative to whom he can relate to. Like Jonathan, Natasha is also kind-hearted and shelters Belinda while she is stranded and helpless in London. She plays an instrumental role in availing to her the much needed psychiatric help. Lastly, George is the former owner of the Manor and who now offers it generously to Jonathan. The games are his brainchild and serve to bring people together.
I liked this novel because of its wonderful characters and language which is, surprisingly, free of profanities. Collectively, the main characters share in their charitable nature. Underneath this delicate facade, however, are individuals who are realistic and struggling with personal weaknesses. The plot of the novel revolves around the Manor and its games, on one hand, and the personal struggles of the individual characters on the other. Jonathan, the new owner of the Manor, uses it to help people by offering the space to the women's refuge in town. As the main characters and others congregate at the Manor House, their individual struggles are evident. For example, Jonathan had to relinquish his post at the church since he no longer believed in the infallibility of the Bible. Furthermore, we find him searching for alternative literature which may offer answers to his theological questions. To the contrary, George is struggling to keep alive his purpose for the Manor failing which he disposes it. The themes handled by the author include apostasy, drug addiction, psychiatric problems and suicide. The author also mentions contemporary topics like Brexit and the Syrian civil war.
The main weakness with this novel has to do with its lack of professional editing. It has a myriad of errors emanating from lack of punctuation marks on question tags, for example; lack of commas on introductory sentences, run-off sentences, spelling mistakes and typos. In short, the novel needs a thorough editing work. Some examples are: "...panic weren't we." (no comma and question mark to this question tag); "...the more he spoke to try and reassure her more frightened." (missing word); "Can I use your phone George?" (no comma with this direct address); "Hugo has been haven't you Hugo." (unclear sentence).
The novel will appeal to readers looking for alternative religious discourse. Parents and guardians needing insights on managing illnesses or conditions like drug addiction, autism, depression or other psychiatric disorders; and any general reader looking for an intriguing read on human relationships. I enjoyed the author's contemporary topics and she brought them out well. I saw myself amidst of my struggles in her narrative. She is persuasive in her delivery and has researched well on alternative religious writings. Consequently, it's a novel I would want to recommend to others. Nevertheless, because of the weaknesses in editing, I award the novel 3 out of 4 stars.
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Ends of Madness
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