Official Review: Expect No Help: the life and times of Ju...

[Sanju Lali]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Expect No Help: the life and times of Jumpin' Jack Flash" by Cesspool Jones.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I want to tell you something about an unbeatable screwball on this planet. You would not be surprised if, by chance, he blows the world someday. The author crafted this character and named it Johnny after getting inspired by a few real-world persons and his recollection of real-life events. Johnny had grown up practicing a cavalier attitude. If one makes a list of the things screwed up by Johnny, then the list would be too big for his life. If Johnny gets his hands on anything, then that thing is destined to be getting screwed up. Do you want to be amused by reading more about Johnny’s activities? Are you interested in having a glimpse of the status quo of America from the author’s perspective? Then, Expect No Help: the life and times of Jumpin' Jack Flash by Cesspool Jones is a good book to read.

The book contains 8676 locations as viewed on Amazon Kindle, and it is divided into four parts. The story is narrated from the third-person perspective. The writing style of this book made me feel like the author is talking informally to me. This book focuses on the life of Johnny right from his childhood and up to his old age. His life revolved around Connecticut during the period between the sixties and the first decade of the twentieth century. Here, Johnny’s bad timing, strange circumstances, and his worst luck threw him into prison many times. Twice, he was fired from government jobs due to his behavior. Was Johnny able to lead a successful life in the end? Did he set up his family and took care of his children and spouse in due course? What message does the author want to give to the reader through this book? You can get the answer to all these questions by reading the book yourself.

The thing I liked the most is the bunch of comedy scenes portraying Johnny in the relevant contexts. This book gave me some insights into American politics and the perception of the people of other countries about America. I appreciate that the author did not try preaching to the reader regarding his ideas about the present-day social and political situation in America. He expressed his viewpoints only with disclaimers. The only thing that I disliked the most is too much usage of loose talks while addressing Johnny in some contexts. However, different readers may tolerate it differently.

I recommend this book to young adults and the older audience who are interested to know how was life in America during the period from the sixties to the late nineties. The book may be appealing to the readers who are curious to know how cops react when anybody frequently violates the traffic rules. Because of the wide usage of profane language as per the subject matter requirement in this book, this book may not be suitable for sensitive people. This book is not for the readers who get bored if they find themselves being rapidly bombarded by too much information on too many subjects.

After looking at the cover and the title, I picked up this book because I was expecting a funny story of a flashy-minded person in it. After reading this book, I realized that the book was quite informative on various subjects, and Johnny's character amused me a lot. At first, I was thinking of giving all the four stars for its amazing content. Later, I got the impression that this book is professionally edited because it is written in such a style that it appeared like a reported speech. I found only a few negligible grammatical errors and unintended typos. Finally, considering all the aspects of this book, I decided to rate this book with 4 out of 4 stars.

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Expect No Help: the life and times of Jumpin' Jack Flash
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[Ngozi Onyibor]

Johnny sounds like a fascinating character with an affinity for trouble. I wonder the connection his story has with foreigners' views of America. Anyway, thanks for your review.

[Harty Muli]

I find it interesting the way the author describes himself. I bet his writing is sincere and funny. Thanks for the wonderful review.

[Raluca_Mihaila]

I am not a big fan of memoirs, but Johnny seems like a funny guy! Thank you for this detailed review!

[markodim721]

I like the mix of comedy and realism in the book. Thanks for the good review.

[AbhyarnaAman]

If not for various information, I would read this book for amusing character of Johny

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for your fascinating review. Poor Johnny and his tendency to screw up things. Now I'm curious to see how he can get himself out of the mess .

[Bhuvana Subramanyam]

Thank you for the thorough review! I liked how you justified your views about the book. I am looking forward to reading it.