Review of The Real Mr. Big

[Adaokoye]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Real Mr. Big" by Ron Chepesiuk with Jesus Ruiz Henao.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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From Colombia to London, across seas and aboard planes, the man, the myth, the legend, The Real Mr. Big by Ron Chepesiuk with Jesus Ruiz Henao.

The Real Mr Big tells the story of a young boy's quest for wealth and the finer things in life drove him deep into the drug trade, and close to the pinnacle of the pecking order. The cloak of invisibility hovering above him is snatched away, revealing a story of a simple man who employed ordinary methods to achieve an extraordinary goals, in an industry known for flamboyant disregard for the sacrosanct. The message is clear, stick to your principles.

The book is fast packed, dishing a fact after another, addressing multiple factors in a short segment of the literature. As short as the book is, the authors managed to insert as much information on JR Henao's background, influences and his core values. I liked the limited amount of swearing present throughout the book. This enabled me appreciate the intensity of the idea being communicated across in those instances, as opposed to littering the book with coursework, casting a dingy unstable cloud over the universe portrayed in the story. The titular character was neither romanticised nor vilified.  Instead, his story was told from the point of view of the character in the time frame which he existed in. In the end, the present day version of the character passed his judgement on his past self, not condemning or defending, just telling it how he sees it currently.

The use of colons and quotation marks to denote direct quotes came off as an unsettling element. One of the writers was often quoted along with, and in the same manner as other speakers throughout the book. The absence of distinction made the book lack a uniform recognisable voice or point of view. I did not like this. Another thing I wasn't fond of was the presence of grammatical errors throughout the book. The book was not very well written, and thus felt rushed.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I did not give it a 1-star rating because the story was engaging enough to encourage the reader to plunge ahead despite its shortcomings. I did not give it a 3-star rating because of the grammatical errors throughout the book.

I recommend this book be professionally edited. I think the book will be suitable for individuals above the age of 13 interested in true crime.

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The Real Mr. Big
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