Official Review: Living on a prayer the meek inherit the...

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Kibet Hillary
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Official Review: Living on a prayer the meek inherit the...

Post by Kibet Hillary »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Living on a prayer the meek inherit the earth" by Donna ohs.]
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1 out of 4 stars
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Living on Prayer the Meek Inherit the Earth was written by Don Sutherland. It was formatted by Donna Ohs. The genre of the book is historical fiction. It is a very short story that can be read in one sitting. It contains ten chapters.

Don had just finished his seven-year sentence for armed robbery. He is released from prison on the day the story begins. However, he is to begin a two and a half year parole sentence on the top of the seven years. Don is very desperate. He is looking for anyone to call a friend. On the seventh day of his search, he decides to pray to God for help to find a friend. On the following day, he meets Donna. Don and Donna become intimate friends. They have to endure several struggles like homelessness together. Although Don is arrested several times for abusing drugs, Donna persists in being faithful to him.

The main theme in the book is homelessness. However, there are other themes such as love, drug addiction and its effects, religion, child neglect, poor parenting and the effect of dysfunctional families on children. Don was abandoned by his mother when he was seven-years-old. Furthermore, his mother sold a piece of land that his grandfather had given him for five hundred thousand dollars and kept the money. As a result, Don was so devastated that he ended up abusing drugs. This led to other criminal activities like armed robbery that eventually led to his imprisonment.

The book is written in a simple language. However, there are many typos in the book. Almost every page is filled with grammatical mistakes. These errors were a big distraction to the flow of the story. These errors are easily noticeable. It is apparent the editing of the book was done poorly. The shifts in the points of view was also inconsistent. The narration began with the third person point of view. However, before long, it shifted to the first person. What made it weird was that the in some scenarios, the narrator was distinct from the main character and in some the narrator was Don, the main character.

What I liked most about the book was the passion of Don in addressing homelessness and the role of the government in dealing with it. The fact that people pay taxes and some continue to be homeless disturbs Don a lot. As a result, Don dislikes the government. What I liked least was Don’s religious life. He calls himself the right-hand man of God. However, he still abuses drugs. He is also able to converse with the Devil by calling him in his mind. He is ready to do business with the devil by allowing him to take souls of those he thinks of. These will include those who give him no response when he approaches them.

The plot was fairly developed. The characters were not fully built. It was a relief that the book was short. I rate it 1 out of 4 stars. Another round of editing will be of great importance. Additionally, the book also does not fit in the historical genre as stated. It could be placed in the genre of other fiction. I do not recommend anyone to read this book in its current state.

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Living on a prayer the meek inherit the earth
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

This book sounds like it needs some serious work. The first to third person shift seems off-putting. It is also far from historical fiction which is a disappointment. Thanks for the review. I'll skip it.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

kandscreeley wrote: 21 Oct 2018, 18:48 This book sounds like it needs some serious work. The first to third person shift seems off-putting. It is also far from historical fiction which is a disappointment. Thanks for the review. I'll skip it.
Thanks for the comment. It is true that the book needs a lot of editing.
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Post by fredrick otieno »

Seems the book should be redone. But is not late, since it has a great storyline it can still be great.
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Post by KarinaBordas »

It seems that this book has such potential. It’s a shame it’s fallen short! This definitely comes across as a rough draft.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

fredrick otieno wrote: 22 Oct 2018, 03:50 Seems the book should be redone. But is not late, since it has a great storyline it can still be great.
This is true. If redone, it will make a good story. Thanks for the reply.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

KarinaBordas wrote: 22 Oct 2018, 12:52 It seems that this book has such potential. It’s a shame it’s fallen short! This definitely comes across as a rough draft.
True. This is almost like a rough draft and I hope that the author will consider developing it further.
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Post by Rosemary Khathibe »

Imagine being in prison for years, only to come out seven years later and smuggle drugs. Don is really something else. The plot seems interesting, too bad there are grammar errors and lack of character development.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Rosemary Khathibe wrote: 23 Oct 2018, 10:09 Imagine being in prison for years, only to come out seven years later and smuggle drugs. Don is really something else. The plot seems interesting, too bad there are grammar errors and lack of character development.
Sure. At times I sympathized with him but in some instances, he was not ready to change. Thanks for the reply.
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Post by Newness74 »

What made him to calls himself the right-hand man of God.when he was living in sins?
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Newness74 wrote: 26 Oct 2018, 08:36 What made him to calls himself the right-hand man of God.when he was living in sins?
It still puzzles me too. :D :D I did not get to understand how and why. Thanks for the reply.
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Post by Debjani Ghosh »

Based on your review, I could not empathize with Don due to his crimes. The shift from third-person to first-person is off-putting, and so are the grammatical errors you mentioned. I am going to skip this one. Thanks for the review!
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Debjani Ghosh wrote: 29 Oct 2018, 00:53 Based on your review, I could not empathize with Don due to his crimes. The shift from third-person to first-person is off-putting, and so are the grammatical errors you mentioned. I am going to skip this one. Thanks for the review!
True. The errors and the abrupt shifts in points-of-view are off-putting. The storyline, though short, was great. Thanks for the reply.
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Post by Jackie Holycross »

At first I thought this book really appealed to me, but the talking to the devil and the editing made me change my mind.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

teacherjh wrote: 29 Oct 2018, 22:37 At first I thought this book really appealed to me, but the talking to the devil and the editing made me change my mind.
I really enjoyed it at the start before the numerous errors began appearing. If edited, it could be a nice book. Thanks for passing by.
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