Review by jasminahn -- Geraldine by Edmund M Aristone

[jasminahn]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Geraldine" by Edmund M Aristone.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Geraldine by Edmund Aristone is a story of love. It’s not a typical romance novel. It’s also the story about struggling and overcoming hurdles in life, filled with tragedy and failures.

The opening scene in this novel is the argument between Tom and his girlfriend Paula about abortion and religion. There’s no love between them and Paula decides to have an abortion and leave Tom. Tom is a 28-year-old medical surgeon whose license was suspended and he is working as a bartender. He is drinking too much and his life is in chaos. He witnessed the death of his mother and that scene is torturing him. It seems he is living a meaningless life. Then he meets Geraldine. Geraldine is a 22-year-old artist with bipolar disorder. She is stunningly beautiful, yet she chooses to be alone. Her mother suffered from the same mental disorder and committed suicide. Geraldine is convinced she will not live and will have the same fate as her mother. Tom instantly fell in love with Geraldine. He shows his desire to help her to deal with her mental health condition. Tom takes care of Geraldine and helps her go through some bad moments caused by her illness. Their love story develops with lots of twists and surprises.

What I like about this novel is that the author discusses the bipolar disorder theme. It’s great that the author brings mental health issues. A lot of people are dealing with some kind of mental disorder nowadays. Through the romance plotline, the author raises the awareness of mental health.

What I didn’t like is that this is a short novel, a very fast read. I felt it should be longer. The supporting characters in this book are likable and sympathetic, but not developed enough. The way the writer portrayed Tom in the opening chapter made it harder to believe he is a romantic hero with a sensitive side. Reds, Tom’s best friend, is very vulgar and curse a lot. There’s a lot of use of alcohol as well. Also, the writer overuses “Honey”, “Darling” and “Babe” to make a point how much Tom loves Geraldine.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it, everyone, to read, despite the above-mentioned issues. If you don’t like offensive language and use of alcohol, then it won’t be a good read for you. People who are sensitive about abortion and certain religious topics should skip this book as well.

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Geraldine
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