Review of The Bitter-Sweet Search for a Father
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Andrea Piña
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Review of The Bitter-Sweet Search for a Father
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Bitter-Sweet Search for a Father" by Patrick A. Davy.]
Something we can all relate to is family drama, and family drama is what Pete Mitchell got when he went on a search to find a father who abandoned him in his childhood. A traumatic experience for any child to go through. However, along his journey, he meets other family members who are less than welcoming. It was a perfect example of getting more than he bargained for.
Going into the book, I was immediately introduced to the universal topic of a man dealing with abandonment issues provoked by his own father. I appreciated the use of fiction to call out this problem, which is prevalent in many cultures and experienced by many people.
As I read the book, I found myself valuing the healthy and valid expression of emotions, especially by a male character, something that is very underrated in society. The themes of the story are definitely something people can relate to. Additionally, I thought that a very intriguing and distinctive style of writing was used to detail both the contexts and the emotions related to the situations in the story.
Despite many questionable decisions made by Pete Mitchell, based on a couple questionable reasons, I did find myself rooting for the main character.
That being said, I gave The Bittersweet Search for a Father 3 out of 5 stars because I considered that there were various issues with the book that should be pointed out.
For starters, my main criticism of the book was its poor editing. There were many grammatical errors, and the author frequently mixed up verb tenses within paragraphs, which made some of the story´s passages a little difficult to follow. Since that remained a problem throughout the entire book, it did discourage me from the story.
Another issue, which may be more subjective depending on the reader, was that the author's character development was considerably shallow and the introduction of each character was made superficially, to the point where, with the exception of the main character, there was no way of knowing who would be important in the story or not. Many of the characters were not fleshed out, and there was no substance to them; in other words, they were very black or white. This made the story fairly slow-paced and slightly predictable throughout the beginning and middle of the book. I will point out that towards the end of the book, it did become drastically more compelling and a lot less predictable, but it did take awhile to do so. I will also, however, call attention to how dynamic the story became by having multiple antagonists, but again, the creation and shaping of the characters is what, in my opinion, makes a story stand out.
Finally, the last thing I want to touch upon is how, narratively, some smaller events that took place in the book were slightly illogical. Even though it is a fictional story, I do believe there should be a logical construction of the narrative for it to make sense. There were many logical leaps that, as the reader, you just have to accept. These logical leaps were disguised as time gaps and quick resolutions for complications in the character's arc that were previously carefully and deliberately described as bigger problems.
Despite all of the above, the initial theme of child abandonment and the emotional detail describing the resentment and pain that come with it make the book worth recommending to individuals going through very similar situations. There were parts that were largely dramatized for fictional purposes, but there were some very entertaining aspects to them.
******
The Bitter-Sweet Search for a Father
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Something we can all relate to is family drama, and family drama is what Pete Mitchell got when he went on a search to find a father who abandoned him in his childhood. A traumatic experience for any child to go through. However, along his journey, he meets other family members who are less than welcoming. It was a perfect example of getting more than he bargained for.
Going into the book, I was immediately introduced to the universal topic of a man dealing with abandonment issues provoked by his own father. I appreciated the use of fiction to call out this problem, which is prevalent in many cultures and experienced by many people.
As I read the book, I found myself valuing the healthy and valid expression of emotions, especially by a male character, something that is very underrated in society. The themes of the story are definitely something people can relate to. Additionally, I thought that a very intriguing and distinctive style of writing was used to detail both the contexts and the emotions related to the situations in the story.
Despite many questionable decisions made by Pete Mitchell, based on a couple questionable reasons, I did find myself rooting for the main character.
That being said, I gave The Bittersweet Search for a Father 3 out of 5 stars because I considered that there were various issues with the book that should be pointed out.
For starters, my main criticism of the book was its poor editing. There were many grammatical errors, and the author frequently mixed up verb tenses within paragraphs, which made some of the story´s passages a little difficult to follow. Since that remained a problem throughout the entire book, it did discourage me from the story.
Another issue, which may be more subjective depending on the reader, was that the author's character development was considerably shallow and the introduction of each character was made superficially, to the point where, with the exception of the main character, there was no way of knowing who would be important in the story or not. Many of the characters were not fleshed out, and there was no substance to them; in other words, they were very black or white. This made the story fairly slow-paced and slightly predictable throughout the beginning and middle of the book. I will point out that towards the end of the book, it did become drastically more compelling and a lot less predictable, but it did take awhile to do so. I will also, however, call attention to how dynamic the story became by having multiple antagonists, but again, the creation and shaping of the characters is what, in my opinion, makes a story stand out.
Finally, the last thing I want to touch upon is how, narratively, some smaller events that took place in the book were slightly illogical. Even though it is a fictional story, I do believe there should be a logical construction of the narrative for it to make sense. There were many logical leaps that, as the reader, you just have to accept. These logical leaps were disguised as time gaps and quick resolutions for complications in the character's arc that were previously carefully and deliberately described as bigger problems.
Despite all of the above, the initial theme of child abandonment and the emotional detail describing the resentment and pain that come with it make the book worth recommending to individuals going through very similar situations. There were parts that were largely dramatized for fictional purposes, but there were some very entertaining aspects to them.
******
The Bitter-Sweet Search for a Father
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
