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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Self-published authors have gained more public attention in the last couple of years than ever before, as ebooks have reduced the cost of production, and increased the scope for distribution. Now, you can debate the extent to which this is a good thing, but there's an undeniable curiosity about the phenomenon. Rosen Trevithick - already a successful self-published writer, has taken the zeitgeist's pulse, looked at her fellow authors (and, I suspect, at herself), and judged that the time was right to satirise the growing trend of self-published writers.
Pompomberry House, however, has wider aims than just satirising the pompous, deluded arrogant writers who think they're bringing down a centuries old publishing industry with hackneyed romance and thriller novels. Hilariously observed as these parts of the book are, these grotesques are an easy target for mockery, and probably self-indulgent to boot. So Trevithick combines this 300 page satire with a sinister murder mystery, and a dash of chick-lit flustering.
The plot twists and turns, and regular readers of mystery fiction will spot some of the twists, but by no means all of them. There is real humour and heartbreak among the disappearing evidence, sinister clues and huge red herrings. Everyone gets a dig in the ribs, from the deluded authors themselves, to fanatical readers and acerbic reviewers. Whatever the future has in store for books and publishing, Pompomberry House is an entertaining and solidly written snapshot of the 'indie' scene as it exists now, and far more accurate and plausible than some readers (ie, other authors) will like to admit.
Pompomberry House, however, has wider aims than just satirising the pompous, deluded arrogant writers who think they're bringing down a centuries old publishing industry with hackneyed romance and thriller novels. Hilariously observed as these parts of the book are, these grotesques are an easy target for mockery, and probably self-indulgent to boot. So Trevithick combines this 300 page satire with a sinister murder mystery, and a dash of chick-lit flustering.
The plot twists and turns, and regular readers of mystery fiction will spot some of the twists, but by no means all of them. There is real humour and heartbreak among the disappearing evidence, sinister clues and huge red herrings. Everyone gets a dig in the ribs, from the deluded authors themselves, to fanatical readers and acerbic reviewers. Whatever the future has in store for books and publishing, Pompomberry House is an entertaining and solidly written snapshot of the 'indie' scene as it exists now, and far more accurate and plausible than some readers (ie, other authors) will like to admit.
Once again, I find myself wishing there were degrees between three and four stars. This book is entertaining. It made me laugh a few times, and I ended up describing the plot to my husband which is a sure tip off that it was on my mind. I also couldn't predict the ending and was fooled by a little false foreshadowing.
So why not four stars? There was some weird stuff. There were a few places where the characterization was so uneven I stopped enjoying the story to try and figure out what I had missed. There was also the strange focus on the hats belonging to the main character. I don't know why that bothered me, but it did.
One other oddity was how much the style changed toward the end. Chapters would end with lines like "And then I was shot and I died." Then the next chapter would start with "Except not really, I was just playing dead." I felt like the author was sort of making fun of soap-opera-style cliffhangers, and if ONE chapter had ended like that it probably wouldn't have bothered me, but several chapters ended like that. If those endings had been scattered throughout the book instead of clumped together right at the end...
While I have listed some things that bugged me, I don't mean to imply that Pompomberry House isn't worth reading. It is. It's funny, the subject matter is timely and amusing (indie writer forums and the weird characters you encounter there), and it's well-written. It's also pretty tough to guess whodunit, and you are left wondering if the narrator will get back together with her husband - so that it is almost two mysteries in one. I just couldn't quite give it four stars. Maybe I'm becoming a grumpy, hard-to-please reviewer like Enid Kibbler in the story.
So why not four stars? There was some weird stuff. There were a few places where the characterization was so uneven I stopped enjoying the story to try and figure out what I had missed. There was also the strange focus on the hats belonging to the main character. I don't know why that bothered me, but it did.
One other oddity was how much the style changed toward the end. Chapters would end with lines like "And then I was shot and I died." Then the next chapter would start with "Except not really, I was just playing dead." I felt like the author was sort of making fun of soap-opera-style cliffhangers, and if ONE chapter had ended like that it probably wouldn't have bothered me, but several chapters ended like that. If those endings had been scattered throughout the book instead of clumped together right at the end...
While I have listed some things that bugged me, I don't mean to imply that Pompomberry House isn't worth reading. It is. It's funny, the subject matter is timely and amusing (indie writer forums and the weird characters you encounter there), and it's well-written. It's also pretty tough to guess whodunit, and you are left wondering if the narrator will get back together with her husband - so that it is almost two mysteries in one. I just couldn't quite give it four stars. Maybe I'm becoming a grumpy, hard-to-please reviewer like Enid Kibbler in the story.
3.5 stars, but I feel bad for indie writers, so I bumped it up. Funny, and us Kindle readers know how it is. Everyone either reads mysteries or romances, according to the bestsellers list. Why else was '50 shades' up there for so long? The end was rushed, I felt, with I don't know, perhaps I didn't enjoy the narrative style. It feels disjointed to say 'Oh, look, so and so grabbed a gun and is now pointing at me' (just an example) vs. 'John grabbed the heavy, loaded gun with trembling hands' or something. All in all, if you're a part of the Kindle/Amazon community or the indie writing scene, you will really enjoy this book.
Spoiler
so many characters dying.
Pompomberry House by Rosen Trevithick is one of my most anticipated book in my Kindle-owning being. So was it worth the wait and the hype and the teasing? ................ Yes, yes, yes, yes.
I'm sure I recall Rosen actually getting the idea for this particular book from a forum, where she couldn't decide between one story or the other and decided to do both. It is the tale of Kindle forum life and Indie authors, but on a much exaggerated scale (I hope ;p).
As a whodunnit, you are kept guessing all the way to the end. The characters are wonderfully larger than life and if you are a forum member, you do wonder where she got her characters from.
A wonderful easy read. If you like any of Rosen's other works, you'll adore this one.
PS, I am the proud owner of one of the seagulls on the cover :D
I'm sure I recall Rosen actually getting the idea for this particular book from a forum, where she couldn't decide between one story or the other and decided to do both. It is the tale of Kindle forum life and Indie authors, but on a much exaggerated scale (I hope ;p).
As a whodunnit, you are kept guessing all the way to the end. The characters are wonderfully larger than life and if you are a forum member, you do wonder where she got her characters from.
A wonderful easy read. If you like any of Rosen's other works, you'll adore this one.
PS, I am the proud owner of one of the seagulls on the cover :D