dean01 's review for:

The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson

4.0

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This was not the book I was expecting after reading the synopsis. I'm finding it hard to review as Its been a few days since I finished it and still am not sure what I think of it. I've given it 4 stars but really it could change up or down a star. Without giving too much of the story away I would say that if you are expecting a supernatural type story with some human interest drama then you will be surprised, I would say its the other way around. The story is well written and easy to follow but at times felt a little laborious. I would recommend this book more as a study of the human condition more than a tale of a man meeting the Devil.

If you are looking forward to the man meeting the Devil and the situation that develops from that then you will have to wait patiently as this portion of the story is well into the the last third of the book. For me it was worth the wait. Once I had got over the fact that this was not the story I thought it would be, I really enjoyed it for what it was. A story of how a man is influenced and molded by the environment hes lives through and ultimately how he breaks away from it. I am not sure how I feel about Gideon as a character, which I think was kind of the point of the story. For the most part I felt sorry for him.

I would say read this book if you like stories about flawed people and their struggles through life. But if you are just hooked by the Devil element of the story, still read it but don't expect to story to revolve around it.