Book Review: The Trivia Man.

The Trivia Man.

Just in case you have to be somewhere, but you really want to know if I liked this book; I really did.

My favourite part of being a writer is creating characters.

This book is full of beautifully drawn characters.

Revealing the characters by using a Trivia Competition, played over several weeks, was pure genius.

The back of the book says that it is entered as a love story, and I guess that is fair enough, but it is a lot more than that.

I suspect that whoever wrote the blurb about this book either didn’t read all of it or seized on one plot line. It does not really matter because it got me to read the book, and I’m glad that it did.

I’ve been away from teaching for almost forty years now, but I do remember kids like Patrick.

Deborah handles the romance part of the story very well indeed.

We get led along, watching the two main characters floundering in a sea of romantic obstacles. I wanted these two to end up together, but the author in me did not want to see it all tied up in a pretty little bow in the final chapter. Ending an excellent story like this could be a nightmare. I’m very impressed with how she managed it.

A few words about the style of the book.

The chapters are short [for the most part], and each chapter comes from the perspective of a single character. It took me a moment to get used to this approach, but when I did, I loved it.

I’m not easy to please when it comes to reading matter. I get bored easily, so it takes an interesting book to keep my interest. I was hooked right from the start, and I looked forward to getting back to it every time I had to put it down.

If you love books where stuff explodes, and cars overturn while nubile young things embrace at every turn, then you are not going to like this book. It bravely has its two main characters as mature people seeking what we all look for, love and significance.

Deborah O’Brien’s understanding of people, and what makes them do what they do, is spectacular.

This is a book about people trying to make sense of the world they live in.

There isn’t a more interesting subject than that.

Terry R Barca.

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/deborah-obrien/the-trivia-man-9780857988027.aspx