On The Nightstand – The Sacrifice – 7/29/2018

Interesting how things work out – in defiance of all expectations.  I’ve been deep in a book about the Taiping Rebellion in 19th century China – “Autumn In The Heavenly Kingdom” by Stephen R. Platt – a very good book but a very slow read – leaving me with nothing to review.  I’d started a new “On My Mind” series to provide an outlet for my writing and had planned to work through that series until I’d finished “Autumn”, allowing me to transition back to less weighty fare.

At the start of the day, I’d planned to put my free time into a second “Principiis” post on “Cowboy Values” until I received an email from a representative of Indrajit Garai.  It seems she’d read my “Principiis” post on “IF’ by Rudyard Kipling, wanted to know if I’d be willing to review the author’s first work of fiction – “The Sacrifice”.  As part of that request, she offered to send a free copy of the book.

It came as a complete but welcome surprise.  I responded by pointing out that I was a very new blogger / reviewer – having begun writing less than a year ago, that I had a style some might consider idiosyncratic, that at this point I only had 309 subscribers to my Blog and could in no way claim to be an influencer, that I did insist on writing balanced reviews and would likely comment on those aspects of the stories that I felt could be improved as well as those that delighted me but that I’d be more than happy to read and review “The Sacrifice”.  I also let her know that there would be no need to forward a free copy – that I preferred to purchase a copy so that the author could benefit from the transaction – something I promptly did on the Kindle Store for a price of $3.00 – and spent several hours reading through the three short stories contained therein.

Let me start by saying that both the plotting and the writing are raw and a bit unpolished, the narrative in all three stories sometimes feels choppy or disconnected, the grammar is not perfect and the book could have used some additional editing prior to release.  Those would, however, be my only real criticisms and they were easy enough to overlook for the sake of the messages these stories contain.  While I’m not blind to the fact that life in this world has never always been kind, I can’t help but escape a nostalgic notion that constant change, complexity, efficiency, size, a lack of personal connection and caring and an intangible loss of basic decency and dignity has infiltrated our lives today.  These stories attempt to spotlight the ramifications of those changes by bringing them down to a very personal level – forcing simple but honorable and deserving protagonists to struggle against the painful, impersonal and all too often dehumanizing aspects of this new world we’ve allowed to emerge and accept.

Two things kept me reading and ultimately led me to enjoy the work.  First, each of these three protagonists are truly worthy – they’re simple yet strong individuals facing almost impossible circumstances – willing to fight for principles that they’ve held and defended throughout their lives despite the increasingly implacable and ultimately devastating challenges served up by impersonal and too often uncaring world.  Each of these three individuals were honorable and worth my time – their principles and their choices captured my imagination and demanded my sympathy and support.

Secondly, in each case, there is a measure of redemption – a salvation that may not have been consistent with the outcome they so doggedly pursued but that still offered a measure of hope for a second chance or a new chapter – none of them got what they wanted but all of them got – to some extent – what they needed.  Furthermore, in each case, this salvation came about as the result of a simple act of human kindness extended by someone who’d been exposed to and recognized the worthy nature of each of the protagonists – someone who’d come to appreciate the value inherent in the choices they’d made or the way they’d chosen to live – a former business associate, a mother, a wealthy fan of a formerly successful author.

I can be a stickler when it comes to the technical aspects of writing and I’ve been harsher in the past in my criticism of some of the shortcomings I find in this writing.  I’m also mindful of the fact that I might have wanted to like this more just by virtue of the fact that someone associated with the author reached out and asked for my opinion.  Having said that, I can’t deny that each of the stories had a strong enough emotional impact that I enjoyed and appreciated them all – regardless of the weaknesses and flaws.  These were unusual but valuable reads – the kind that force you to think about your conduct and your place in the world well beyond the final page of the book.

Thanks to the author’s representative for bringing this book to my attention and for providing me with the opportunity to express my opinion.  You gifted me an enjoyable and re-affirming afternoon.