W a novel

The author sent a copy of his novel to me to read and review:

I don’t share the views of the other reviewers of this novel. It is written in a helter-skelter fashion with absolutely no plot or purpose. Who is W and who cares. Why are the five stories (?) written in a somewhat ergodic style? If it wasn’t for the Denmark/Norway/Greenland story, I would have to give this novel zero stars. And do the other reviewers really know who Erskine Caldwell is? Is W a novel... Southern Gothic literature? How can reviewers compare this novel to anything Caldwell wrote? And to compare John Banks novel to Mark Twain is blasphemy. The novel is written in a manner that makes it difficult to know who is who (not that I cared after fifty pages or so) and what that character’s purpose was in this novel.

The writer goes from: “W, All I hear is your crying. It isn’t like when you were a kid and you cried all the time. This is heartbreaking and I am helpless.” to “ON THE ISLAND OF GOTLAND there once lived a man named Thorbjorn who had amassed great wealth through the capture and selling of slaves.” to “DEAREST CONSTANCE, Greetings, my love, I now have been in the town of Omaha for one week, and when not purchasing supplies and equipage, and making other necessary arrangements for a long journey by “prairie schooner,” I have been in a state of joy because of your letters!” to “WILL, have you had time to watch the news lately, or have you been too busy saving the world one freeloader at a time?” to “THORDIS, ARNTHOR, AND REAL BEAR sailed to Norway to live on Arnthor’s father’s land.” to “BABY BROTHER WILLIAM, I am addressing you from the freedom of college.” to “THERE WAS A MAN living in Greenland named Einar Gunnarsson, who was also called Einar Pigshitsson, though he was rarely called this latter name within his hearing.” This is the abridged version of the author’s first 38 pages...his first chapter. I will not comment on the next 316 pages.

This will be my all-time shortest review, because I have nothing good to say about this novel. I have nothing to compare W a novel to. I issue a caveat emptor warning to anyone contemplating reading this novel.

RATING: 2 out of 5 stars

Comment: I hate rating a author’s work like I did this one. I know that it’s his baby. This is my 336th book review, so I think I know what I’m talking about. Many well established authors have lauded my reviews and my credentials via numerous emails.