another sunset by Jason Zandri
I received another sunset through goodreads first reads for free in exchange for an honest review.
Jason Zandri is a new author and another sunset is his first published novel (congrats Jason!). His writing style is unique; he uses mostly dialogue to move his plot forward. Style-wise, it's different than anything I have read recently. If you are looking for a "feel good" book with a lot of dialogue, this book will be perfect for you.
another sunset is about a traveling man that stops throughout random towns taking on good deeds and causes in each town. The book mainly takes place in the last town he visits, in a small town in Texas, where he meets a young girl with a dream of making her local library wired for internet. The man, David, decides to help this young girl reach her dream by guiding her along the way. He touches the hearts of all of the townspeople all while hiding a dark secret. Of course, his life secret isn't revealed until the end of the story, so it will keep you reading just to see what the heck is going on with him (because no one can be so nice and wise without having a dark past).
The sunset is a common theme throughout the novel, with David being seen on his balcony numerous times saying, "another sunset, another day done". The symbolism is kind of in your face, but some people like that. My mom eats that stuff up. There is no profanity, no sex, and no violence.
I won't criticize Zandri too much because this is his first novel, but I do hope that he finds someone else to proofread and edit his next novel, as there were some clear typos and strange grammatical issues. And personally, if I were to edit his novel, I would have suggested that he change either Charlotte's or Caroline's name because their names are so close that when I was reading the dialogue I would get confused as to whom Maria is talking to and have to go back and really look at the name.
The characters are a little too undeveloped for my taste, but it seems to be a common trend in current fiction. I also don't like the fact that Maria is stated to be a "strong and independent woman", because her actions say otherwise. The fact that Charlotte tells her that she hasn't seen her smile in 9 years made me epic eye-roll. I know it's to emphasize the fact that David is bringing light and happiness in her life, but it's kind of shame that it couldn't be shown in a different way rather than making Maria look weak and kind of pathetic. I just hate the fact that Maria had to have a man in her life to make her happy.
Overall, it's a great story line, one that you would expect to see on Lifetime or the Hallmark channel. I would figure a lot of older women would love another sunset. In fact, I am thinking about mailing it out to my grandma who will probably share it with her mates.
Some memorable quotes:
"There are a thousand ways to be richer than the sum of any money you might have."
"A really strong and independent woman is one that knows full well she can do it all but is confident enough in herself to allow someone to help."
"What you have in your heart, what you pass onto others, while you are here and after you are gone, matters more than anything else."
