A Review of A Man Like Any Other
I was alerted by several people that an excellent review had appeared on Amazon, and how delighted I was to read it! I discovered that the reviewer was Kate Wiltshire, a fellow Matador author of Benedict's Carnival. After thanking Kate, I quickly ordered her novel, as its subject matter - a new gay vicar and the maelstrom of anxieties and devotions that his appointment causes amongst his congregation - sounded right up my street. I had just ditched Calamity Physics, finding it was far too long drawn out and boring, and thus I am now entranced by Benedict's Carnival. I am just loving it and will write a proper review when I've finished it. In the meantime, here is Kate's review.
Amazon Review ***** A masterpiece of genius.
As soon as I started reading this novel I could think of little else until I reached the end. I am tempted to say the best of Susan Howatch and Joanna Trollope rolled into one - but Mary is her own person with her own unique and captivating literary style. The narrative flows fluently, with enough vividly evocative descriptions of the variety of settings and atmosphere,witout being overworked. The characters are sharply drawn and credible, if complex and bizarrely unorthodox. The dialogue is fluid and totally natural sounding, be it brisk repartee or earnest, measured conversation. And although the narrative frequently switches between different times, which can be a risky technique, in this case there is little chance of confusion as this unusual and gripping story unfolds. This is clearly the work of an experienced, perceptive, imaginative and mature author with a great future. Hopefully she will meet the certain demand for a succession of further novels of quality.
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