“Engaging and affecting . . . The setting may draw the reader in as much as the characters do.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
This short, new novel by the author of Searching for Bobby Fischer is a story of a want to be writer, who had one, though not very successful book in him, and while he still imagines himself to be a writer, he settles for working as a pest exterminator.
As an older man he travels to Costa Rica where he meets Rachel, a very beautiful, hard working woman who runs a small lounge called The Fragata Lounge where she does everything, while her sultry sister and a Mother who is seldom around get to enjoy their lives. Rachel, thinking he is a well known writer, begins telling him her story.
Her story is what pushes the book along, and the authors beautiful writing brings this small Costa Rican village and Rachel and her family to life. The story has a Hemingway feel to it and the author himself acknowledges the heavy influence Hemingway had on his own writing.
Short and Sweet along with well done illustrations, this is a short read to be enjoyed. A book to be savored for its delicate rendering of life and love and sacrifice told through Rachel make it a book that needs to be read.
Highly recommended!
Reviewed by:
Richard Franco
Added 14th July 2021
