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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Hopefawn Levenson Reviews Cochran Novel

Title: In Love with Eleanor Rigby
Author: Stacey Cochran.
Author's Web site: http://www.staceycochran.com/

ISBN: 9781456595814.

Reviewed by Hopefawn Levenson for Bookstove.com .


Stacey Cochran's four star novellette, “In Love with Eleanor Rigby” is a snack of a story which fills you up and tides you over well until your next meal. Concise and neat, the story has a positive message for people looking for a fresh start or for acceptance.
Cochran’s stream of conscious style of writing in this book reminds me a bit of William S. Burroughs, “Naked Lunch,"  but simpler to digest and enjoy. Noticeably, “In Love with Eleanor Rigby” is ironically about a life rebuilding from the start and not the self-indulgent wallowing of a substance abuser from the bottom of an intoxicating bottle or dropper. The first person perspective offers a look into the psyche and heart of a man struggling with an affliction of his soul. We get an excellent first hand account of the fight or flight phenomenon.

As a protagonist goes, Joe, a likeable carpenter and recovering alcoholic, has an easy manner in spite of his awkward interactions with the his love interest, Tabitha Merriweather and the real world. His struggle to be honest about his dark places inside with someone new is tense and touches a raw nerve in anyone who has wanted to be loved authentically.

If you have a sensitive bone in your body, whether you’ve struggled with the disease of addiction personally or through someone else, or perhaps not at all, this is a poignant, often funny-bone tickling, engaging read.

Mr. Cochran is author of such works as; The Colorado Sequence, Amber Page, and The Legend of the Coral Stone.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

1 comment:

Janey said...

I'm trying to get through a list of 100 books to read before you die, and I love finding those few gems that I could read over and over :) Seems like you found your own gems with this author. Maybe I'll add them to my list!