All Nighter at L&L Pub
by Joe S. Kimbrough II
PLOT SYNOPSIS
When Alfred’s niece and nephew, siblings Catherine and Joseph, take over the family farm, their different opinions and ways of doing things lead to rivalries. The division is so deep, Alfred fears it may rip the farm apart, and he summons his friend Edward to discuss his concerns. For hours at the L&L pub, the friends discuss the predicament of the farm. Can the farm remain united with two leaders or is it on the path to irreconcilable division?
Series: Single
Age Recommendation: 13+
Warning: Alcohol consumption
Faith Based: Yes
ISBN: 979-05785-1143-6
Overall
Characters
Story/Plot
Writing
Setting
Consistency
THE BOTTOM LINE
If you can put aside all expectations of what a book should be, this parable is an insightful and enjoyable read.
THOUGHTS…
All Nighter at L&L Pub, Mr. Kimbrough’s debut book, defies genre expectations. It is not an action-packed adventure, psychological thriller, romance, or, indeed, any traditional genre. This story of two people talking about a story one of them is telling crosses so many genre and stylistic lines it is hard to specify exactly where this book lands; it reads more like a parable than anything else. It is an interesting experiment but not without its challenges. The conversation-based setting of the book removes the reader from the action and makes the characters feel flat and caricatured. This is not to say that Mr. Kimbrough is relegated only to this parable-like writing. The first chapter blends thought, description, and action nicely in what is the most engrossing part of the book. After this, the book enters the conversational setting, which dominates the majority. The space bits of action formerly held the discussed stories together are repetitive and superfluous. In my estimation, it would have been better to leave out these small details and devote the entire volume to the conversation. Despite these issues, I found the story within a story to be thought provoking and atypically enjoyable as it bridged the gap between a novel and a book on theology. The writing here is quite a good effort for a budding author, and if you are interested in the parable/conversation genre of this book, it is definitely worth a read.
RANTS AND RAMBLES (SPOILER WARNING)
- One thing which Joe gets very right is the mechanical and technical accuracies of his writing. Though not a topic I usually dwell on if it was done correctly, it was mostly flawless in this book with just the odd mistake here or there. This is impressive considering these types of errors tend to plague first time authors.
- One problem I noticed is that thoughts are often repeated which artificially extends the length of the story. This is common in first-time authors, and I imagine Joe will improve with time and experience.
- I mentioned in my main review that the characters feel flat and caricatured. Part of this may stem from the experience level of the author, but a large contributor is the setting and genre of the story. Parables tend, by their nature, to invite and even be caricatures. I think this is why the characters were hard for me to connect with and why I wish to make clear that this book will not be everyone’s cup of tea. I stand behind my rating but, as with every book I review, if you are not into this genre, you may well not enjoy it.
- I want to make clear that my job when I review books is to discuss both strengths and weaknesses of the books in question. It seems that weaknesses and inconsistencies are the easiest to discuss and pick apart and so tend to dominate my discussion. Nevertheless, any particular rant (and, yes, they can be long-winded) does not necessarily have special bearing on my overall opinion. Please refer to my overall star rating for my unified opinion of the book as a whole.
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