Onward Toward What We're Going Toward by Ryan Bartelmay

Onward Toward What We're Going Toward by Ryan Bartelmay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm kind of amazed that I, in the end, gave this book a 3 star rating because there were times when I thought that the book was a bit boring to read, mostly because sometimes I just couldn't see a point to the story really and also that I just couldn't really like the characters, well except Lomax, but he was not long for the world. But somehow, I liked the book, just because it was so odd.

We get to follow Chic, both as a young man and as an old man in parallel storylines. So while we follow his life as a newlywed man we also get to know him as an old man in a retirement home. We also get to know his wife Diane, his brother Buddy and his wife Lijy and in later life we get to know Mary a woman that will play a new role in Chic's life.

WARNING SPOILERS

The story in this is sometimes just incredibly weird and they make decisions that just seem stupid. like Lijy getting pregnant with another man's baby, convincing Chic that it's better that Buddy thinks it's Chic's baby. I mean come on? But I still needed to find out what happens to the characters so I kept reading just to get answers to questions like will Russ, Lijy's son by the other man know who his real father is? Will Chic ever be happy? What will happen to them all? It's like reading a soap opera.

END OF SPOILERS

So in the end, 3 stars, despite being a bit boring sometimes, despite lacking any really likable characters (aww poor Lomax that he had to die so young). This book is about ordinary slightly odd characters that make decisions that sometimes seems completely stupid. Just like real people...

Thank you Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!