View
Ed Morawski
Reviewed by Araminta Matthews
As I started reading both Morawski's books, View and Smosaytia, I had
to continually remind myself to not judge these books by their
covers. At first glance, View looks like a teenager was set
loose with Photoshop and an earthy color scheme. It does not
"look" interesting. It does not "look" like a book I would every
pick up in a bookstore. At the same time, View begins with two of
my favorite things: Albert Einstein and a philosophical
assessment of "truth". From page one, I was curious.
Straight from its poorly rendered cover, we readers know that this book
is a "paranormal romance"; so when we meet Max, a photographer and
Sergeant in the Air Force, we are led by the nose through his failed
romances with half-illustrated women who have half-identities that are
wholly unrealistic and negative. We also can surmise that this
photographer and Sergeant is most likely a bad combination and we do
not have long to wait before we discover we are, in fact, correct about
that assumption.
Enter part two of any romance novel: the coquette. Alicia
is a psychic who works for the government and is being studied by the
government. Her employment by the government is in the field of
espionage, utilizing her remote viewing skills (the ability to see
something anywhere in the world as if it were right in front of the
person. Not unlike a psychic fly on the wall). But Alicia
is more than just the coquette – she has unimaginable powers to control
the human mind, force illness on others, resist psychic invasion, and
an ability to exert her sexuality like an alien version of a mythical
Greek nymph.
Morawski is clearly a trained writer. He demonstrates the writing
skills of consistency, plot, tension, and resolution. He fails,
however, with characterization. Specifically with
characterization of women. Where Alicia is described as having "a
little girl" demeanor with the power of a God, I can only surmise that
this "love story" is a tipped hat to Lolita. Alicia interacts as
a young teenage girl would interact, and yet she is the focus of the
attraction, she is the other half of the infatuation, she is the
supporting actress. Alicia is, like Max's lovers before her, a
half-formed identity because, as a magical being, we can never know her
whole story. She, herself, is the mystery but the mystery is
missing some spark.
Overall, this book has many things I look for in a novel:
intellectually stimulating concepts, concise writing, clear
images. It also has many things I reject in a novel:
innate, just-below-the-surface sexism and easily skip-able passages of
song lyrics and mundane action. At its best, I would say this
book is just a smidge above mediocrity. But, it's still above it.
Something
new and different- a conversation between the author and the reviewer here. A fantastic look at the
craft of writing and publishing a book!
Thank you Ed and Araminta.