The
Best of Adam Sharp is not the best of Graeme Simsion. Readers longing for the charm and humor of The
Rosie Project will find an entirely different novel in Adam Sharp. In his twenties, Adam, an itinerant IT expert, travels
from England to Australia for an assignment. While there he meets Angelina in a
pub where he plays piano in his spare time. He falls in love with Angelina, a
TV soap opera star, while being sure that she’s too good for him. They share a
love of music and the best of this novel is its use of songs as the playlist
for their lives.
Adam moves on to another assignment, returns to England
and marries Claire. They’ve been content for more than twenty years but their
marriage has hit a rough patch and they rarely share their bedroom anymore. Claire’s
involved in a business deal that may entail a move to the U.S. and both she and
Adam don’t believe that he’d follow her. Thus, when Adam receives an email from
Angelina, he’s open to her entreaties and their internet flirting escalates.
The first section of the book when Adam and Angelina’s
romance blossoms in Australia is a harmless “chick-lit” of a tale with the
musical playlist making it more than the sum of its parts. The second section
changes tone so dramatically that it feels as if the reader has entered a
different novel. When Adam heads to France to meet Angelina and her long-time
husband Charlie at their vacation home in the country, the novel takes an
ominous turn. Successful Charlie seems affable and welcoming yet his actions hint at the Machiavellian. While Adam and Angelina renew their romance, the
reader is left wondering which one of the three will be hurt or if all are victims.
The plausible ending almost
makes up for the unruly second half of the novel and the playlists and a
strange musical trivia contest add spice to the book, but The Best of Adam Sharp doesn’t work. Reading the playlists and
singing along with the songs Adam Sharp plays is enjoyable, yet the novel is
more of a flat than a sharp.
Summing
it Up: Reread The Rosie Project or
turn to the back of The Best of Adam
Sharp and stroll down memory lane via the novel’s fabulous playlist but
skip the novel itself. It’s a slog.
Rating:
2 stars
Category:
Fiction, Overcooked
Publication
date: May 2, 2017
Author
Website: http://graemesimsion.com/
What
Others are Saying:
Thank you for steering us in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteThank you, when a book veers far from the author's well-loved debut, I like to know.
ReplyDelete