Title: Saving Rachel
Author: John Locke
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN-10: 1440172447
ISBN-13: 9781440172441
Pages: 156, Paperback & Hardcover
Genre: Fiction/Thriller
Reviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
“A succession of snippets each leaving you addicted to more,” is how I’d describe the brilliant way John Locke tells his story in Saving Rachel. Just like the old Lay’s potato chip ad, “I bet you can’t eat just one,” I’d say, “I bet you can’t read just one.” Right from the get-go he creates a seductive, sensuous, and seriously entertaining storyline laid out like a storyboard of an action movie being created.
Sam Case is a smart, successful guy, with all of the attainments of wealth and power, including the one that gets him in trouble – the one between his legs. Sam tells the story, as everything happens is seen through his eyes. Quite cleverly, John Locke juxtaposes Sam from protagonist and narrator, to what’s known in grammar as an unreliable narrator; one who gives his own understanding of a story, instead of the explanation and interpretation the author wishes the audience to obtain. It’s like in the movies, when the main character turns to the camera and says something of conversational interest to the audience yet out of character pursuant to the plot. Groucho Marx, for example, was well known for using this technique to amplify his humor. So between watching Sam, seeing what Sam sees, hearing what Sam says, thinking what Sam thinks, and having the comic relief of Sam talking directly to the reader, Saving Rachel transcends ordinary storytelling into a class of genius, a stylishly fresh and energetic genre of writing. Frankly, its books like this that makes my job so enjoyable!
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Lord Acton, 1834-1902) Poor rich Sam having absolute power over his money making scheme has succumb to the seductive womanizing world we see so prevalent in our society nowadays. His wife or his mistress – who will it be? If only he could keep his hands on his keyboard and not his zipper his world wouldn’t have been tossed – beyond a rollercoaster – more like into wormholes – and he and Rachel could have lived happily ever after. John Locke tells the truth of how carnal thinking corrupts logic, from the male point of view. The book is a bit lopsided as being written from a man’s point of view, a definite “Guys version of life on Mars.” It is just about as sexy as you can get without springing for a bikini-less photo shoot off on some exotic tropical island and publishing the novel with a fold-out center glossy.
Saving Rachel is a quick witted 147 pages, beautifully hard bound with cover art of a sadly pensive person trapped in a glass cube. It is one of three books currently authored by John Locke. For those who are unfamiliar with Locke’s writing and history, this is a perfect way to introduce you to one of the most creative contemporary talents. I’m certainly now one of his fans for life. So go ahead, pick up this book and read a chapter. “I bet you can’t read just one!”
