Title: The Friends of Allan Renner
Author: Dave J. Andrae
Publisher: Kaji Pup Press
ISBN: 9781649701282
Pages: 306
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Nicole Olson
The Friends of Allan Renner is a fun and light-hearted read. Dave J. Andrae’s writing reads much like a television show. The cast of characters that makes up Allan Renner’s circle of friends reminded me so much of the motley crew in the show “The Big Bang Theory.” Each of Renner’s friends brings something interesting to the table and the conversations Renner maintains throughout the book add interest rather than confusion. While the author shares more about Renner’s friends, he reveals the entirety of the character Allan Renner. By the end of the book, the reader knows more about Allan Renner than perhaps any of his friends.
Allan Renner’s friends make up an interesting bunch, and each have their own chapter dedicated to them. As a chapter ends so does the reader’s interaction with the character. Every chapter end feels like the end of a mini-book and the reader is left a feeling of wanting to know more about each particular friend. With this phenomenon Andrae holds a mirror up to the reader’s character and inherent human nature to be curious about other people. I found this an interesting play on human psychology. Andrae has a knack for this and I felt his little mirror being held up throughout various parts of the book.
Though Allan Renner is in his forties and unmarried, he is fortunate. He has a job, a roof over his head, freedom to travel where he likes and maintain his friendships. Though he does not have the glamorized American life with a wife and kids, Andrae shows readers that it is ok! He shows how Renner celebrates being unmarried, how he can entertain himself with various hobbies and outings with friends. Though he is a pessimist, Renner is not dreadful or morose. He is happy for his life and does not mope around dreaming about a different future. He accepts who he is and how his life turned out. There is no saga, no crisis, just a regular man in his forties with a group of friends.
Though I am younger than Allan Renner – I found myself nostalgic for my own pre-family days. I travelled the country visiting my friends and maintained correspondence with a variety of people. I kept up on a variety of hobbies and had friends related to the things I liked to do in my free time. There’s a little bit of Renner in all of us – young or old. Andrae’s book brought me back to my twenties and I enjoyed the short escape it provided. Renner inspires readers to pick up the phone and reach out to old friends, revisit memories, and even pick up new hobbies and interests – regardless of how much time has passed by.
