Title: Vice and Virtue
Author: James Sedgwick
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-5144-1136-0
Pages: 172
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Christa Hill
Pacific Book Review
Vice and Virtue has a very pretty sort of poetry to it. The introduction truly introduces the reader to the concepts and ideas which are presented more into the book. The story itself can be hard to follow at times because it is put together in a unique chapter order. To keep up with James Sedgwick’s narrative style it is an excellent addition to the book as it helps to keep the reader informed as to each of the characters.
This story is about a narrator’s obsession with some characters that he meets in a café/bar. As the story moves along we see the main characters move through different emotions and situations. Each chapter has a virtue or a vice that Sedgwick uses his characters to explain.
As the reader the book can become convoluted trying to piece together the story from the mismatched chapter order. The narrator, Leonid, turns over different vices that he suffers from. Throughout the course of the story the narrator takes people from his
everyday life and uses them for his mini reflections. Many of the virtues chapters are difficult to identify as they are veiled by the continuation of the story. James Sedgwick, has numerous ideas about how to translate a concept into a story. He prompts the readers to think more deeply about the seeds and nuggets that he presents.
Overall, I found the Vice and Virtue unique and more poetic than most novels; however it felt like a story written from personal dreams and thoughts and vivid worldviews. Still his work is entirely original and organized with a purpose. It was interesting for me to see a book formed in this way.
