R.I.P.

Alicia Rose
Trafford Publishing, Paperback, £9.99

Reviewed by Richard Morrill

A postmodern book about suicide. A down and out photographer accidentally photographs a suicide and stumbles on people killing themselves as an open collective, culminating in his own participation. A bad time for the publisher to market this book, I feel with recent suicides in Wales. I found the plot ok as it moved along in coherent order.

It takes place in a nameless location as no geographical areas are mentioned but the words the author uses seem to be very Northern England. I found the dialogue quite stilted (ie. wooden). It’s difficult to believe that people would actually speak this way. I could see this was the author’s first book. Even so some of the characters sound interesting. It’s a shame we are hardly given a chance to know or feel for them. Justin the photographer was difficult to identify with. As a person he was rather boring and shallow but he seemed to have all these women obsessed with him. In real life I doubt this would happen.

Maybe this was the author’s intent. I couldn’t figure this out. Overall, a nice try, a readable book. I would rate it about six out of ten.

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Comments:

Comment left by Mr A. Carter on 17th April, 2008 at 15:32
What one person deems a bad time to publish others may reckon otherwise. Suicide is happening every minute of every day, just a handful get publicised. Does one wait, in the good old fashioned english way to publish around this subject? nah! get it out there! this reader/reviewer has omitted to tell of the elements of enlightenment about suicide that are contained in this book.

Comment left by Greedy Jesus on 19th April, 2008 at 14:20
In light of the alarming trend of recent suicides in Wales, how can it be a bad time to publish this book? What is the perceived function of art? Art imitates life, offers social commentary and provokes a response from its audience. R.I.P deals with the growing societal sense of alienation, emptiness and lack of meaning to life. To say the protagonist Justin is "rather boring and shallow" is to completely miss the point of this novel. These are issues that affect ordinary people. Life is becoming increasingly pressured and being happy is seen by most of us as an imposssibly expensive luxury. This book dares to deal with a difficult subject matter, sensitively. This is an important story that has been well told. Open your mind, open your wallets, buy this book, it is a fantastic read.

Comment left by jean rudge on 24th August, 2009 at 13:06
Suicide! Don't we tend to try and brush this under the carpet? As of yet I have not read this book,but having come across this review I most certainly will buy it and read it with relish. As I read i hope to delve into the author's knowledge on suicide. Being an artist I have been exploring the idea of portraying suicide for quite some time now. Perhaps this book will be the influence to open my mind up some more. Wait! I ask myself why would I need my mind opening up by a book based on suicide when I have expereinced the suicide of 4 of my sisters and brothers? Their ages ranged from 19 to 28. Regardless of my past I look forward to reading this book with relish.

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