Jake Milson wants one thing and one thing only--to win the coveted and prestigious Hollingshead Scholarship to do postgraduate work at Oxford. He intends to travel to England with his girlfriend, Rebecca. But a problem arises. Professor Gregory Percival keeps getting in his way. During Jake's struggle with Percival, the lives of Jake, Rebecca, Percival and Percival's wife, Margaret, intertwine. The novel, with its unexpected twists, draws you into the inner lives of its many captivating characters. It is a story of ambition, love, lust and revenge set against the backdrop of romantic Montreal in the early 1960's.
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About the Author:
Literary fiction at its best. Sometimes you find yourself reading a book and really feel that there isn't really anything to it. You can fly through it without any deep dialogue or thoughts from the characters, not really connecting with them at all. Mark Gordon's The Snail's Castle is not one of those books.
This novel was really well put together. The characters are well developed and I loved how they were all intricately entwined with each other. I found this to be a very deep book. I had to really immerse myself in the story to keep up to what was happening between the characters and where it was heading. I haven't read this genre lately but found myself deep in this book and wanting to follow the story without interruption. The characters are very easy to relate to. Jake is the main character and he is on a mission to attend Oxford and have his girlfriend Rebecca come along with him. Jake will do anything to achieve his goals for his future, even blackmail, sending his girlfriend into the professor’s office to see what he was looking for in the paper, which Jake received a C minus for. Jake knew of a rumor of Percival (Professor) having sex with his students and he still sent Rebecca in there. At first I was thinking oh no not another affair type of story, but really once the story line developed more and more it really took a different approach to the topic altogether.
It follows Jake and a fraternity of Jewish boys in the early 1960's while they overcome obstacles of love, school and sexuality. This book will have you hooked. I love that it was set in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and that the story deals with trials of the time and trials that are still faced to this day. The Snail's Castle is a book that Percival gives out to both Rebecca and Jake. Each takes a different path with the novel. The author gives us snippets of the book within his book that are disturbing enough to give Jake nightmares.
I give The Snail's Castle by Mark Gordon a 5 out of 5. This is a book about life and has tons of substance. Deep and light there are paths we will take while others will not. I really had a hard time putting my thoughts into words for this review as the book had my mind all over the place with the story, but in a good way. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Mark Gordon.
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~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
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