Cover 5

One Final Vinyl

One Final Vinyl

Ratings2

Average rating3.5

15

I received an ARC to give this an honest review. Now, how much honesty? To clarify, I'm partially blind, and I use a screen reader, with a robotic voice.
Why did I give this 5 stars? I'll use my usual rating system:

1. Did I put the book down?
Yes and no. I did stop for brief moments, because the narrator goes on tangents and back and forth between present moment and backstory. I am not at my best time right now, and because I related so much to this way of thinking, I had to take some healthy breaks. But, I wanted to know what happened next. As soon as I felt like I could go on with it, I did. Finished this in less than 24 hours. There goes one star.

2. What about the characters?
I couldn't relate more. This is where I'm fearing that I'll get too personal. I'll try not to.
Emma, the protagonist and narrator, suffers from anxiety, with hints at depression, and a sense of being born in the wrong time and place. OCD runs in the family, too. This is why all the going on tangents.
I'll just say that I'm dealing with my own anxiety and depression. I'll just leave it at that so I don't spoil other things.

Daisy, the old lady who shows up at Emma's home in the middle of the night, is suffering from Alzheimer's.
I'm currently working with an old lady who's going through advance stages of senile dementia and Alzheimer's.
This story hit home, and it hit hard. There goes a second star.

3. Structure?
Tangents...tangents everywhere. For the first time I see why it is narrated that way, and it fits the portrayal of Emma's psyche so well, that I can sense it comes from a real life perspective and I'm here for it. There goes the third.

4. Writing?
Savy's prose feels like a new friend that you just met at a bar, and you end up chatting through the night, only to realise that you're the last 2 to leave the bar after the music stops and the owner's like “ey-yo we're closing in 5!” Natural flow, no snob pretentiousness...I'm here for it. Fourth star.

5. Purely subjective stuff
Like I said in point 2, this book hit home, hard. Not only about the stuff I talked about, but also, music. I'll not spoil things, but there were parts where I could almost see my younger self walking in Emma's shoes, or like Emma was walking in mine. When I said “I need this book” and signed for an ARC, I just knew this, and I'm glad the book delivered.
It's a must read for 2020.

December 28, 2020Report this review