Review: "Evidence of Things Not Seen" by Lindsey Lane

Synopsis:

 

When high school junior Tommy Smythe goes missing, everyone has a theory about what happened to him. Tommy was adopted, so maybe he ran away to find his birth parents. He was an odd kid, often deeply involved in his own thoughts about particle physics, so maybe he just got distracted and wandered off. He was last seen at a pull-out off the highway, so maybe someone drove up and snatched him. Or maybe he slipped into a parallel universe. Tommy believes that everything is possible, and that until something can be proven false, it is possibly true. So as long as Tommy’s whereabouts are undetermined, he could literally be anywhere.

Told in a series of first-person narratives from people who knew Tommy and third-person chapters about people who find the things Tommy left behind—his red motorbike, his driving goggles, pages from his notebook—Particles explores themes of loneliness, connectedness, and the role we play in creating our own realities.
*(summary courtesy of Goodreads)

 

My Review:

I feel like I have been conned; a part of some bait-and-switch tactic by the author.  I'll admit that I was initially intrigued by the cover (I've always been a sucker for an amazing book cover).  Then I read the synopsis, and

I was instantly a "easy mark" for Ms Lane, the author.  Actually reading the book left me with one thought: what?

I'm all for the unknown, and I  generally appreciate books that explore and take that direction.  Nevertheless, the author seemed to be trying to achieve this element of mystery and illusion, without really grasping it; kind of like scratching the surface of a massive iceberg with a butter knife.

 

The story is comprised of a series of events told in either: first person, third person or third person omniscient.  In between each event is a note the victim, Tommy, wrote. Granted, some of these stories are somehow interconnected; some are from left field figuratively.  Almost all of them are ended abruptly like a door quickly slamming in your face.  It left me confused about how it all tied together in the big picture. 

 

The ending was anticlimactic and left me feeling a little miffed; I don't really like this book.  While Tommy prattles on and on about multiple dimensions and possibilities...I wonder, can I get my 4 hours I wasted reading this book back?

 

224 pages

Expected publication: September 16th 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

 

Rating: 🔔

 

Recommend?   No way