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Ordinary: The beginning
Tom sees himself as an ordinary family man, and believes he has all he needs in life. Yet, an unexpected and intense friendship challenges everything he knows about himself, casting him into a maelstrom of emotions and revelations. This connection stirs hidden facets of Tom's identity.. As Tom grapples with this inner turmoil, his world and relationships become increasingly strained. Faced with a critical choice, Tom risks losing everything he holds dear. But is the choice really Tom's to make?
373 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 23, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 18, 2026
Tom & Michael
Ordinary — The Beginning
The story follows Tom and Michael, two coworkers. Tom is married, while Michael has recently gone through a breakup.
I feel like the promise of this book was good, but the execution needed some refinement. I liked how the story progressed, especially at the beginning when they simply enjoyed being with each other. I liked watching them develop a genuinely good friendship before anything else happened between them.
My main issue was that the majority of the story was telling rather than showing. I was told almost the entire plot instead of being allowed to experience it. I wanted the author to take a step back from the narration and let me infer things, read between the lines, and understand what the characters were feeling through their actions and interactions rather than being directly told.
For example:
“He still felt vulnerable though.”
“It was still a lingering awkwardness between them, and he hated it.”
I wanted to see that vulnerability or awkwardness between them rather than simply being told it was there.
I also struggled a little with the sentence and paragraph structure, although this is very much a personal preference of mine. The sentences were often very short, and the paragraphs were very short too, so sometimes it felt like the writing was jumping from sentence to paragraph to sentence. I would have preferred longer, more developed paragraphs and a smoother flow. That said, I did feel that the writing got better as the book progressed. The beginning was where I noticed these issues the most, and later in the book the writing felt stronger.
The “I love you” also came out of nowhere for me and felt awkward. I didn't feel like we had enough leading up to it or a strong enough progression to make that moment land. At that point, they were coworkers who had developed a nice friendship, Tom was still married, and the main couple hadn't even kissed yet. So going straight to “I love you” felt like a huge emotional jump that the story hadn't quite earned yet.
I did appreciate that the author allowed them to have some time apart. After Tom divorced his wife, he and Michael didn't immediately end up together. They were apart for a substantial amount of time, during which they grew and learned how to exist without each other. I really liked that choice because it gave their relationship some needed space.
However, overall, I still felt like everything was a bit rushed. I know it's uncommon to say this, but I actually think this book needed to be about a hundred pages longer. There was so much here that could have been explored more deeply, especially considering how complex their relationship was and everything surrounding it.
The book has so many tropes and complicated elements: cheating to be with each other, bi awakening, workplace romance, marriage, divorce, friendship turning into love, and more, but I still felt like I didn't get enough time inside those things. The foundation was there, and I liked the story itself. I just wanted more room for it to breathe, more time with the characters, and more opportunities to actually experience their relationship rather than being told about it.
But I will say that despite those issues, their relationship felt very real and honest to me. It was messy and imperfect, and I actually liked that. There were moments between them that felt like two real people trying to understand what they were feeling rather than two characters simply following a romance plot.
Ordinary — The Beginning
The story follows Tom and Michael, two coworkers. Tom is married, while Michael has recently gone through a breakup.
I feel like the promise of this book was good, but the execution needed some refinement. I liked how the story progressed, especially at the beginning when they simply enjoyed being with each other. I liked watching them develop a genuinely good friendship before anything else happened between them.
My main issue was that the majority of the story was telling rather than showing. I was told almost the entire plot instead of being allowed to experience it. I wanted the author to take a step back from the narration and let me infer things, read between the lines, and understand what the characters were feeling through their actions and interactions rather than being directly told.
For example:
“He still felt vulnerable though.”
“It was still a lingering awkwardness between them, and he hated it.”
I wanted to see that vulnerability or awkwardness between them rather than simply being told it was there.
I also struggled a little with the sentence and paragraph structure, although this is very much a personal preference of mine. The sentences were often very short, and the paragraphs were very short too, so sometimes it felt like the writing was jumping from sentence to paragraph to sentence. I would have preferred longer, more developed paragraphs and a smoother flow. That said, I did feel that the writing got better as the book progressed. The beginning was where I noticed these issues the most, and later in the book the writing felt stronger.
The “I love you” also came out of nowhere for me and felt awkward. I didn't feel like we had enough leading up to it or a strong enough progression to make that moment land. At that point, they were coworkers who had developed a nice friendship, Tom was still married, and the main couple hadn't even kissed yet. So going straight to “I love you” felt like a huge emotional jump that the story hadn't quite earned yet.
I did appreciate that the author allowed them to have some time apart. After Tom divorced his wife, he and Michael didn't immediately end up together. They were apart for a substantial amount of time, during which they grew and learned how to exist without each other. I really liked that choice because it gave their relationship some needed space.
However, overall, I still felt like everything was a bit rushed. I know it's uncommon to say this, but I actually think this book needed to be about a hundred pages longer. There was so much here that could have been explored more deeply, especially considering how complex their relationship was and everything surrounding it.
The book has so many tropes and complicated elements: cheating to be with each other, bi awakening, workplace romance, marriage, divorce, friendship turning into love, and more, but I still felt like I didn't get enough time inside those things. The foundation was there, and I liked the story itself. I just wanted more room for it to breathe, more time with the characters, and more opportunities to actually experience their relationship rather than being told about it.
But I will say that despite those issues, their relationship felt very real and honest to me. It was messy and imperfect, and I actually liked that. There were moments between them that felt like two real people trying to understand what they were feeling rather than two characters simply following a romance plot.
September 17, 2024
intriguing style of introspective writing
This book was written predominantly from the omniscient perspective which was a fascinating approach. I enjoyed being the fly on the wall for so much of this journey. On the downside, I had a hard relating to some of the characters, but that’s probably on me. I think this would make a great book club read because there are so many discussion points. I’d recommend it to a friend.
This book was written predominantly from the omniscient perspective which was a fascinating approach. I enjoyed being the fly on the wall for so much of this journey. On the downside, I had a hard relating to some of the characters, but that’s probably on me. I think this would make a great book club read because there are so many discussion points. I’d recommend it to a friend.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews