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Nothing
Annie lives in a cozy pink house in San Francisco and doesn't realize that her husband is hooked on meth until her world breaks into pieces. She has no idea how to put the pieces back together. One day she looks up from her desk in the Main Library and there he is: the man who will help her. She doesn't know it at the time. Her first instinct is to run.
- GenresFiction
311 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2015
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1153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 26, 2019
Riveting at times but sad. Just sad.
July 13, 2022
Read this for a critical book review project on addiction treatment. Lost its way in the last 20% but overall I enjoyed it!
June 6, 2019
When the characters start tossing throbbing clothes, it is time for me to leave. Romance novels with throbbing, thrusting, and my interest in the book is g o n e. Not going to be finished .
January 4, 2016
Nothing by Linda Naseem tells the story of a woman who discovers her drug addicted husband has got another woman pregnant, and runs away from her life. The author pulls no punches in depicting the sense of frustration and despair, and this can be a difficult read as a result. The writing is very detailed, often to the point of taking the reader out of the moment, and there are some errors in technical approach. Given that the story is written in the first person, the excess means the protagonist lacks a believable voice. However, the author has done well to depict emotional intensity, and demonstrates impressive world building skills. Naseem just needs to rein it in, and consider investing in a good editor. Perhaps she is guilty of trying a little too hard. The characterisation is well done, and it is clear to see how the author has based her writing on real experiences. This lends an element of authenticity to proceedings. Those who have endured similar problems will no doubt find a lot to relate to. Eveyone else will find an interesting and at times powerful read that requires a little polish to really shine.
February 13, 2018
A big thank you to Goodreads and Linda Naseem for the opportunity to read this as a giveaway!
***NOVEL THOUGHTS***
Linda Naseem has written a extremely provocative book about the power and grip of drug abuse and its domino effect on not only the user but the family and others who move in the same circle as the abuser. WOW! Naseem captures the warp speed of the mind of Cleo, addicted to speed for 20+ years, as she voices his thoughts and actions, feelings of paranoia, anger and hostility as the drug scatters his mind and behaviors. He is both a pathetic subject as well as vile. He is married to Annie who has her own misguided issues but who he sees as a strong, loving woman that he feels he doesn't deserve and believes he can never do right by. After a time, he returns to drug use and turns into a monster against her. The violence of their relationship is hard to read and yet the reader will continually mutter "why does she stay with him???" Why indeed. The lies and deceit and long disappearance on Cleo's part should have sent up red flags the size of Texas but because of Annie's own mix-up definition of what a good relationship looks like, she soldiers on after each of Cleo's apologies till finally, she doesn't. But she is very broken. But, there is some redemption. Call it Fate or the hand of God, but Cleo becomes a conduit to some healthy outcomes for others who have been touched by him either in a gross way, like Annie, or in a more subtle way, like Tim, a wheelchair bound salesman who feels the need to reach out to Cleo and help him as should have done for his own drug addicted brother but didn't. Annie meets Joe, a drug counselor who instantly knows she has been effected by an addict and slowly helps her understand the world of addicts by taking her NA meetings where she begins to see the writing on the wall she missed in her relationship with Cleo and she begins to learn to trust again. Tim, who has his own anger issues due to his childhood, meets a woman Elaine who changes his life forever.
The addiction problem the world is facing today is epidemic. This book is a small glimpse into that world. It doesn't answer all the questions, but it will profoundly affect your view of it. Many of the backgrounds of the characters in this story tell of tragic beginnings with adults which led them to the anger and choices they made as they grew up. Something that Joe says will stay with me. Annie asks him "Are you saying addicts aren't loved by their mothers?" To which Joe replies," No. I'm saying someone has to love the child. It doesn't matter who, really, as long as it's someone who's important to him. Someone has to stand up for him and teach him that he's valuable. A child doesn't know that unless someone tell him. A child thinks whatever his parents do to him is what he deserves." pg 155. Mind blown!
***NOVEL THOUGHTS***
Linda Naseem has written a extremely provocative book about the power and grip of drug abuse and its domino effect on not only the user but the family and others who move in the same circle as the abuser. WOW! Naseem captures the warp speed of the mind of Cleo, addicted to speed for 20+ years, as she voices his thoughts and actions, feelings of paranoia, anger and hostility as the drug scatters his mind and behaviors. He is both a pathetic subject as well as vile. He is married to Annie who has her own misguided issues but who he sees as a strong, loving woman that he feels he doesn't deserve and believes he can never do right by. After a time, he returns to drug use and turns into a monster against her. The violence of their relationship is hard to read and yet the reader will continually mutter "why does she stay with him???" Why indeed. The lies and deceit and long disappearance on Cleo's part should have sent up red flags the size of Texas but because of Annie's own mix-up definition of what a good relationship looks like, she soldiers on after each of Cleo's apologies till finally, she doesn't. But she is very broken. But, there is some redemption. Call it Fate or the hand of God, but Cleo becomes a conduit to some healthy outcomes for others who have been touched by him either in a gross way, like Annie, or in a more subtle way, like Tim, a wheelchair bound salesman who feels the need to reach out to Cleo and help him as should have done for his own drug addicted brother but didn't. Annie meets Joe, a drug counselor who instantly knows she has been effected by an addict and slowly helps her understand the world of addicts by taking her NA meetings where she begins to see the writing on the wall she missed in her relationship with Cleo and she begins to learn to trust again. Tim, who has his own anger issues due to his childhood, meets a woman Elaine who changes his life forever.
The addiction problem the world is facing today is epidemic. This book is a small glimpse into that world. It doesn't answer all the questions, but it will profoundly affect your view of it. Many of the backgrounds of the characters in this story tell of tragic beginnings with adults which led them to the anger and choices they made as they grew up. Something that Joe says will stay with me. Annie asks him "Are you saying addicts aren't loved by their mothers?" To which Joe replies," No. I'm saying someone has to love the child. It doesn't matter who, really, as long as it's someone who's important to him. Someone has to stand up for him and teach him that he's valuable. A child doesn't know that unless someone tell him. A child thinks whatever his parents do to him is what he deserves." pg 155. Mind blown!
July 20, 2019
Sad story of a drug addict’s life - and the lives of those his addiction impacts, sometimes told by his self-righteous wronged spouse, whose characterization often made it hard for me to feel sorry for her.
I found the jumping from narrator to narrator annoying. Takes a minute, sometimes, to figure out who is talking. It’s gritty. Foul language to excess, ugly situations, an exaggerated character. What’s with the rhyming crap?
I stuck with it. I don’t usually quit a book once I start. I keep looking. I found a couple of good quotes.
It’s very obvious the author is working through (writing through) some of her own unresolved anger at an addict. As someone with an addict among my loved ones, I sort of resented the characterization and found them to stereotype the victims of addiction. They aren’t all as crazy or evil as this book portrays them.
Anyway, I hated it. The ending sure didn’t do anything to change my feeling.
I found the jumping from narrator to narrator annoying. Takes a minute, sometimes, to figure out who is talking. It’s gritty. Foul language to excess, ugly situations, an exaggerated character. What’s with the rhyming crap?
I stuck with it. I don’t usually quit a book once I start. I keep looking. I found a couple of good quotes.
It’s very obvious the author is working through (writing through) some of her own unresolved anger at an addict. As someone with an addict among my loved ones, I sort of resented the characterization and found them to stereotype the victims of addiction. They aren’t all as crazy or evil as this book portrays them.
Anyway, I hated it. The ending sure didn’t do anything to change my feeling.
February 17, 2019
What a powerful book. I have never met anyone who uses drugs so this book was a real eye opener for me. It took me a while to get used to the writing style for the different characters but once I understood what the author was doing, it was easier to read. This book really made me think and give thanks for the life I have.
I won a copy of this book on a Goodreads giveaway in 2016 and have just read it now. So sorry it got buried in my TBR.
I won a copy of this book on a Goodreads giveaway in 2016 and have just read it now. So sorry it got buried in my TBR.
September 13, 2017
* I won this through Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review*
2.5 stars. This overall was pretty good. Some parts were quite heavy and too descriptive and some lost my attention. The author seems to have a very realistic view of the issues raised which I liked as ut didnt feel 'fake'.
2.5 stars. This overall was pretty good. Some parts were quite heavy and too descriptive and some lost my attention. The author seems to have a very realistic view of the issues raised which I liked as ut didnt feel 'fake'.
September 5, 2019
Gut- wrenchingly
I chose this book because it was about addiction which has been a factor in the many lives around me. I recognized so many patterns I have seen before, but I found myself hoping for the characters like real people; grieving and rejoicing with them. Still, the end was startling and thought provoking events.
I chose this book because it was about addiction which has been a factor in the many lives around me. I recognized so many patterns I have seen before, but I found myself hoping for the characters like real people; grieving and rejoicing with them. Still, the end was startling and thought provoking events.
Read
February 20, 2017This book is definitely not for readers who are offended by foul language, but generally speaking the foul language is appropriate to the given situation. At times it's difficult to follow the narrator which makes reading the book rather challenging. It's also tough at times to follow the stream of counciousness while a character is on meth, but that seems appropriate given the text. I didn't think that the characters and plot were fully developed, but the pretense of the novel is very good.
September 13, 2016
I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway!
WOW! Felt this story was heading to a climax but wasn't sure what to expect! Not what I expected. I will not spoil it for others - will just say I would recommend this book to others.
WOW! Felt this story was heading to a climax but wasn't sure what to expect! Not what I expected. I will not spoil it for others - will just say I would recommend this book to others.
November 17, 2015
This narrative promises an unflinching look at a drug addict's world - and it absolutely does not flinch. It's a paradox of addiction - when under the control of a substance - an addict feels most powerful and potent at the time when he is most powerless and lost.
Thus we go inside, and then outside, the minds of addicts whose lives are being burned away, and those who are sometimes burned, standing at the edge of the fire.
If this book was just about hurt then it would be unbearable. There is no “Hollywood ending”. But there are moments enough of honesty, redemption, and reconciliation to make this book worth a recommendation.
It is not entertaining, per se. But it is re-assuring, in a way, and a compelling read.
[Please note that a copy of this book was received free of charge in exchange for a fair and honest review - Nate Briggs, for the Kindle Book Review.]
Thus we go inside, and then outside, the minds of addicts whose lives are being burned away, and those who are sometimes burned, standing at the edge of the fire.
If this book was just about hurt then it would be unbearable. There is no “Hollywood ending”. But there are moments enough of honesty, redemption, and reconciliation to make this book worth a recommendation.
It is not entertaining, per se. But it is re-assuring, in a way, and a compelling read.
[Please note that a copy of this book was received free of charge in exchange for a fair and honest review - Nate Briggs, for the Kindle Book Review.]
September 22, 2016
Nothing by Linda Naseem is a book I won through a GoodReads giveaway. This book gave me a peak inside the world of drugs and how the loved ones of the user cope with life after finding out. I found Nothing a very intense and interesting read. It left me a bit sad, which tells me that Linda Naseem has a knack for telling a story that the reader can get immersed in.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews