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The Best of Adam Sharp
From the #1 bestselling author of The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, an unforgettable new novel about lost love and second chances
On the cusp of turning fifty, Adam Sharp likes his life. He’s happy with his partner Claire, he excels in music trivia at quiz night at the local pub, he looks after his mother, and he does the occasional consulting job in IT.
But he can never quite shake off his nostalgia for what might have been: his blazing affair more than twenty years ago with an intelligent and strong-willed actress named Angelina Brown who taught him for the first time what it means to find—and then lose—love. How different might his life have been if he hadn’t let her walk away?
And then, out of nowhere, from the other side of the world, Angelina gets in touch. What does she want? Does Adam dare to live dangerously?
On the cusp of turning fifty, Adam Sharp likes his life. He’s happy with his partner Claire, he excels in music trivia at quiz night at the local pub, he looks after his mother, and he does the occasional consulting job in IT.
But he can never quite shake off his nostalgia for what might have been: his blazing affair more than twenty years ago with an intelligent and strong-willed actress named Angelina Brown who taught him for the first time what it means to find—and then lose—love. How different might his life have been if he hadn’t let her walk away?
And then, out of nowhere, from the other side of the world, Angelina gets in touch. What does she want? Does Adam dare to live dangerously?
314 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
408 people are currently reading
7831 people want to read
About the author
Graeme Simsion
39 books5,953 followersGraeme Simsion is a former IT consultant and the author of two nonfiction books on database design who decided, at the age of fifty, to turn his hand to fiction. His first novel, The Rosie Project, was published in 2013 and translation rights have been sold in forty languages. Movie rights have been optioned to Sony Pictures. The sequels, The Rosie Effect, and The Rosie Result, were also bestsellers, with total sales of the series in excess of five million.
Graeme's third novel was The Best of Adam Sharp, a story of a love affair re-kindled - and its consequences. Movie rights have been optioned by Vocab Films / New Sparta Films with Toni Collette attached to direct.
Creative Differences was originally created as an 'Audible Original' audiobook, but is now in print with a collection of short stories from across Graeme's career.
Two Steps Forward is a story of renewal set on the Camino de Santiago, written with his wife, Anne Buist, whose own books include Medea's Curse, Dangerous to Know and This I would Kill for, The Long Shadow and Locked Ward. Movie rights were optioned by Fox Searchlight. A sequel, Two Steps Onward, was published in 2021.
Graeme is a frequent presenter of seminars on writing. The Novel Project is his practical, step by step approach to writing a novel or memoir.
Graeme's third novel was The Best of Adam Sharp, a story of a love affair re-kindled - and its consequences. Movie rights have been optioned by Vocab Films / New Sparta Films with Toni Collette attached to direct.
Creative Differences was originally created as an 'Audible Original' audiobook, but is now in print with a collection of short stories from across Graeme's career.
Two Steps Forward is a story of renewal set on the Camino de Santiago, written with his wife, Anne Buist, whose own books include Medea's Curse, Dangerous to Know and This I would Kill for, The Long Shadow and Locked Ward. Movie rights were optioned by Fox Searchlight. A sequel, Two Steps Onward, was published in 2021.
Graeme is a frequent presenter of seminars on writing. The Novel Project is his practical, step by step approach to writing a novel or memoir.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,683 reviews
April 9, 2017
Adam Sharp is nearing fifty. He's had a decent turn in life as an IT contractor and he's lived with his girlfriend, Claire, for many years. But Adam has always held a torch for his first love, Angelina. For a few brief months, the two bonded and shared a relationship solidified over Adam's piano playing and music. It's been over twenty years since the pair have had any contact, but one day--out of the blue--Adam gets an email from Angelina. She's married to her husband, Charlie, with three kids. Still, the emails quickly turn flirty and Adam starts to wonder what her intent is. Getting back in contact certainly brings up all his old feelings for Angelina and the past.
The book begins with present-day Adam remembering back on his relationship with Angelina, filling us in on what happened. Those snippets are interspersed with updates about Adam's current life, and he eventually catches us up to the present. Those beginning portions are fairly interesting as we learn how Adam and Angelina fell in love.
Unfortunately, though, the book lacked anything comedic (one of the things so enjoyable about the Rosie series Simsion is so famous for), beyond a few funny scenes featuring Angelina's parents and family. Instead, there is just so very much talking from Adam. So very much. It would have been okay, except I never really formed a connection to his character, and I found that I really only cared so much. I felt as if I had no horse in the race--with his relationships or life in general.
In many ways, I think I might have enjoyed the book if I was just a bit older and closer in age to Adam. I didn't connect as much with the music he mentioned so frequently in the novel (despite, of course, a love for music and an understanding of how it can connect and create memories throughout one's life), nor even the idea of pining for a lost love at one's midlife (despite, of course, having loved and lost). While I felt captivated at times during the novel, as much as I hate saying this, I often just felt bored. I read the book during vacation, and it was just such a poor choice, because I found myself almost dreading picking it up, but feeling duty-bound, both because I love to read on vacation and because I needed to review it. Oh sigh.
In addition, there are just some really weird plot twists in this one--once Angelina, Charlie, and Adam are all together--that frankly it made me feel a little icky. I'm open-minded and all, but it just didn't seem right and some of it rubbed me the wrong way. It also made it even harder to become attached to the characters.
By the end, perhaps I'm cynical, but some of the love scenes didn't even move me: I just didn't care. I was tired of everyone communicating by oblique song references. Anyway, I really wanted to love this because it seemed to be an ode to music and love. And, because I loved Simsion's Rosie novels. It's not fair, really, to compare an authors work in such a way, but I couldn't help it, and I didn't enjoy the plot and characters in this one anyway. I was ready for the book to be over. It definitely had some good points, but I was mostly so disappointed and annoyed and ready to be done.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 05/02/2017.
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The book begins with present-day Adam remembering back on his relationship with Angelina, filling us in on what happened. Those snippets are interspersed with updates about Adam's current life, and he eventually catches us up to the present. Those beginning portions are fairly interesting as we learn how Adam and Angelina fell in love.
Unfortunately, though, the book lacked anything comedic (one of the things so enjoyable about the Rosie series Simsion is so famous for), beyond a few funny scenes featuring Angelina's parents and family. Instead, there is just so very much talking from Adam. So very much. It would have been okay, except I never really formed a connection to his character, and I found that I really only cared so much. I felt as if I had no horse in the race--with his relationships or life in general.
In many ways, I think I might have enjoyed the book if I was just a bit older and closer in age to Adam. I didn't connect as much with the music he mentioned so frequently in the novel (despite, of course, a love for music and an understanding of how it can connect and create memories throughout one's life), nor even the idea of pining for a lost love at one's midlife (despite, of course, having loved and lost). While I felt captivated at times during the novel, as much as I hate saying this, I often just felt bored. I read the book during vacation, and it was just such a poor choice, because I found myself almost dreading picking it up, but feeling duty-bound, both because I love to read on vacation and because I needed to review it. Oh sigh.
In addition, there are just some really weird plot twists in this one--once Angelina, Charlie, and Adam are all together--that frankly it made me feel a little icky. I'm open-minded and all, but it just didn't seem right and some of it rubbed me the wrong way. It also made it even harder to become attached to the characters.
By the end, perhaps I'm cynical, but some of the love scenes didn't even move me: I just didn't care. I was tired of everyone communicating by oblique song references. Anyway, I really wanted to love this because it seemed to be an ode to music and love. And, because I loved Simsion's Rosie novels. It's not fair, really, to compare an authors work in such a way, but I couldn't help it, and I didn't enjoy the plot and characters in this one anyway. I was ready for the book to be over. It definitely had some good points, but I was mostly so disappointed and annoyed and ready to be done.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 05/02/2017.
Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Google+
February 13, 2017
Adam is an IT consultant, has been in a relationship with Claire for over twenty years. He admits that he is currently taking more from his bank of memories than he is putting in. Somewhere in the back of his mind lurks the unforgotten love of his life, Angelina Brown. Adam is a pianist, and there are songs irrevocably entwined with his relationship with Angelina forged in Melbourne that lasted a memorable three months. Then after all these years, Angelina who married Charlie and has three children contacts Adam by email. Amidst all the arguments that he should not be engaging with her raging in his head, he cannot help but get drawn back into the intense time of his youth.
At the same time, his relationship with Claire comes to a head after years of just treading water. It's hard to escape that this is triggered by his recent connection to Angie and all the hopes and yearnings of yesteryear bubbling over amidst thoughts of resurrecting their love. To be quite frank, I did not really engage with their obstacle ridden love affair until he spends Christmas with Angie's family. In the present, Adam gets an invitation to spend a week in France from Angie and her husband, Charlie, which puzzles him but he accepts. He finds himself in the midst of a complicated scenario with Angie and Charlie where many underlying issues in their marriage emerge amidst a revival of Adam's love upon seeing Angie.
What I really tuned into is the role music plays in their lives, the way songs are seen to underpin memories, love, loss, pain, regrets and deeply imprinting life changing events within this novel. This resonates with my experience of the role music has had in my life. Specific songs and lyrics in the book make a statement, lay bare the innermost thoughts and longings that have yet to be acknowledged consciously, lock in the connections to a particular person, a period of time and so much more. Adam connects with a father that walked out on the family through music and his playing of the piano. Music is the tool to dissect relationships, coming to understand relationships and the hidden currents that run beneath the surface. And when all is said and done, whatever happens they will always have music to console and rebuild. All hail the glory and power of music! Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.
At the same time, his relationship with Claire comes to a head after years of just treading water. It's hard to escape that this is triggered by his recent connection to Angie and all the hopes and yearnings of yesteryear bubbling over amidst thoughts of resurrecting their love. To be quite frank, I did not really engage with their obstacle ridden love affair until he spends Christmas with Angie's family. In the present, Adam gets an invitation to spend a week in France from Angie and her husband, Charlie, which puzzles him but he accepts. He finds himself in the midst of a complicated scenario with Angie and Charlie where many underlying issues in their marriage emerge amidst a revival of Adam's love upon seeing Angie.
What I really tuned into is the role music plays in their lives, the way songs are seen to underpin memories, love, loss, pain, regrets and deeply imprinting life changing events within this novel. This resonates with my experience of the role music has had in my life. Specific songs and lyrics in the book make a statement, lay bare the innermost thoughts and longings that have yet to be acknowledged consciously, lock in the connections to a particular person, a period of time and so much more. Adam connects with a father that walked out on the family through music and his playing of the piano. Music is the tool to dissect relationships, coming to understand relationships and the hidden currents that run beneath the surface. And when all is said and done, whatever happens they will always have music to console and rebuild. All hail the glory and power of music! Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.
November 11, 2016
This was a pleasant enough read, nowhere near as good as The Rosie Project but then that was an exceptionally good book!
The story was good as was the pacing and I never felt the need to put the book down. I think where it was lacking for me was the characters. When the author told me Angelina and Adam were in love I heard him but I did not feel it. When later on two characters are parting for the last time and tears are streaming down their faces, not a single tear appeared in my eyes. And I am noted for weeping at the sad bits!
I enjoyed the many references to famous songs of my own youth. Simsion must be quite a music buff himself. Maybe he has his own Angelina out there somewhere too:)
I would recommend this as a beach read, a light romance with a creative story line and it won't give you panda eyes in public.
The story was good as was the pacing and I never felt the need to put the book down. I think where it was lacking for me was the characters. When the author told me Angelina and Adam were in love I heard him but I did not feel it. When later on two characters are parting for the last time and tears are streaming down their faces, not a single tear appeared in my eyes. And I am noted for weeping at the sad bits!
I enjoyed the many references to famous songs of my own youth. Simsion must be quite a music buff himself. Maybe he has his own Angelina out there somewhere too:)
I would recommend this as a beach read, a light romance with a creative story line and it won't give you panda eyes in public.
March 5, 2017
This book reads like a creepy middle-aged man's poorly-written fantasy. Unfortunately, it has none of the charm or originality of the Rosie books. Very disappointing.
February 2, 2018
I don't even know what to say. Apparently Simsion decided to write a book that would cause the majority of the readers to want to find him and kick him in he shins. If you want to read about a middle aged man who after hearing from an ex fling from 20 years ago just turns into a walking and talking cliche, pick this. If you want to read some very uncomfortable sex scenes which will cause you to want to scrub your eyes from your head, pick this. The flow is off and the very little dialogue that happens is painful. Eventually the book limps to an undeserved ending.
"The Best of Adam Sharp" is a tediously long book where the main character Adam flashbacks to when he went to Australia for work 22 years ago. Adam is in a rut. About 50 years old and living with his long time partner Claire, Adam is resigned to working periodically, playing music pub quizzes, and sleeping with his girlfriend sporadically. When Adam hears from his ex called Angelina one day, he gets the fire back in his life that he needed. What goes from there is an overly long explanation of how Adam met and started seeing Angelina.
Simsion goes from present to past okay, the book is just boring though. I never cared one whit about Angelina (who is selfish as the day is long) or Adam's relationship. I think Simsion wanted you to root for these two, but since Angelina was separated when she and Adam first met, and when she contacts him years later (married with three kids) I just felt annoyed.
What makes me laugh is Adam spends most of the book justifying what is about to come. Claire who is very successful and about to sell an in demand software which will cause her to have to relocate to the US for a number of years, definitely deserves better. She is doing her best to connect with Adam. Adam is resentful (believe me) that she is contemplating leaving.
Angelina is a mess and when we get to part two with her and Adam connecting again was a mess. I maybe read while my fingers covered my eyes.
The flow was off and writing subpar. This reads like a budget High Fidelity and doesn't work. I didn't care about Adam, the songs he talks about, and how certain songs brought back memories of Angelina. There isn't anything funny in this one. If you are expecting to laugh like you may have while reading "The Rosie Project" it's not going to happen.
The setting moves from Australia, the UK, and France.
The ending was a mess. I guess the lesson learned is cheat, just don't tell your spouse about it.
"The Best of Adam Sharp" is a tediously long book where the main character Adam flashbacks to when he went to Australia for work 22 years ago. Adam is in a rut. About 50 years old and living with his long time partner Claire, Adam is resigned to working periodically, playing music pub quizzes, and sleeping with his girlfriend sporadically. When Adam hears from his ex called Angelina one day, he gets the fire back in his life that he needed. What goes from there is an overly long explanation of how Adam met and started seeing Angelina.
Simsion goes from present to past okay, the book is just boring though. I never cared one whit about Angelina (who is selfish as the day is long) or Adam's relationship. I think Simsion wanted you to root for these two, but since Angelina was separated when she and Adam first met, and when she contacts him years later (married with three kids) I just felt annoyed.
What makes me laugh is Adam spends most of the book justifying what is about to come. Claire who is very successful and about to sell an in demand software which will cause her to have to relocate to the US for a number of years, definitely deserves better. She is doing her best to connect with Adam. Adam is resentful (believe me) that she is contemplating leaving.
Angelina is a mess and when we get to part two with her and Adam connecting again was a mess. I maybe read while my fingers covered my eyes.
The flow was off and writing subpar. This reads like a budget High Fidelity and doesn't work. I didn't care about Adam, the songs he talks about, and how certain songs brought back memories of Angelina. There isn't anything funny in this one. If you are expecting to laugh like you may have while reading "The Rosie Project" it's not going to happen.
The setting moves from Australia, the UK, and France.
The ending was a mess. I guess the lesson learned is cheat, just don't tell your spouse about it.
March 8, 2017
Vlot, onderhoudend...Adam Sharpe's leven als veertiger is saai. Zijn huwelijk met Claire, waarbij hij in een andere kamer slaapt, kabbelt rustig voort. Zijn werk biedt geen uitdaging. Af en toe speelt hij samen met vrienden een pubquiz. That's it. Hij mijmert regelmatig over z'n vroegere jeugdliefde Angelina.
Op een dag stuurt zij hem een mail (wat een verrassende wending in het verhaal...).
Adam's gevoelsleven krijgt een impuls. Op uitnodiging van Angelina gaat hij naar haar en haar man in Frankrijk. Een menage á trois...
Hier begint deel twee van het verhaal. Het eerste deel is vlot en onderhoudend geschreven, het verhaal is vlak... het kabbelt rustig voort...saai...Het tweede deel is op dezelfde manier geschreven maar heeft wel meer diepgang. Het laat je nadenken over relatie's en geeft je verschillende point of views.
Ik miste de humor van Het Rosie Project en Het Rosie effect waarbij ik af en toe hardop in lachen uitbarstte. Ik had meer van Graeme Simsion verwacht...jammer...
Op een dag stuurt zij hem een mail (wat een verrassende wending in het verhaal...).
Adam's gevoelsleven krijgt een impuls. Op uitnodiging van Angelina gaat hij naar haar en haar man in Frankrijk. Een menage á trois...
Hier begint deel twee van het verhaal. Het eerste deel is vlot en onderhoudend geschreven, het verhaal is vlak... het kabbelt rustig voort...saai...Het tweede deel is op dezelfde manier geschreven maar heeft wel meer diepgang. Het laat je nadenken over relatie's en geeft je verschillende point of views.
Ik miste de humor van Het Rosie Project en Het Rosie effect waarbij ik af en toe hardop in lachen uitbarstte. Ik had meer van Graeme Simsion verwacht...jammer...
May 19, 2017
4★
What’s a fella to do when the Love of His Life suddenly emails him saying “Hi”, and eventually “Do you want to live dangerously”? In their 20s, English visitor Adam and Aussie soapie actress Angela had a blazing, but short-lived, affair in Melbourne while she was trying to save her marriage.
What? Save her marriage with a hot affair? Mm-hmm.
There are a few times in this book where I needed to suspend disbelief, and mostly I didn’t mind – too much. Fast forward to 20 years later, and Angela is married with teen-aged children while Adam has been partnered for 20 years by Claire, no kids, but not for lack of trying.
This is Adam’s story. He’s an IT consultant of sorts (the author’s ‘real’ field) and Claire’s some kind of business guru with an important career. I didn’t pay much attention to that, nor did Adam – not really (bit of a problem, that). They had a nice life, friends for dinner, pub trivia nights, but they’ve moved into separate rooms at home (the house Claire inherited from her mother).
So, what to do?
“The day might come when I had nothing but memories, and the choice of whether to indulge my romantic side and wallow in them, or my cynical side and reflect on their reliability.”
But then he gets the emails from Angela and gets a bit reinvigorated, begins to jog, to watch his diet, and take a renewed interest in life, which includes some nice Friday night get-togethers with Claire. She’s not sure what’s triggered his enthusiasm, but it’s all good and she enjoys it.
Music has played a major role in his life – connecting him with his father, a musician, and with Angela, who met him in a piano bar where she joined him in song.
“Some musicians lose their love of music, particularly popular music, or it loses its power to move them. They are like comedians who understand how jokes are constructed or magicians who know, literally, how the trick is done. Music never lost its power for me, though I moved from playing to listening.”
If you would like to enjoy the suggestiveness of song titles and lyrics, the author has provided an extensive playlist to accompany the book, since so much of the story relies on who played or sang which songs when and to whom. For me, it was very much a case of 'You had to be there' to appreciate it. I would have missed the significance of the musical references, but he's made a point of explaining, which kind of spoils the mood a bit, I think.
As in The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, Simsion spends an inordinate amount of time on food and liquor (I think the characters tended bar in those) in France. The many croissants made me drool, and I should be impressed by his knowledge of vintages, but when they drink bottle after bottle from before dinner until the wee hours of the morning, I really can’t keep up.
There’s also a business current through the story. Adam has a pretty successful IT consultancy in England and sometimes overseas; Claire has an invitation to move her business to the US (will Adam go with her or not?); Angela has a career as an Australian equal opportunities commissioner; and Charlie (Angela’s husband, don’t forget him), is a skilled business negotiator, full of advice.
“If there’s one thing you learn in my job, it’s that more information is always better. Always. People think they’ll win a negotiation by holding back stuff, but a lot of the time there are things that you want that the other party is able to give you relatively easily. Sometimes in a way you don’t realize.”
There were a lot of sideline issues like that in the story, and I’m afraid I never cared about any of the characters or felt the passion, in spite of some colourful sex romps and some tender hand-holding. But I did actually enjoy the book overall.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted (so quotes may have changed).
What’s a fella to do when the Love of His Life suddenly emails him saying “Hi”, and eventually “Do you want to live dangerously”? In their 20s, English visitor Adam and Aussie soapie actress Angela had a blazing, but short-lived, affair in Melbourne while she was trying to save her marriage.
What? Save her marriage with a hot affair? Mm-hmm.
There are a few times in this book where I needed to suspend disbelief, and mostly I didn’t mind – too much. Fast forward to 20 years later, and Angela is married with teen-aged children while Adam has been partnered for 20 years by Claire, no kids, but not for lack of trying.
This is Adam’s story. He’s an IT consultant of sorts (the author’s ‘real’ field) and Claire’s some kind of business guru with an important career. I didn’t pay much attention to that, nor did Adam – not really (bit of a problem, that). They had a nice life, friends for dinner, pub trivia nights, but they’ve moved into separate rooms at home (the house Claire inherited from her mother).
So, what to do?
“The day might come when I had nothing but memories, and the choice of whether to indulge my romantic side and wallow in them, or my cynical side and reflect on their reliability.”
But then he gets the emails from Angela and gets a bit reinvigorated, begins to jog, to watch his diet, and take a renewed interest in life, which includes some nice Friday night get-togethers with Claire. She’s not sure what’s triggered his enthusiasm, but it’s all good and she enjoys it.
Music has played a major role in his life – connecting him with his father, a musician, and with Angela, who met him in a piano bar where she joined him in song.
“Some musicians lose their love of music, particularly popular music, or it loses its power to move them. They are like comedians who understand how jokes are constructed or magicians who know, literally, how the trick is done. Music never lost its power for me, though I moved from playing to listening.”
If you would like to enjoy the suggestiveness of song titles and lyrics, the author has provided an extensive playlist to accompany the book, since so much of the story relies on who played or sang which songs when and to whom. For me, it was very much a case of 'You had to be there' to appreciate it. I would have missed the significance of the musical references, but he's made a point of explaining, which kind of spoils the mood a bit, I think.
As in The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, Simsion spends an inordinate amount of time on food and liquor (I think the characters tended bar in those) in France. The many croissants made me drool, and I should be impressed by his knowledge of vintages, but when they drink bottle after bottle from before dinner until the wee hours of the morning, I really can’t keep up.
There’s also a business current through the story. Adam has a pretty successful IT consultancy in England and sometimes overseas; Claire has an invitation to move her business to the US (will Adam go with her or not?); Angela has a career as an Australian equal opportunities commissioner; and Charlie (Angela’s husband, don’t forget him), is a skilled business negotiator, full of advice.
“If there’s one thing you learn in my job, it’s that more information is always better. Always. People think they’ll win a negotiation by holding back stuff, but a lot of the time there are things that you want that the other party is able to give you relatively easily. Sometimes in a way you don’t realize.”
There were a lot of sideline issues like that in the story, and I’m afraid I never cared about any of the characters or felt the passion, in spite of some colourful sex romps and some tender hand-holding. But I did actually enjoy the book overall.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted (so quotes may have changed).
May 9, 2017
Adam Sharp is in a ho-hum relationship with Claire, his live-in girlfriend for over a decade. He's doing okay, but he's also bored, overweight, and feeling lonely. Life gets a little brighter, though, when Adam's ex-lover, famous actress Angelina Brown, sends him an email with just one little word: hi. Suddenly Adam doesn't feel so glum. As Claire works longer hours at her hectic job, Adam finds himself more and more captivated by Angelina. He can't help but wonder what his life would have been like had he just had the cojones to lock it down with her way back when. Lucky for him, he might get a second chance to see what could have been.
Oh dear Lord, I hated this book. It's one of the worst books I've read in a while. Don't get me wrong: the writing is fine, and I have to admit that I was always curious to know what was going to happen next. But I loathed the main female character. (MINOR SPOILER ALERT...) I don't want to give the story away, but Adam's interactions with this woman later on in the novel are beyond annoying and madonna-whore cliche: "Oh, Adam, I'm just so nervous in front of you...EXCEPT WHEN I'M RIDING YOU REVERSE COWGIRL WHILE MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH THIS OTHER DUDE WHO IS WATCHING US HAVE CRAZY WILD PERFECTO SEX!!!" I mean, what?! And it goes on like this for hundreds of pages. The shy little sex kitten angle is shallow and lazy. Women are sexual creatures, we are. But we can be sexual creatures who have brains and who also know who we are and what we want. I hated that some of the female characters in this book were so dumb and fake innocent and always TAKEN WITH THEIR MEN, swoon. Ugh. Just, no.
And the men are ridiculous, too, by the way--always in complete emotional control and quick with the cool one-liners. Even when they're scoundrels, somehow they come off as saints. It's nauseating. I think I may have legit pulled my eye muscle after all the involuntary eye-rolls I experienced.
I've never read any of this author's other books, but I know that The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect were two huge sellers. I can accept that maybe Graeme Simsion has a huge following by a target audience who loves his work...but yikes, I am not a part of that group. My two cents: do yourself a solid, and skip the hell out of this one.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the ARC.
See more of my reviews at www.BugBugBooks.com.
Oh dear Lord, I hated this book. It's one of the worst books I've read in a while. Don't get me wrong: the writing is fine, and I have to admit that I was always curious to know what was going to happen next. But I loathed the main female character. (MINOR SPOILER ALERT...) I don't want to give the story away, but Adam's interactions with this woman later on in the novel are beyond annoying and madonna-whore cliche: "Oh, Adam, I'm just so nervous in front of you...EXCEPT WHEN I'M RIDING YOU REVERSE COWGIRL WHILE MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH THIS OTHER DUDE WHO IS WATCHING US HAVE CRAZY WILD PERFECTO SEX!!!" I mean, what?! And it goes on like this for hundreds of pages. The shy little sex kitten angle is shallow and lazy. Women are sexual creatures, we are. But we can be sexual creatures who have brains and who also know who we are and what we want. I hated that some of the female characters in this book were so dumb and fake innocent and always TAKEN WITH THEIR MEN, swoon. Ugh. Just, no.
And the men are ridiculous, too, by the way--always in complete emotional control and quick with the cool one-liners. Even when they're scoundrels, somehow they come off as saints. It's nauseating. I think I may have legit pulled my eye muscle after all the involuntary eye-rolls I experienced.
I've never read any of this author's other books, but I know that The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect were two huge sellers. I can accept that maybe Graeme Simsion has a huge following by a target audience who loves his work...but yikes, I am not a part of that group. My two cents: do yourself a solid, and skip the hell out of this one.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the ARC.
See more of my reviews at www.BugBugBooks.com.
October 6, 2016
3.5 stars
Right... I should probably start this review by saying that if you expect Graeme Simsion's third novel to be anything like The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect you'll be disappointed. Especially if you expect any laugh-out-loud moments.
The Best of Adam Sharp is about an almost fifty-year-old British guy, Adam Sharp, reminiscing and longing for his "big love" - an Australian soap opera actress he met when he was twenty-six and working in Australia. The first part of the novel is pretty much dedicated to Adam and Angelina's affair. We get to learn how Adam and Angelina met, fell in love, and subsequently, broke up.
Twenty-two years later, unexpectedly, Angelina gets in touch via email. Of course, this brings back memories and sort of re-energises the somewhat dormant Adam to slim down and get a job. It also makes him realise that his twenty-year relationship with his partner, Claire, has come to an end.
Coincidentally, Angelina suggests that Adam should come to her house in a French village, where she's going to stay for a week. With her husband. Angelina's husband is an accomplished acquisitions lawyer, a great cook and wine connoisseur. Angelina is an Equal Opportunity Commissioner and the years have been kind of her, she's still beautiful at 46. Adam is in a middle of a marital crisis of sorts. Things happen. Will Adam get his second chance to be with Angelina?
Read and you'll find out.
I am a little bit conflicted about this novel. First of all, my emotional investment in the characters and their stories was pretty much zero, zip, nada. I just didn't feel it. Not even the young love, supposedly passionate affair, didn't raise my temperature or made me go mushy in any way. I don't know if it's because of the first person narration, which I thought was kind of dry and a bit too analytical, which I guess is in keeping with both Simpsion's and Adam's backgrounds in IT.
You probably don't know this about me, I am a huge music lover, from opera and classical to oldies, dance music, latino, rock (pretty much everything, but trash metal and country music). This novel comes with a soundtrack of sorts. Music is an integral, essential character in this novel. So, I am kind of bummed for not having enjoyed this novel more, especially since I'm also pretty close to the characters' age.
On an intellectual level, I had no objections to anything Simpsion wrote about: relationships are complicated; people are complicated; the everyday living has a way of numbing relationships.
It's just that I lacked an emotional connection, and I think I should have been more engaged given the many reasons, mentioned above.
When it comes to this novel, more than other times, it could easily be a case of "it's not you, it's me" situation.
What can I say? You feel what/how you feel. And my problem with this novel is that I didn't quite feel it.
I'm looking forward to finding out what others think about The Best of Adam Sharp.
It was a good novel, but somewhat sparkless.
3.5 stars
Cover: 4 stars
Right... I should probably start this review by saying that if you expect Graeme Simsion's third novel to be anything like The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect you'll be disappointed. Especially if you expect any laugh-out-loud moments.
The Best of Adam Sharp is about an almost fifty-year-old British guy, Adam Sharp, reminiscing and longing for his "big love" - an Australian soap opera actress he met when he was twenty-six and working in Australia. The first part of the novel is pretty much dedicated to Adam and Angelina's affair. We get to learn how Adam and Angelina met, fell in love, and subsequently, broke up.
Twenty-two years later, unexpectedly, Angelina gets in touch via email. Of course, this brings back memories and sort of re-energises the somewhat dormant Adam to slim down and get a job. It also makes him realise that his twenty-year relationship with his partner, Claire, has come to an end.
Coincidentally, Angelina suggests that Adam should come to her house in a French village, where she's going to stay for a week. With her husband. Angelina's husband is an accomplished acquisitions lawyer, a great cook and wine connoisseur. Angelina is an Equal Opportunity Commissioner and the years have been kind of her, she's still beautiful at 46. Adam is in a middle of a marital crisis of sorts. Things happen. Will Adam get his second chance to be with Angelina?
Read and you'll find out.
I am a little bit conflicted about this novel. First of all, my emotional investment in the characters and their stories was pretty much zero, zip, nada. I just didn't feel it. Not even the young love, supposedly passionate affair, didn't raise my temperature or made me go mushy in any way. I don't know if it's because of the first person narration, which I thought was kind of dry and a bit too analytical, which I guess is in keeping with both Simpsion's and Adam's backgrounds in IT.
You probably don't know this about me, I am a huge music lover, from opera and classical to oldies, dance music, latino, rock (pretty much everything, but trash metal and country music). This novel comes with a soundtrack of sorts. Music is an integral, essential character in this novel. So, I am kind of bummed for not having enjoyed this novel more, especially since I'm also pretty close to the characters' age.
On an intellectual level, I had no objections to anything Simpsion wrote about: relationships are complicated; people are complicated; the everyday living has a way of numbing relationships.
It's just that I lacked an emotional connection, and I think I should have been more engaged given the many reasons, mentioned above.
When it comes to this novel, more than other times, it could easily be a case of "it's not you, it's me" situation.
What can I say? You feel what/how you feel. And my problem with this novel is that I didn't quite feel it.
I'm looking forward to finding out what others think about The Best of Adam Sharp.
It was a good novel, but somewhat sparkless.
3.5 stars
Cover: 4 stars
March 5, 2017
The first half of this book wasn’t bad, if a bit twee. It tells of a young man Adam falling in love with an aspiring Australian actress when he’s on a contract in Australia. When the contract ends so does the love affair and although Adam moves on and has a relatively successful marriage he still looks back fondly on Angelina and the love that might have been. So far so good. I’m sure many people have an old romance that sticks in their minds and they sometimes wonder “what if….” However the second half of the book is just terrible. Out of the blue Angelina gets back in touch. Nothing so unusual there – but what transpires is really quite ridiculous and the characters lose all authenticity. I finished in order to write this review, but what a chore it was. Seems to me that a good idea went completely to pot as the author just didn’t know how to convincingly complete the novel and so got side-tracked into some very silly ideas indeed.
December 11, 2016
I've just wasted a whole weekend reading this and am bitterly, bitterly disappointed. I had high hopes for it. If it wasn't a library book I would use it to line the bin.
I hated it. I didn't mind the narrator's voice for the first half but by the end I was hoping that all the characters would spontaneously combust so I wouldn't have to endure any more whining naval gazing.
I detested all the characters. They were selfish and spoilt and lacked any real dimension. I tried to care about what was going on but felt nothing for them. They were "blah" at best. I'm just angry at myself for persisting.
The story was neither clever or thought provoking. It was long and served zero purpose. I felt a bit betrayed by the author. I just thought that the author of Rosie would have a little more to offer. Never again!
I hated it. I didn't mind the narrator's voice for the first half but by the end I was hoping that all the characters would spontaneously combust so I wouldn't have to endure any more whining naval gazing.
I detested all the characters. They were selfish and spoilt and lacked any real dimension. I tried to care about what was going on but felt nothing for them. They were "blah" at best. I'm just angry at myself for persisting.
The story was neither clever or thought provoking. It was long and served zero purpose. I felt a bit betrayed by the author. I just thought that the author of Rosie would have a little more to offer. Never again!
December 5, 2016
What a weird novel. Fiftyish data analyst in a dreary but committed two decade relationship happens to end up in a week-long ménage-a-trois with the actress he had a fling with 22 years ago... with her husband's consent and presence. For the second half of this book I was just thinking Graeme Simsion is a weird sick guy who's just written out his own strange fantasy. But then turns it into a half hearted morality play to make us think he's not so wacko after all.
And she chooses the husband who was willing to offer sex with her as the prize for winning a bet...
"Hey guys adultery is ok, just don't tell anyone about it and it'll be fine. But your spouse might even encourage it to make up for their own guilt! Then you can sleep with the person you've pined for after all those decades! And it'll be amazing! And when the husband catches them in the act they'll still all hang out with him for two days before anyone brings it up!"
What a great life it must be for wealthy professionals. Sad.
And she chooses the husband who was willing to offer sex with her as the prize for winning a bet...
"Hey guys adultery is ok, just don't tell anyone about it and it'll be fine. But your spouse might even encourage it to make up for their own guilt! Then you can sleep with the person you've pined for after all those decades! And it'll be amazing! And when the husband catches them in the act they'll still all hang out with him for two days before anyone brings it up!"
What a great life it must be for wealthy professionals. Sad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2016
The Best of Adam Sharp is the third novel by best-selling Australian author, Graeme Simsion. Adam Sharp is in his late forties when an email lands in his inbox from one Angelina Brown: “Hi”. For Adam, this one-word missive is a blast from the past. It was twenty-two years ago that Adam last saw Angelina, who was, at that time (and maybe still is?) his Great Lost Love. Adam reflects on his no-longer-passionate marriage to Claire, thinks about what might have been with Angelina, and begins to wonder if her contact is a second chance for them both.
Simsion gives the reader a classic plot with a twist or two, characters whose very human flaws prove them anything but one-dimensional, and settings that are expertly rendered. By telling his story from a male perspective, Simsion is bound to gain some male readers who would usually avoid romance; by making his protagonist a pianist, he may well attract even more.
Adam’s profession may be in IT, but his passion, courtesy of his largely absent Dad, is music: playing it, listening to it and knowing all about it. Adam’s playlist (conveniently reproduced at the end of the story or see https://open.spotify.com/user/thebest...) will resonate with many of the later Baby Boomer generation. The nostalgia produced may not have the same significance for the reader as it does for Adam (or Graeme), but listening is guaranteed to generate some strong feelings and memories all the same.
Simsion splits the story in two: in Part 1, the narrative switches between Adam’s life in present day Norwich and his affair with Angelina in Melbourne twenty-two years earlier; Part 2 details the events of Adam’s week in Burgundy. The former builds a strong base for a story that then begins to teeter slightly on the shaky ground of some kinky goings-on before eventually settling into a solid conclusion.
Simsion packs quite a bit into his love story: infidelity, infertility, confidence (and lack thereof), broken marriages, passion, memories, regrets, the need for approval and pub quizzes all feature. There is some clever word play (music keys, the names of imagined offspring), also quite a lot of sex, and food, and wine, and while there is humour (some of it quite dark), The Best of Adam Sharp is a departure from the style of Simsion’s Don Tillman novels: this author clearly has more than one string to his bow. A thought-provoking and entertaining read.
Simsion gives the reader a classic plot with a twist or two, characters whose very human flaws prove them anything but one-dimensional, and settings that are expertly rendered. By telling his story from a male perspective, Simsion is bound to gain some male readers who would usually avoid romance; by making his protagonist a pianist, he may well attract even more.
Adam’s profession may be in IT, but his passion, courtesy of his largely absent Dad, is music: playing it, listening to it and knowing all about it. Adam’s playlist (conveniently reproduced at the end of the story or see https://open.spotify.com/user/thebest...) will resonate with many of the later Baby Boomer generation. The nostalgia produced may not have the same significance for the reader as it does for Adam (or Graeme), but listening is guaranteed to generate some strong feelings and memories all the same.
Simsion splits the story in two: in Part 1, the narrative switches between Adam’s life in present day Norwich and his affair with Angelina in Melbourne twenty-two years earlier; Part 2 details the events of Adam’s week in Burgundy. The former builds a strong base for a story that then begins to teeter slightly on the shaky ground of some kinky goings-on before eventually settling into a solid conclusion.
Simsion packs quite a bit into his love story: infidelity, infertility, confidence (and lack thereof), broken marriages, passion, memories, regrets, the need for approval and pub quizzes all feature. There is some clever word play (music keys, the names of imagined offspring), also quite a lot of sex, and food, and wine, and while there is humour (some of it quite dark), The Best of Adam Sharp is a departure from the style of Simsion’s Don Tillman novels: this author clearly has more than one string to his bow. A thought-provoking and entertaining read.
February 7, 2017
The best of Adam Sharp is another interesting offering from the author of the Rosie Project. While a story of multiple adulterers is certainly not as heartwarming or whimsical as the The Rosie Project, I still found it to be a unique and introspective read.
The protagonist, who seemingly wakes up one day and realizes how stale and boring his life is as he pines for the lost love of his youth, is certainly relatable to an extent. I found him to be a likable character, although admittedly as the novel continued on I found myself less fond of him.
There is a lot of inner dialogue in the book, and for a novel about infidelity and lost love it became tedious at times. For characters nearing half a century old I found them to all be rather frustratingly fickle. The back and forth, and back and forth started to grate on my nerves.
Overall though this was a decent read, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it. What drew me to the authors previous works is not found here, and the characters inability to sort out their lives (however relatable) was still annoying. Worth a read but I wouldn't recommend a buy. Middle of the road 3/5.
Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Borrow
Check out more of my reviews here
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
The protagonist, who seemingly wakes up one day and realizes how stale and boring his life is as he pines for the lost love of his youth, is certainly relatable to an extent. I found him to be a likable character, although admittedly as the novel continued on I found myself less fond of him.
There is a lot of inner dialogue in the book, and for a novel about infidelity and lost love it became tedious at times. For characters nearing half a century old I found them to all be rather frustratingly fickle. The back and forth, and back and forth started to grate on my nerves.
Overall though this was a decent read, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it. What drew me to the authors previous works is not found here, and the characters inability to sort out their lives (however relatable) was still annoying. Worth a read but I wouldn't recommend a buy. Middle of the road 3/5.
Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Borrow
Check out more of my reviews here
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
July 21, 2019
When almost 5o Adam Sharp receives a message out of the blue from the other side of the world, he begins to dwell on what might have been. Twenty years earlier he discovered how it felt to find love and lose it, his present situation and feelings are not helped by the fact that his marriage seems to have hit a rough patch. The Best of Adam Sharp explores the past and transitions during the novel to the present so the reader has a full picture of what happened and why the main protagonist feels the way he does. On a personal level, I found I became somewhat impatient and a little bored with the story during the past sections because I felt like the telling did not wholly drive the story forward, I was far more interested in the present time frame of the characters and found those chapters to be far more engaging and helped me to feel a little invested in the life of Adam Sharp and the final shape it may take.
Advance copy provided.
February 6, 2017
Check out my reviews at: www.thebuzzingbookmark.com
This book was a serious departure from the type of books that I usually read, but I was given the opportunity to read it and I actually felt like I needed a break from the murder, mayhem and twisted minds that constitute the subject matter of my favourite genres.
I had previously read The Rosie Project by this author, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and so it wasn't a total leap of faith starting this book. Let me say at the outset that the main character in this book, Adam, didn't quite have the same appeal as Don Tillman, but I liked Adam nevertheless. He's a man that's settled, he has an ordinary life, with a partner that he loves but yet the relationship lacks the passion and adoration that he would like. He has largely forgotten about the love of his life, the "one that got away", until a strange and unexpected email arrives in his inbox saying nothing but "Hi". This seemingly innocuous email has complex ramifications and before long, Adam finds himself thinking about the "what ifs", thinking about the Australian actress that stole his heart all those years ago.
This is a well written book. It's a book about every day life, about the routine that many of us settle into. But it's also a book about fate, taking chances and how, in life, we often don't appreciate the people that love us most. Was I absolutely blown away by this book? No, not really, but I did like it. To be fair to the author and the book, this isn't really my typical read and so it was going to be very difficult to blow my socks off. I did find it rather strange though, especially the second half. The story went in a direction that I didn't expect, and that I'm not too sure I really understood or could relate to. Simsion's other books are very different to this and I can't say with confidence that because you liked the others, you will like this one. Oh yes, and for those of you with a good knowledge of music, you'll get a kick out of all the references to song's throughout the book. I really liked that aspect. Overall a good read.
Many thanks to author Graeme Simsion, publisher's Penguin UK and NetGalley for my copy.
This book was a serious departure from the type of books that I usually read, but I was given the opportunity to read it and I actually felt like I needed a break from the murder, mayhem and twisted minds that constitute the subject matter of my favourite genres.
I had previously read The Rosie Project by this author, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and so it wasn't a total leap of faith starting this book. Let me say at the outset that the main character in this book, Adam, didn't quite have the same appeal as Don Tillman, but I liked Adam nevertheless. He's a man that's settled, he has an ordinary life, with a partner that he loves but yet the relationship lacks the passion and adoration that he would like. He has largely forgotten about the love of his life, the "one that got away", until a strange and unexpected email arrives in his inbox saying nothing but "Hi". This seemingly innocuous email has complex ramifications and before long, Adam finds himself thinking about the "what ifs", thinking about the Australian actress that stole his heart all those years ago.
This is a well written book. It's a book about every day life, about the routine that many of us settle into. But it's also a book about fate, taking chances and how, in life, we often don't appreciate the people that love us most. Was I absolutely blown away by this book? No, not really, but I did like it. To be fair to the author and the book, this isn't really my typical read and so it was going to be very difficult to blow my socks off. I did find it rather strange though, especially the second half. The story went in a direction that I didn't expect, and that I'm not too sure I really understood or could relate to. Simsion's other books are very different to this and I can't say with confidence that because you liked the others, you will like this one. Oh yes, and for those of you with a good knowledge of music, you'll get a kick out of all the references to song's throughout the book. I really liked that aspect. Overall a good read.
Many thanks to author Graeme Simsion, publisher's Penguin UK and NetGalley for my copy.
February 6, 2017
Approaching 50, Adam Sharp likes his life, his partner Claire and excels in music trivia, but he can't forget the affair he had over 20 years ago with Angelina Brown, an actress all about love. He wonders how his life would differ from the one he lives now. Then from the other side of the world Angelina gets in touch. What exactly does she want?
I liked the music references and I was singing along to them. I got into the first part of this novel,fairly easy but the second part for me just did not gel together.
I would like to thank NeyGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Graeme Simsion for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the music references and I was singing along to them. I got into the first part of this novel,fairly easy but the second part for me just did not gel together.
I would like to thank NeyGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Graeme Simsion for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 12, 2017
This review is also published here: http://theslattern.com/2017/04/12/the...
At some points in this book I got the feeling that I was reading an early draft rather than a finished novel. It had all the components but they didn’t quite hang together.
I feel bad for authors whose debut novels are wildly successful – they spend years perfecting their first book, it’s well-received, and then they find themselves under pressure from agents, publishers and their new fans to crank out another bestseller ASAP. At least Simsion had a buffer after the wild success of The Rosie Project
– he was able to write a light-hearted sequel with the same characters.
The Best of Adam Sharp
is the real second novel though – the one with a new cast of characters, a new tone and new scenario. Unfortunately, it seems that the temptation to rush the ‘difficult second novel’ was too much, and the finished product feels slapdash and hurried.
In the same vein as Nick Hornby and David Nicholls, Simsion explores the mind of the middle-aged, straight, white man who feels he hasn’t quite reached his full potential. Adam Sharp, now nearing fifty, is a well-paid part-time freelance database architect and amateur pianist/singer. He has a loving and supportive partner, although after 20 years together some of the passion has inevitably left their relationship. Despite his relatively privileged life, Adam can’t get over a three-month-long love affair he had a quarter of a century earlier with an Australian soap actress. So when the women in question, Angelina, gets back in touch from her seemingly settled married life, Adam is thrown into a tailspin. He leaves his home and his partner and goes to meet Angelina in a cottage in the south of France, not quite sure what to expect from their rekindled acquaintance.
The structure of the story wasn’t hugely compelling. Almost the whole first half of the book is set back in the late 1980s during the few months that Adam and Angelina were lovers. While the relationship was outlined in rather minute detail, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it; it seemed to be based mostly on garden variety mutual lust rather than any actual compatibility. It was also rather short-lived. A lot of text is given over to Adam’s regrets that he left Angelina back in Australia, but it’s unclear quite why he did it. He was a young IT contractor who had a job in New Zealand and he didn’t want to break his contract, and because of that I had no real sympathy for his pining after her 25 years later. They weren’t torn asunder by a cruel and heartless world – he just cared more about a crappy contracting job than he did about her. It’s like saying ‘you’re the love of my life but I have to leave you because I’m expected on my paper round’. Granted, Adam seems to realise later that he’d made a mistake, but really, how stupid can you get?
I also didn’t buy Angelina’s character. She’s a stunning blonde soap actress with a gorgeous singing voice – a bog standard male fantasy figure – but that really is all there is to her. She wasn’t particularly nice and often came across as a bit of a drip. She was basically just a trophy girlfriend; not the kind of person you could write a great love story about.
Something else which didn’t really work for me was the musical motif. The idea was that Adam and Angelina bonded over their shared love of music, but describing music in books is always fraught with difficulties, and conveying that certain type of trainspotter-ish obsessiveness that some people get about music trivia and lore is even more difficult. Nick Hornby pulled it off with aplomb in High Fidelity
, but here it was nowhere near as smoothly done.
Detracting from the believability as well was that this book appealed – uncritically - to the worst excesses of romanticism. The notion that a gap-year fling, cut short because of a junior database architecture contract, could have obsessed and distracted two people for half their lives, seemed a bit far-fetched. This was particularly the case for Angelina, who had model-like good looks – what exactly did she see in Adam other than the fact that he wasn’t emotionally abusive like her previous partner? At times, the whole thing felt like nothing more than a middle-aged man’s fantasy.
Finally, there were a fair few Alan Partridge-esque asides which seem to have been included in complete seriousness but which are hilarious for the mundanity:
“I offered to work from home three days a week to ease pressure on office space. Nigel got his desk back and I passed the savings in train fares back to my client”
I really enjoyed Simsion’s previous books, so I hope that now the difficult (real) second novel is out of the way, there will be a return to form.
(With thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review)
At some points in this book I got the feeling that I was reading an early draft rather than a finished novel. It had all the components but they didn’t quite hang together.
I feel bad for authors whose debut novels are wildly successful – they spend years perfecting their first book, it’s well-received, and then they find themselves under pressure from agents, publishers and their new fans to crank out another bestseller ASAP. At least Simsion had a buffer after the wild success of The Rosie Project
– he was able to write a light-hearted sequel with the same characters.The Best of Adam Sharp
is the real second novel though – the one with a new cast of characters, a new tone and new scenario. Unfortunately, it seems that the temptation to rush the ‘difficult second novel’ was too much, and the finished product feels slapdash and hurried.In the same vein as Nick Hornby and David Nicholls, Simsion explores the mind of the middle-aged, straight, white man who feels he hasn’t quite reached his full potential. Adam Sharp, now nearing fifty, is a well-paid part-time freelance database architect and amateur pianist/singer. He has a loving and supportive partner, although after 20 years together some of the passion has inevitably left their relationship. Despite his relatively privileged life, Adam can’t get over a three-month-long love affair he had a quarter of a century earlier with an Australian soap actress. So when the women in question, Angelina, gets back in touch from her seemingly settled married life, Adam is thrown into a tailspin. He leaves his home and his partner and goes to meet Angelina in a cottage in the south of France, not quite sure what to expect from their rekindled acquaintance.
The structure of the story wasn’t hugely compelling. Almost the whole first half of the book is set back in the late 1980s during the few months that Adam and Angelina were lovers. While the relationship was outlined in rather minute detail, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it; it seemed to be based mostly on garden variety mutual lust rather than any actual compatibility. It was also rather short-lived. A lot of text is given over to Adam’s regrets that he left Angelina back in Australia, but it’s unclear quite why he did it. He was a young IT contractor who had a job in New Zealand and he didn’t want to break his contract, and because of that I had no real sympathy for his pining after her 25 years later. They weren’t torn asunder by a cruel and heartless world – he just cared more about a crappy contracting job than he did about her. It’s like saying ‘you’re the love of my life but I have to leave you because I’m expected on my paper round’. Granted, Adam seems to realise later that he’d made a mistake, but really, how stupid can you get?
I also didn’t buy Angelina’s character. She’s a stunning blonde soap actress with a gorgeous singing voice – a bog standard male fantasy figure – but that really is all there is to her. She wasn’t particularly nice and often came across as a bit of a drip. She was basically just a trophy girlfriend; not the kind of person you could write a great love story about.
Something else which didn’t really work for me was the musical motif. The idea was that Adam and Angelina bonded over their shared love of music, but describing music in books is always fraught with difficulties, and conveying that certain type of trainspotter-ish obsessiveness that some people get about music trivia and lore is even more difficult. Nick Hornby pulled it off with aplomb in High Fidelity
, but here it was nowhere near as smoothly done.Detracting from the believability as well was that this book appealed – uncritically - to the worst excesses of romanticism. The notion that a gap-year fling, cut short because of a junior database architecture contract, could have obsessed and distracted two people for half their lives, seemed a bit far-fetched. This was particularly the case for Angelina, who had model-like good looks – what exactly did she see in Adam other than the fact that he wasn’t emotionally abusive like her previous partner? At times, the whole thing felt like nothing more than a middle-aged man’s fantasy.
Finally, there were a fair few Alan Partridge-esque asides which seem to have been included in complete seriousness but which are hilarious for the mundanity:
“I offered to work from home three days a week to ease pressure on office space. Nigel got his desk back and I passed the savings in train fares back to my client”
I really enjoyed Simsion’s previous books, so I hope that now the difficult (real) second novel is out of the way, there will be a return to form.
(With thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review)
March 20, 2017
For a few months during his twenties, Adam Sharp, British database consultant and passionate music aficionado and piano player, worked in Australia where he met and fell in love with Angelina, an Australian actress. But it wasn't to be. Now about to hit 50, settled back in England, and in a long-term but stale relationship with Claire, Adam is surprised, when out of the blue, Angelina gets in touch via email. What starts off as a bit of harmless flirting and wistful reminiscence, takes a completely different turn when Angelina invites Adam to spend some vacation days with her and her husband, Charlie, in France.
After The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, this was the third book I read by Graeme Simsion. I loved The Rosie Project, didn't feel quite as enthralled by The Rosie Effect and this ended up a tale of two halves for me. It was quite a departure from the Rosie books. While there was still some humor albeit darker than in the previous books, the storyline had a more solemn and poignant tone. The entire book is written from Adam's first-person POV and Simsion's examination of relationships, regrets, and loss from a male perspective is certainly well done and not difficult to relate to if mid-life crisis means anything to you.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of this as we hear all about Adam's time in Australia and his whirlwind romance with Angelina. During the second part, when Adam is reunited with Angelina in France, I started having problems relating to some of the characters' actions. But that's more a personal issue rather than an indication of the author's writing or plotting. On the whole, Adam was a very endearing character, but throughout the book, I couldn't understand why men were so infatuated with Angelina. But what do I know about the male psyche? To me, she was simply self-centered and extremely high maintenance. I didn't warm up to her at all and I never felt the love between Angelina and Adam. So to be honest, I wasn't emotionally invested in their "love story". The ending was solid though and I was quite happy with it. What really elevated this to a 4-star read for me though was the music connection. There's a Spotify playlist with the songs featured in the book http://tiny.cc/zjzmey. I guess most of us have certain songs that will take us back to our past and/or make us think of certain people as soon as a particular song comes on. If you love music and pay attention to lyrics, you'll probably be more enthusiastic about The Best of Adam Sharp.
So, this wasn't perfect, but it was a solid story about 'the one who got away'. It reminded me a bit of Nick Hornby novels. If you enjoy audiobooks, I can definitely recommend the narration by David Barker, who really brought Adam to life in a very enjoyable manner. To be released in the US 05/02/17, already available in the UK.
After The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, this was the third book I read by Graeme Simsion. I loved The Rosie Project, didn't feel quite as enthralled by The Rosie Effect and this ended up a tale of two halves for me. It was quite a departure from the Rosie books. While there was still some humor albeit darker than in the previous books, the storyline had a more solemn and poignant tone. The entire book is written from Adam's first-person POV and Simsion's examination of relationships, regrets, and loss from a male perspective is certainly well done and not difficult to relate to if mid-life crisis means anything to you.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of this as we hear all about Adam's time in Australia and his whirlwind romance with Angelina. During the second part, when Adam is reunited with Angelina in France, I started having problems relating to some of the characters' actions. But that's more a personal issue rather than an indication of the author's writing or plotting. On the whole, Adam was a very endearing character, but throughout the book, I couldn't understand why men were so infatuated with Angelina. But what do I know about the male psyche? To me, she was simply self-centered and extremely high maintenance. I didn't warm up to her at all and I never felt the love between Angelina and Adam. So to be honest, I wasn't emotionally invested in their "love story". The ending was solid though and I was quite happy with it. What really elevated this to a 4-star read for me though was the music connection. There's a Spotify playlist with the songs featured in the book http://tiny.cc/zjzmey. I guess most of us have certain songs that will take us back to our past and/or make us think of certain people as soon as a particular song comes on. If you love music and pay attention to lyrics, you'll probably be more enthusiastic about The Best of Adam Sharp.
So, this wasn't perfect, but it was a solid story about 'the one who got away'. It reminded me a bit of Nick Hornby novels. If you enjoy audiobooks, I can definitely recommend the narration by David Barker, who really brought Adam to life in a very enjoyable manner. To be released in the US 05/02/17, already available in the UK.
August 11, 2016
I was thrilled to get a proof copy of Graeme Simsion’s new book “The Best of Adam Sharp” and I am equally delighted now to share my thoughts on it.
First of all, it’s different. Different from pretty much anything I’ve read before, and certainly different from Graeme’s previous “Rosie” novels. Indeed my advice if you’ve read those two books is to approach Adam by trying to forget that you loved Don Tillman, because if you come into it with the expectation of getting more of the same, then you’ll be looking for the wrong payoffs.
Simply said, Graeme writes about relationships. It sounds a bit dramatic to say that he writes about “the human condition” but in Adam Sharp he treats every character with intelligence and compassion. It’s a story about real and mature people who make normal, sensible (though sometimes wrong, in retrospect) life choices, and these choices lead to a full range of dramatic outcomes. They’re all a bit flawed and all a bit heroic, all working through conflicts of desire, love, regret, ambition and obligation. In my humble opinion, that understanding is the payoff to look for in the Best of Adam Sharp.
If you know Graeme a little bit, or even if you’ve only heard him speak, then you’ll recognize many of his passions in this book. Obviously there’s Adam’s occupation (he’s a database consultant), and much of the story is set in Melbourne. But there’s also the superbly informed food and wine references and the musical pairings that complement every major plot point (which I enjoyed as an innovative narrative device). There are authoritative psychological insights and the sort of business wisdom that typifies his professional presentations. Fair warning, Adam Sharp may also surprise you, by which I mean that just as Graeme has a reputation for being fearless in business, he’s also not afraid to explore the boundaries of human frailty and taboo this time around.
The Best of Adam Sharp is clearly an evolution in Graeme’s choice of subject matter, and knowing him now for many years, I am going risk saying that I think this may be closer than Rosie was to what he wants to say as a writer. If I’m right, then there’s much to look forward to in terms of future creative and courageous storytelling, and it could be quite the adventure. For now though, I merely suggest you begin (or continue) the journey by discovering The Best of Adam Sharp.
First of all, it’s different. Different from pretty much anything I’ve read before, and certainly different from Graeme’s previous “Rosie” novels. Indeed my advice if you’ve read those two books is to approach Adam by trying to forget that you loved Don Tillman, because if you come into it with the expectation of getting more of the same, then you’ll be looking for the wrong payoffs.
Simply said, Graeme writes about relationships. It sounds a bit dramatic to say that he writes about “the human condition” but in Adam Sharp he treats every character with intelligence and compassion. It’s a story about real and mature people who make normal, sensible (though sometimes wrong, in retrospect) life choices, and these choices lead to a full range of dramatic outcomes. They’re all a bit flawed and all a bit heroic, all working through conflicts of desire, love, regret, ambition and obligation. In my humble opinion, that understanding is the payoff to look for in the Best of Adam Sharp.
If you know Graeme a little bit, or even if you’ve only heard him speak, then you’ll recognize many of his passions in this book. Obviously there’s Adam’s occupation (he’s a database consultant), and much of the story is set in Melbourne. But there’s also the superbly informed food and wine references and the musical pairings that complement every major plot point (which I enjoyed as an innovative narrative device). There are authoritative psychological insights and the sort of business wisdom that typifies his professional presentations. Fair warning, Adam Sharp may also surprise you, by which I mean that just as Graeme has a reputation for being fearless in business, he’s also not afraid to explore the boundaries of human frailty and taboo this time around.
The Best of Adam Sharp is clearly an evolution in Graeme’s choice of subject matter, and knowing him now for many years, I am going risk saying that I think this may be closer than Rosie was to what he wants to say as a writer. If I’m right, then there’s much to look forward to in terms of future creative and courageous storytelling, and it could be quite the adventure. For now though, I merely suggest you begin (or continue) the journey by discovering The Best of Adam Sharp.
December 22, 2016
I won this through Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for my honest opinion. Favorable review was not guaranteed.
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(Time taken to read does not reflect on how much I enjoyed the book... I simply was worn out and didn't have the energy to read as I would liked... always sucks when that happens haha. Taking on other books didn't help but that was the main culprit.)
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I actually loved this more than the Rosie Project (and that one is one of my favorites).. it didn't take me long to warm up to Adam and to get invested in his character. It did feel like you were sitting at a table with him and a few others as he told his stories about his life rather than keeping us at a distance, like we had earned a spot in his close circle.
One fact I especially loved about him besides his music choices and abilities, was the fact he was an introvert like me. Nice to see that in a book, let alone by one of my favorite authors :). That made the intimate feeling of the reading (for me) that much more great (not grammatically correct but forgive me :-P)
Angelina I never really warmed up too, despite everything. I sort of came to understand her and had some sympathy for her but it was an 'arms length away' type of thing... and it felt to me, she kept her emotions close to the vest a lot of the time... perhaps on purpose.
Charlie was a puzzle at times, found myself eyeing him like you would watch a zoo animal in its enclosure or a wild animal.. waiting to see what would happen next. There was more than once my mind had trouble wrapping around what he was thinking.
The plot itself moves along at a steady pace but goes quickly enough at the same time. I never felt bored or frustrated with it.
I had a feeling how everything would play out, though a couple times I thought my conclusion might be wrong. In the end though, I think everything played out for the best in its own way. Had the conclusions been any different... safe to say I think no one would have been happy (maybe they wouldn't have realized at first).
Won't say anymore as to spoil it for ya... the statements above is the best way I can express it from the impressions inside my head.
4.5 stars overall, definitely would love to have the audiobook of this when it is officially released.
The playlist at the end was a nice touch... perhaps I'll suggest someone make me a CD or two of it for my birthday or xmas one day.
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(Time taken to read does not reflect on how much I enjoyed the book... I simply was worn out and didn't have the energy to read as I would liked... always sucks when that happens haha. Taking on other books didn't help but that was the main culprit.)
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I actually loved this more than the Rosie Project (and that one is one of my favorites).. it didn't take me long to warm up to Adam and to get invested in his character. It did feel like you were sitting at a table with him and a few others as he told his stories about his life rather than keeping us at a distance, like we had earned a spot in his close circle.
One fact I especially loved about him besides his music choices and abilities, was the fact he was an introvert like me. Nice to see that in a book, let alone by one of my favorite authors :). That made the intimate feeling of the reading (for me) that much more great (not grammatically correct but forgive me :-P)
Angelina I never really warmed up too, despite everything. I sort of came to understand her and had some sympathy for her but it was an 'arms length away' type of thing... and it felt to me, she kept her emotions close to the vest a lot of the time... perhaps on purpose.
Charlie was a puzzle at times, found myself eyeing him like you would watch a zoo animal in its enclosure or a wild animal.. waiting to see what would happen next. There was more than once my mind had trouble wrapping around what he was thinking.
The plot itself moves along at a steady pace but goes quickly enough at the same time. I never felt bored or frustrated with it.
I had a feeling how everything would play out, though a couple times I thought my conclusion might be wrong. In the end though, I think everything played out for the best in its own way. Had the conclusions been any different... safe to say I think no one would have been happy (maybe they wouldn't have realized at first).
Won't say anymore as to spoil it for ya... the statements above is the best way I can express it from the impressions inside my head.
4.5 stars overall, definitely would love to have the audiobook of this when it is officially released.
The playlist at the end was a nice touch... perhaps I'll suggest someone make me a CD or two of it for my birthday or xmas one day.
February 16, 2017
The Best of Adam Sharp is a book about life, relationships and the one that got away so to speak and plenty of great music.
Adam is in a long term relationship with Claire. Their relationship is just ticking along but there just doesn't seem to be a particular spark between them anymore. It's as if they are just going through the motions of everyday life.
That is until one day Adam receives an email from an Ex and it's all about to change!
Angelina is Adams "one that got away"
By hearing from her she stirs up alot of raw emotion and feelings.
He is torn in what to do as he's heart is telling him to try and rekindle he's love with Angelina.
However she is married!
She invites Adam to come and stay with her and her husband.
In he's eyes what harm could it do!
I'm just not sure I would like my long term partner to just jet off to get reacquainted with he's old flame. Even if her husband is there!
To me it was all a bit fishy! So to speak.
Do I agree with second chances?
Yes if no one gets hurt!
But to what cost will this holiday cause.
I enjoyed the style of writing and getting to know the characters.
Other readers have said they felt sorry for Adam. I'm not sure that I agree.
Why now? Why not just close that Chapter and leave well alone. He may not necessarily of been happy but Angelina is also married. Is she happy? That's for you to find out!
At the back of the book is a collection of music playlist to tantalise your senses whilst reading this book. Graeme has put alot of thought into the playlist which is a very different aspect to the book which I enjoyed.
I'm not sure if I would recommend this book as I'm torn with my emotions.
I guess it did get me thinking a fair amount. I guess in my eyes for me it was a little controversial in the marital side of things. But that is just my opinion.
I struggled to truly relate to the characters as I wasn't sure how I was meant to be feeling. Or Maybe that was the point to the story. Maybe I was meant to feel that way. It would be interesting to see if others felt the same way.
Overall the book wasn't particularly bad it just wasn't for me.
I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via NetGalley.
Adam is in a long term relationship with Claire. Their relationship is just ticking along but there just doesn't seem to be a particular spark between them anymore. It's as if they are just going through the motions of everyday life.
That is until one day Adam receives an email from an Ex and it's all about to change!
Angelina is Adams "one that got away"
By hearing from her she stirs up alot of raw emotion and feelings.
He is torn in what to do as he's heart is telling him to try and rekindle he's love with Angelina.
However she is married!
She invites Adam to come and stay with her and her husband.
In he's eyes what harm could it do!
I'm just not sure I would like my long term partner to just jet off to get reacquainted with he's old flame. Even if her husband is there!
To me it was all a bit fishy! So to speak.
Do I agree with second chances?
Yes if no one gets hurt!
But to what cost will this holiday cause.
I enjoyed the style of writing and getting to know the characters.
Other readers have said they felt sorry for Adam. I'm not sure that I agree.
Why now? Why not just close that Chapter and leave well alone. He may not necessarily of been happy but Angelina is also married. Is she happy? That's for you to find out!
At the back of the book is a collection of music playlist to tantalise your senses whilst reading this book. Graeme has put alot of thought into the playlist which is a very different aspect to the book which I enjoyed.
I'm not sure if I would recommend this book as I'm torn with my emotions.
I guess it did get me thinking a fair amount. I guess in my eyes for me it was a little controversial in the marital side of things. But that is just my opinion.
I struggled to truly relate to the characters as I wasn't sure how I was meant to be feeling. Or Maybe that was the point to the story. Maybe I was meant to feel that way. It would be interesting to see if others felt the same way.
Overall the book wasn't particularly bad it just wasn't for me.
I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via NetGalley.
September 19, 2017
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Book Nation by Jen
https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.com
The Best of Adam Sharp is like a fantasy that materializes; the story of wishful thinking from a middle aged man in a status quo relationship with an adequate job. In the story, Adam’s lost love of his life, an Australian actress, gets back in touch with him after 20 years and he is faced with the decision to stay in his ho hum relationship with his ok wife or to pursue his old flame to see what would be. Adam struggles with the decision but ultimately chooses this once in a lifetime second chance, to meet up with his love from the past. What happens next is not what you would expect, and some crazy things ensue. This quirky love story is well paced and throughout the book, author Graeme Simsion travels down memory lane referencing songs of the past. Nostalgic, romantic and mildly humorous, the story did include some bigger issues related to parenting and relationships, but I didn’t feel much emotional connection to any particular character. I was curious to know what would happen next, but for me, the best part of The Best of Adam Sharp was the music mentioned throughout the story, including The Beatles, Joe Cocker, Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones. A cute story for 50 year old music lovers; the “playlist” is in the back of the book if you want to preview it!
Book Nation by Jen
https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.com
The Best of Adam Sharp is like a fantasy that materializes; the story of wishful thinking from a middle aged man in a status quo relationship with an adequate job. In the story, Adam’s lost love of his life, an Australian actress, gets back in touch with him after 20 years and he is faced with the decision to stay in his ho hum relationship with his ok wife or to pursue his old flame to see what would be. Adam struggles with the decision but ultimately chooses this once in a lifetime second chance, to meet up with his love from the past. What happens next is not what you would expect, and some crazy things ensue. This quirky love story is well paced and throughout the book, author Graeme Simsion travels down memory lane referencing songs of the past. Nostalgic, romantic and mildly humorous, the story did include some bigger issues related to parenting and relationships, but I didn’t feel much emotional connection to any particular character. I was curious to know what would happen next, but for me, the best part of The Best of Adam Sharp was the music mentioned throughout the story, including The Beatles, Joe Cocker, Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones. A cute story for 50 year old music lovers; the “playlist” is in the back of the book if you want to preview it!
August 23, 2017
3.5 stars
A love story. Adam, Clair, Angelina and Charlie, from their youth to middle age. The confusion of young love, the remembrance of young love, the question of rekindling young love. After 20 year marriages two people question whether they missed their true love of 20 years before. What starts as a simple email ends up in two couples realizing what they can and cannot forgive.
I listened to this story on audio book. It was read by David Barker and actually became my reason for really enjoying this book. His voice was deep, smooth and mesmerizing. Very easy to curl up in his voice and shut the rest of the world out.
A love story. Adam, Clair, Angelina and Charlie, from their youth to middle age. The confusion of young love, the remembrance of young love, the question of rekindling young love. After 20 year marriages two people question whether they missed their true love of 20 years before. What starts as a simple email ends up in two couples realizing what they can and cannot forgive.
I listened to this story on audio book. It was read by David Barker and actually became my reason for really enjoying this book. His voice was deep, smooth and mesmerizing. Very easy to curl up in his voice and shut the rest of the world out.
November 5, 2016
*4.5 stars
Graeme Simsion, the author best known for The Rosie Project is back with a bang with his new novel, The Best of Adam Sharp. This novel is a significant shift away from the comedic Rosie series, taking a darker and deeper emotional look at the idea of rediscovering a lost love.
Adam Sharp is the main protagonist of Simsion’s latest book. He is a forty something IT developer by day and by night he loves pub trivia. He also enjoys indulging in his other life passion, the piano. Adam has been in a long term relationship with Claire, a software specialist. The two have never married, nor do they have children. When Adam receives an email out of the blue from Angelina, a woman he had a relationship with 22 years earlier, he takes a chance and tries to rekindle his love with Angelina.
I consider myself a fan of Graeme Simsion’s writing. I was first introduced to this talented author when I read The Rosie Project for my book club a few years back. It was one of the few books I believe our club all enjoyed, which rarely happens! This is perhaps reflective of Simsion’s talent in the Australian contemporary fiction field. The Best of Adam Sharp in my opinion is brilliant and although Adam is so very different to Don Tillman of The Rosie Project, he was still a highly likeable character, with shortcomings just like Don. Adam is a character I connected with despite being a female reader. His story could be anyone’s story frankly and that is what makes this novel so readable. I really did enjoy exploring the concept of reigniting a relationship from the past. Simsion examines the practicalities and roller coaster of emotions attached to engaging in such a situation. The book is also filled with the things Simsion knows and loves, from fine food, wine and great music. Readers will find this a feast for the all the senses. If you are a music fan, this book will be sure to capture your attention. An eclectic playlist, reflecting the mood of many scenes of the novel, is included in the back of the novel. It certainly adds another dimension to this stellar novel. The Best of Adam Sharp was a read in one session book, which I would thoroughly recommend if you are able to so. The ending was poignant, yet not completely resolved, which may disappoint some readers but it sat well with this reader. I was lucky to attend an author talk with Simsion, whereby he was asked a question relating to his rather open ending. Simsion responded by stating that readers should look deep into the meaning of the last song featured in the novel. I did that and I am happy with the book’s conclusion.
The Best of Adam Sharp shows Simsion’s depth as a novelist, displaying his craft as a writer to entertain, make us laugh at the unexpected and feel the depth of emotions associated with a risky journey in love. Put this on your playlist if you appreciate a full bodied contemporary fiction novel, with a great musical flavour.
This review also appears on my blog: https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
Graeme Simsion, the author best known for The Rosie Project is back with a bang with his new novel, The Best of Adam Sharp. This novel is a significant shift away from the comedic Rosie series, taking a darker and deeper emotional look at the idea of rediscovering a lost love.
Adam Sharp is the main protagonist of Simsion’s latest book. He is a forty something IT developer by day and by night he loves pub trivia. He also enjoys indulging in his other life passion, the piano. Adam has been in a long term relationship with Claire, a software specialist. The two have never married, nor do they have children. When Adam receives an email out of the blue from Angelina, a woman he had a relationship with 22 years earlier, he takes a chance and tries to rekindle his love with Angelina.
I consider myself a fan of Graeme Simsion’s writing. I was first introduced to this talented author when I read The Rosie Project for my book club a few years back. It was one of the few books I believe our club all enjoyed, which rarely happens! This is perhaps reflective of Simsion’s talent in the Australian contemporary fiction field. The Best of Adam Sharp in my opinion is brilliant and although Adam is so very different to Don Tillman of The Rosie Project, he was still a highly likeable character, with shortcomings just like Don. Adam is a character I connected with despite being a female reader. His story could be anyone’s story frankly and that is what makes this novel so readable. I really did enjoy exploring the concept of reigniting a relationship from the past. Simsion examines the practicalities and roller coaster of emotions attached to engaging in such a situation. The book is also filled with the things Simsion knows and loves, from fine food, wine and great music. Readers will find this a feast for the all the senses. If you are a music fan, this book will be sure to capture your attention. An eclectic playlist, reflecting the mood of many scenes of the novel, is included in the back of the novel. It certainly adds another dimension to this stellar novel. The Best of Adam Sharp was a read in one session book, which I would thoroughly recommend if you are able to so. The ending was poignant, yet not completely resolved, which may disappoint some readers but it sat well with this reader. I was lucky to attend an author talk with Simsion, whereby he was asked a question relating to his rather open ending. Simsion responded by stating that readers should look deep into the meaning of the last song featured in the novel. I did that and I am happy with the book’s conclusion.
The Best of Adam Sharp shows Simsion’s depth as a novelist, displaying his craft as a writer to entertain, make us laugh at the unexpected and feel the depth of emotions associated with a risky journey in love. Put this on your playlist if you appreciate a full bodied contemporary fiction novel, with a great musical flavour.
This review also appears on my blog: https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
August 15, 2019
Guys don’t generally, in my experience working in a male dominated field for 20 years, get overly emotional about past loves. Or maybe they do, but just never tell others. Even their platonic besties like me.
Simseon gives us the inside track on just this thing. His novel is a love story told from the perspective of a middle-aged guy who recounts meeting and falling for the love of his life 22 years earlier. As so many Facebook relationship tags say, it was indeed complicated. It took place on the other side of the globe and although the love was genuine, he’s closed the door on its memory.
We know from the outset that he has not seen this woman or heard from her into decades, but an email from her pops up on his screen one day. And nothing is ever quite the same.
During a tough time period, if you have ever thought back to the first person you fell in love with, maybe in high school or somebody in your 20s, and wondered - even for a second - what if..., then you will relate to this story.
I have read other novels where the constant use of songs and their lyrics was tied into the story, but none of them felt as realistic as they did here. Our narrator is a piano player and singer but who only performs as an afterthought to his primary career. He adores playing but is practical enough to know he cannot feed himself by playing at bars. Readers who are musicians may relate really well to the story. I’m not terribly musical but really enjoyed this character study. The songs ended up distracting me some (yes, I watched a dern Juice Newton YouTube video!), but I can see others absolutely loving that.
There is a love triangle that made me feel very uncomfortable but otherwise, I was entirely engaged in this audiobook. The narration was outstanding. The writing from this talented author was solid. If you’re looking for a guy’s take on love, give it a spin. Not a barn burner, but heartfelt as a love song.
Simseon gives us the inside track on just this thing. His novel is a love story told from the perspective of a middle-aged guy who recounts meeting and falling for the love of his life 22 years earlier. As so many Facebook relationship tags say, it was indeed complicated. It took place on the other side of the globe and although the love was genuine, he’s closed the door on its memory.
We know from the outset that he has not seen this woman or heard from her into decades, but an email from her pops up on his screen one day. And nothing is ever quite the same.
During a tough time period, if you have ever thought back to the first person you fell in love with, maybe in high school or somebody in your 20s, and wondered - even for a second - what if..., then you will relate to this story.
I have read other novels where the constant use of songs and their lyrics was tied into the story, but none of them felt as realistic as they did here. Our narrator is a piano player and singer but who only performs as an afterthought to his primary career. He adores playing but is practical enough to know he cannot feed himself by playing at bars. Readers who are musicians may relate really well to the story. I’m not terribly musical but really enjoyed this character study. The songs ended up distracting me some (yes, I watched a dern Juice Newton YouTube video!), but I can see others absolutely loving that.
There is a love triangle that made me feel very uncomfortable but otherwise, I was entirely engaged in this audiobook. The narration was outstanding. The writing from this talented author was solid. If you’re looking for a guy’s take on love, give it a spin. Not a barn burner, but heartfelt as a love song.
May 21, 2017
After twenty-two years apart Adam Sharp gets an e-mail from a former lover. Their flirty e-mails become a regular thing so he's constantly thinking about his lost love. Two decades earlier, Adam had been an IT consultant in Australia playing a few tunes on the piano in a neighborhood bar. Angelina, a beautiful actress, joined him singing at the piano. That was the start of a three month affair before Adam had to fly away to the next consulting job.
Now Adam is living in his native England with his partner Claire in a comfortable relationship that has lost its sizzle. Angelina and her husband invite Adam to a week in France at their country home. Adam might have a second chance at love with Angelina, but there are Angelina's children to consider. The second part of the book did not seem very realistic, but there were some interesting thoughts about childhood, choices, commitment, marriage, personality traits, and lifestyles.
Although it was not as humorous as "The Rosie Project", Adam had a dry, self-deprecating sense of humor. Music, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s, plays a big role in the story and the lyrics often show the feelings of the characters. The situation and the lyrics get the emotional idea across so there is no need to be familiar with the songs. There is a playlist at the end of the book. This is a book where I enjoyed the music and the cute romance in the first half, but felt that the second half had some kinky, surprising moments that didn't seem to fit with the beginning of the book. Adam seemed more like a man going through a midlife crisis than someone who was really emotionally committed to either woman.
Now Adam is living in his native England with his partner Claire in a comfortable relationship that has lost its sizzle. Angelina and her husband invite Adam to a week in France at their country home. Adam might have a second chance at love with Angelina, but there are Angelina's children to consider. The second part of the book did not seem very realistic, but there were some interesting thoughts about childhood, choices, commitment, marriage, personality traits, and lifestyles.
Although it was not as humorous as "The Rosie Project", Adam had a dry, self-deprecating sense of humor. Music, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s, plays a big role in the story and the lyrics often show the feelings of the characters. The situation and the lyrics get the emotional idea across so there is no need to be familiar with the songs. There is a playlist at the end of the book. This is a book where I enjoyed the music and the cute romance in the first half, but felt that the second half had some kinky, surprising moments that didn't seem to fit with the beginning of the book. Adam seemed more like a man going through a midlife crisis than someone who was really emotionally committed to either woman.
October 10, 2025
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December 25, 2017
Wow, a complete letdown. This story is almost the complete opposite of, "The Rosie Project." It's easy to write about misery and missed opportunities in life and Mr. Simsion chose that route for this story. The humor is minimal, the writing lame and the story, pathetic. 0 of 10 stars
February 5, 2017
Definitely a book of two halves: the first section is what I expected from Simsion - a cute and feel-good romance as nerdy Adam meets soap actress Angelina in Melbourne. Skip forward twenty years and Adam's let himself go, is in a tired relationship with Claire and only comes to life in the pub quiz... until Angelina emails him out of the blue.
The second half of the book, set in France, took me by surprise as Adam goes to stay with Angelina and her husband and the story takes a racier turn .
Ultimately the conclusion didn't really feel plausible to me given what had gone before but this is still a light read with some emotional substance to it - just beware if middle-age sex embarrasses you!
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
The second half of the book, set in France, took me by surprise as Adam goes to stay with Angelina and her husband and the story takes a racier turn .
Ultimately the conclusion didn't really feel plausible to me given what had gone before but this is still a light read with some emotional substance to it - just beware if middle-age sex embarrasses you!
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
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