Ubiety

by Grzegorz Kunowski

Librarian's Note: An alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.

If you were to find yourself at the edge of a dying world with a lingering sense of reality, would you simply fade into the nothingness or would you fight for everything you hold dear? This assertive question is at the heart of the thought-provoking book Ubiety, for this book was designed to help people emerge into reality and find the truth whilst questioning both what could and should be.

Join Adam’s journey through the gruelling world of the unforgiving future, diving into the many mysteries which will uncover bittersweet secrets to see if he can save the fate of his daughter along with that of the world, using nothing but his boldness of character, the brilliance of one’s mind and a hint of madness. However, be aware, this journey will not be easy but remember that some of the greatest fortunes lie on the darkest paths

Genres: Fiction

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2019

About the author

Grzegorz Kunowski, a weaver of enigmas, dances between the mundane and the mystical. An aerospace engineer by day, he slips into the shadows of storytelling at night. His novels, like whispered secrets, defy easy classification. Characters emerge -flawed, raw, and achingly human - against backdrops that shimmer with possibility. As he prepares to unfurl new tales, he treads the fine line between cultural norms and uncharted realms. Keep your senses attuned; Kunowski's words hold both stardust and shadows.

Reviews

[Joey · Rating 2 out of 5]

/1.5-2 stars/

Okay. I might rant a bit.

Why this book couldn’t gain at least a 2.5 or 3 star rating from me:

1) The writing was... confusing... to say the least. It felt like the author was trying to make the writing super high level and difficult, just to make it seem better? But it just ended up more confusing, at least for me. It was also suuuuuuper descriptive, to the point where I was just flat out annoyed.

2) it was kinda... boring? Like I was honestly super confused to what was happening and even to what the general plot was at times. Yeah. Just confusing.

3) the messed up theology. God does exist. Idek Where he was going with the whole god thing/ how it was relevant and I still am unsure about what the book was saying. It was just weird. Like, weird weird. I mean, he’s not Christian so I guess I shouldn’t be so... expectant. Lol.

Okay. This is just kinda a nitpick, but there was some messed up grammar (which kinda peeves me). Especially at the beginning, I remember running into a few run-on sentences/ comma splices. Not a lot, and it wasn’t continuous. Only two or three times maybe. But stiiiiilllll.

I really really really want to be able to say something positive about the book.
I mean, I can say the writing was actually impressive. But more in a, ‘i have no idea what you’re talking about but it sounds nice’ way.

Basically content- mentions of drugs. D*** four or five times. Adam goes to a bar/ nightclub (I wasn’t even sure). Lusting after seeing a woman.

Overall, the one word I would use to describe this book is- confusing.

Happy reading GUYS!!

Edit: so apparently the author is Christian??? Sorry for making hasty assumptions. I’m still really confused about the theology tho so 🤷‍♂️

[Tonya (Rustic Book Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for reaching out to me and asking me to review.

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light"

Okay, I have to be honest, this book was a bit confusing. It took me longer to read this than it should have to be only 92 pages long. I got confused at the writing and stopped reading for a while and made myself go back and finish it.

'A while ago I starting to feel a certain cold, a cold that just grew and fed upon my soul, a cold that not even the harshest of winters can bring. I fear that I will never recognise beauty again, for you are a rainbow but I am colour-blind. Some things are meant to be, and some things aren't. I only hope that someday you may forgive me.'
Sincerely, Adam...

However, I did enjoy some of the quotes in this book. I do believe that the author is 16 years old but the writing was a bit hard to understand at times and you never knew what was a dream and what was reality. I do believe as time goes on, if he practices his writing, he could better himself and make sure to put in more details so that the reader knows where he is going with the story.

Sometime the author knows where the story was meant to go but the reader often times can not read between the lines and this is what I felt for me was hard to do, I could not read between the lines.

I am thankful for the author reaching out to me and I wish him lots of luck on any future work he has planned.

[Gurpreet Dhariwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is unbelievable by a 16 years old young lad who was just growing up like any of us but his beliefs and ideologies amazed me a lot. His quotes in the beginning of chapters by well established personalities left me with a sense of proactively judging the content in them. However, he has been so wise in telling different aspects of life with so much indepth thinking and positive approach. All in all, I got to learn, there is a universe out there waiting for you to be explored yet. Let's be on that journey of life to know ourselves. Must read as book is short, crisp and clear.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

How can you prove what is real? This is essentially what Grzegorz Kunowski is asking in his novella Ubiety. The title relates to the state of existing and being in a localised space, which is what the protagonist Adam Johnson is challenging throughout the story. Designed to help people face up to reality and question endless possibilities about what could or should be, Adam finds himself in many bizarre situations that blur the lines between reality and fantasy.

Quite frankly difficult to follow, Ubiety includes many dream scenes that border on madness. “Since the dawn of time common folk and wise men have scratched their heads as they asked about topics to do with dreams, such as why do we have them?” (Page 9, PDF version) Through his dreams, Adam’s brilliant mind creates scenes based on human fears and curiosity, however, it is difficult to tell which parts of the novel are “reality” since everything is equally absurd.

Adam is a person who thinks too much, resulting in overanalysing every aspect of life. The imaginary monsters that haunt his dreams begin to seem less scary than the hidden evils in the real world. Through his writing, Kunowski questions whether we are truly free or are we slaves? Slaves to machines, slaves to technology, slaves to social norms and so forth.

Unfortunately, Ubiety is difficult to read, however, within the confusion, there are a couple of gems that make you think and philosophise about life, the world and reality. Heading each chapter with a quote from a historical thinker, Kunowski draws our attention to the “realities” of the past, present and future, encouraging us to challenge what we know and believe.

[Julie (Bookshelf Adventures) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

full review, with reasoning why, here:

http://bookshelfadventures.home.blog/...

[Karen (BaronessBookTrove) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Ubiety by Grzegorz Kunowski is a novella written by the author when he was only sixteen years old. It is an oddly written book.
Can anyone figure out reality?
We follow Adam on his journey that may seem like we are traveling with a mad man. It is hard to explain without reading the book yourself. Adam's journey is a confusing one at first. We go through three different types of things with Adam. 
Adam
Adam is a weird person as we are going through some memories of his and finding some highly unusual things happening. To me, Adam seems like he could have had a better life if some things didn't happen, much like most of us. Knowing what those things are, though, doesn't seem to occur in the book. Things are the way they are because that's what Mr. Kunowski wants it to be. There isn't much that I can say about this character without saying a lot about the book that could contain spoilers.
Three Stars
Ubiety by Grzegorz Kunowski is a book that I usually wouldn't read, but I thought that I would give it a shot. It appears that it is a dark themed book that doesn't do much of a mystery or leave the reader with knowledge of what they just read. I am still trying to figure it out as I am writing this review. Mr. Kunowski has a lot of editing problems that also made it hard to stay in the book as well. I had to jump out of the book a few times, along with reading it out loud, to make sure what I was reading made sense. The author has potential but needs to edit and decide on a plot. So that he may explore a lot more of what he is trying to convey with this story. I am giving this book three stars, and I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to if anyone.



Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Ubiety by Grzegorz Kunowski.

Until the next time,



Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

[Desca Ang · Rating 3 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: The book is given by the author in exchange of an honest review. All the review written is not related to any personal issues or connection.

let’s meet our hero Adam Johnson whom the author describes as

“Adam Johnson was a man who was led by logical thought but occasionally he gave up on this process, as you must sometimes do in life, he gave up on this process for a feeling, not any ordinary feeling that comes and goes but a spectacular feeling, one that is capable of satisfying the soul, a strange but calming feeling as if all things are just meant to be, a feeling that whenever is going on is right, somehow just right, it is extraordinary in its task to supplement a greater purpose, a purpose larger than him, a purpose to bring about the unstoppable change that you cannot simply walk past, either change serving a greater good in the name of the people and progress or a much more debatable change, one that leaves barred land and burned structures of both man and nature, so throughout his life he would come across times and places when this almost holy feeling swooped in, bringing about fated places and fated times.”

Such long sentences to describe a man. And as the story of Adam Johnson continues, the story starts to get a little bit confusing. I lost myself sometimes in the middle of the story and would have to return to the previous pages just to understand what the author is going to say. The plot seems like jumping here and there which makes the story line hard to follow. Such a lamentation because Grzegorz’s points may be to wrap something philosophical and put it into this book.

Full review: https://literatureisliving.wordpress....

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for providing me with an electronic copy of Ubiety in exchange for an honest review.

Iiiiiiii wish that I could give this more than 2 stars, but I am dangling on a precipice here as I have been vacillating between "it was okay" and "I don't like this book at all."

There were some solid elements to the novella. The concept was intriguing and the quotes that preceded each chapter were thought-provoking. The author himself wrote the book at 16, which is admirable but also may explain why I had such a difficult time forcing myself to finish this slim 92 page volume. At such a young age writing styles have not typically had the constructive criticism required to blossom into something wonderful, and I am disappointed to say that Kunowski's style completely detracted from this story. Not only were the grammar and syntax absolutely deplorable (e.g. run-on sentences 3/4 of a page long), but it was just... confusing. It felt as if Kunowski was stringing along 10-cent words to demonstrate how highbrow he intended his literature to be. Unfortunately this tactic had the opposite effect. It did not prove to be anymore thought-provoking than other novels I have read with a similar goal but fewer SAT prep words. It seemed as though he resorted to his thesaurus more often than necessary; it was inauthentic and prevented the reader from immersing themselves into the reality/not-reality of Adam Johnson. Looking past the style, this book definitely had some Lewis Carroll Through the Looking Glass vibes, so perhaps with more practice and editing his next book will be amazing. This one makes a good draft, but I would have a hard time finding an audience to recommend it to.

[Tanja Glavnik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was kindly given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a departure from my usual choices, which often feature happy endings, fictional worlds, and characters you love and love to hate. Instead, this one is more like an essay or dissertation on the topic of the world today and how we as individuals act within it.

The book itself is split into what happened in the life of the protagonist, Adam, and what he seems to be dreaming about. I say 'seems to', because a lot of the times the line between reality and dreams is VERY blurred, and it's almost up to the reader to decide whether or not this actually happened. I'll admit that for a while, I thought Adam was THE Adam from the Bible - and he's somehow stuck in a continuous loop of repeating his mistakes, or repeating a pattern that he can't seem to break out of no matter if he makes different mistakes each time, especially because there's a mention of God and something very similar to the loop I just explained.

I'm still not entirely convinced that isn't the story.

At the same time, given how we begin in that room, and his attempted suicide, and the voices from the radio, this also gives me very Orwell 1984 vibes, with Big Brother is always watching.

Still, in the end, I don't think it matters how we as readers perceive the story of Adam Johnson (I'd also like to point out I took some offense at him seeing the woman, the mother of his child, and walking over to her with the thought that he should claim what was rightfully his, because she's NOT his at this point and WON'T be unless SHE chooses to be so, though I think that may have been the point, feeling this offended over it). I think what really matters is that it's thought-provoking.

How do we see the world today? How do we act within society? Do we break out of the norm, or do we follow, like automatons? Are we normal, and what is normal, anyway?

I think this requires more than one simple read, because there are multiple layers to the writing. I'll probably be reading it again in the future to try and sort things out some more. Story-wise, then, this is intriguing and something to tingle your brain cells.

As far as writing style goes, however, I have to admit you need to pay attention. The beginning, at least, is very much filled with sentences that seem to go on forever; whether or not this is the author's choice, to make use of it to tell the story, or simply a grammatical issue is unclear, but I do know the almost Homer-ian paragraphs without breaks where there naturally should be some can become exhausting to read. I think this book could have done with some tighter editing, but again, I can't be sure if this is a personal choice of the author, or grammatical.

All in all, if you're looking for an easy afternoon read - I'd say skip this.

If, however, you're looking for something to pause and mull over, this is EXACTLY the book for you, and I think there's definitely an audience for this kind of thing. You just have to pay attention when reading it, and not just skim over, because you'll definitely get lost if you do that.

[Laney Estel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as a Mobi in exchange for an honest review.

Ubiety is a philosophical essay blended into the narrative of one Adam Johnson. Adam is not entirely right in the head. His dreams are vivid, which blur the lines of reality. He clearly has suicidal tendencies. This creates an existential bewilderment that bounces from one absurd scene to the next in Adam's psuedo-reality.

I enjoy philosophy. Existentialism? Yeah, that's the stuff. Pondering the truth under the strings of dimension and all that. On the other hand, I very rarely enjoy reading philosophical literature. Frequently, pure philosophy is ripe with illustrations engineered to prove the concept presented. However, pulling at any thread in these stories or taking them to the next logical conclusion destroys the parable, and often disproves the thought behind it.

Perhaps that is why Grzegorz Kunowski (a 16 year old, by the way) went the route he did in this novella. Rather than present his arguments and build straw houses around them, he wove his thoughts into the narrative. This gives the story a stream-of-consciousness that parallels, and perhaps highlights, the difficulty of Adam's state of mind.

Ubiety means the sensation of being in a place, typically in a limited, physical reality. Thus, the core thought here is one of understanding reality and our place within it. Do not walk into this book thinking it will be an easy read. It may be less than one hundred pages, but it is densely packed with metaphor. The sentence structure is daunting. I found it difficult to connect to the main character as I had to go back over every few sentences to be sure what the author intended. His writing style is less narrative and more... train of thought. The train will circle around subjects to really give you an idea of what he is thinking about them before stopping at the station. He is also unafraid of large words, which I do not hold against him. I was impressed to find the word "vasoconstriction" used in a sentence that was not in a medical drama.

I enjoy the subject of the book. I would be fine with the darkness and madness within. I would have given this book a better review if the writing itself were a more approachable. I think that Grzegorz is an intelligent young man with worthwhile thoughts in his head. A more approachable style would reach a larger audience, and possibly help those who feel as stuck as Adam.

[Camille Taboulot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to start by saying a big thank you to the author for having reached out to me and asked me to read and review his book.

I usually do not dwell on the author himself, but to understand the book, I think that saying he is very young is meaningful. If I had been able to write about topics so deep when I was his age, I would have been really proud and I think he can be.

As the book is short (92 pages in PDF), I don’t want to give information about the plot as it could ruin the experience you future readers have of the book. I’d rather write about the style, because it suits perfectly the topic: it is « complicated ». The style of the author is very intricate. To some extent, it reminds me of Milton’s style in Paradise Lost as the syntax does not seem English at all. Nevertheless, I think it is a good thing and not a fault of the book. The numerous biblical reference (I mean, the main character is called Adam) also remind me of Milton, so maybe that’s why I see this connection between the two authors.

The structure of the book is as complicated as the style and in such a few pages, everything matters: have a look at the epigraphs. I like the fact that they all come from very different realms such as politics and philosophy, but all more or less discuss the same topics. I read in some reviews that the complicated style of the author could be seen as « showing off » but I don’t think so, it is his style and even though I sometimes think the sentences are a little long (I needed to reread a lot of them to be honest), it is a personal style, not a "problem".
This complexity of style can obviously be disturbing at times, but I want to mention the fact that most «well-known authors » were qualified « too complicated » in the beginning (Malcolm Lowry, to quote only one).

I really liked the way the author treated the philosophical topics of Life, Death, Free will and Quest for meaning, but I would have liked a story line a little « deeper ». The only real reproach I could make to this book is that I can’t really classify it: it is neither an « essay » in the strict sense of the word, nor a « philosophical novel » in the sense that the plot is a little too « light » in my eyes. However, I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to those of you who are not afraid by a style sometimes hard to decipher.

[Anu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mysterious and Philosophical

The book “Ubiety” tells the tragic story of Adam Johnson, a seemingly ordinary man with a dark secret, as he lives and breathes in an astonishing world, yet the devil is in the details and nothing lasts forever. The book fits into multiple categories; magical realism, psychological thriller, as well as a hint of philosophy and the metaphysical genre.

Challenging journey and spine chilling experiences of the protagonist creates an illusionary world that's full of what an ideal world should be. Initially, it will leave you confused about what's going on but as the story progresses, you get a clearer picture.

Each chapter begins with meaningful and thought-provoking quotes and divided into three parts – Timelines, Dream and Room. Brief chapters and easy read.

Impressive and professional writing. Spellbound to know that the author was 16 when he wrote this book.

Well narrated. Wonderful and perfect examples of humans to butterflies, perfect coordination with nature, social norms, the complexity of the human mind, the ultimate law of 'The Positivity of Negativity' and the significance of his dreams deserve special mention.

The book is a roller-coaster journey of his deep secrets, chances, choices, fear and uncertainties, terrible fate, frantic search, pain, nightmares, suppressed feelings, and hidden desires without a shred of direct control.

Beautiful lines from the book:

Revisit the past so you can learn and remember but it's important to look forward rather than back, you're not going backward in time.

We always head in directions, usually on paths we set ourselves on, yet sometimes we forget to take a break to simply breathe and watch the revolving world.

Midnight, the point where you leave the old of the previous day and go into the new, with new opportunities, uncertainties, and mistakes to be made.


Our fears define us and so do our monsters. For we grow up in this world believing in monsters and we usually realize that they are just illusions created by our wildest thoughts and dreams, so we stop fearing those monsters, yet we were wrong to be afraid of them, for there are things far more devastatingly evil in this world…

[Tony Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything & nothing
Adam Johnson for the most part was a very logical man.
1-day a man/rat was eyeballing him.
Suddenly Adam had thoughts he existed in a certain place.
It seemed like the radio was speaking to him.
Was Adam in the darkest of his times?

The dream
Do all Adam’s dreams make sense?

The room
Adam saw nothing but a white room.
There were sound coming from every everywhere.
Soon it was going to be dark.

The stranger
Adam looked at his reflection in a mirror. He had aged.
People around him seemed to be enjoying life.
Suddenly a young boy looked at Adam & started giving him the business.
Adam stood before a closed gate. A golden light set it a glow.
Things seemed surreal to him.
Mr. Johnson was asking Adam several questions.
What was behind door # 131?
How about door # 256, etc.?
What will the next day bring for Adam?
This says it all about this book.
“I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” Socrates

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written Mystery
book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. The book was different so I will rate it at 4/5 stars.

Thank you for the free author (s); Goodreads; MakingConnections; Making Connections discussion group talk; Author; PDF book.
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Kimberly Godwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warning: Self-harm.



In the wake of a personal tragedy, Adam Johnson has committed suicide. Alone with only a large albino rat, his thoughts drift into the abyss. The portrait of his life has been scattered into pieces and reshuffled as he steps from darkness into the light. What has happened to bring Adam to this point? Where will Adam go from here? Is Adam dead or doomed to relive an endless cycle of self-destruction? These are the true mysteries to unravel.

Ubiety is highly philosophical. There are many quotes by other authors and ideological musings intermingled with the broken fragments of Adam’s life. An interesting quote might be followed by a long fourth wall-breaking monologue to the reader before cutting back to Adam. When the narrative shifts to Adam and his surroundings, it is either too descriptive or too vague. This environmental uncertainty built a dreamy atmosphere that left you adrift.

Many readers might find themselves tripped up by the heavy usage of archaic language in rapid succession that will pull them out of what is already a confusing story. When the narrative isn’t entangled by uncommon word choices, it’s poetic.

I was caught off-guard by what felt like an Andrew Ryan (from Bioshock) inspired quote of “A man chooses but a slave obeys”. It made me wonder if Adam was trapped in a layer of Hell, forever doomed to make the same mistakes for the amusement of the omnipresent or if it was Purgatory, where his cycle could be broken for a chance at redemption.

Thank you to Grzegorz for reaching out to me to review his book. There is a lot of potential here that I feel was bogged down by the infamous “trunk book” syndrome. While I cannot rate this book highly because it was a difficult read due to editing and word choices, I hope to see more from him in the future.

[Yonasan Aryeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book seems to be an abstract philosophical evaluation following a character named Adam that ends his life. It is difficult to grasp much more than this, however, as the author’s writing style bogs down the narrative with complicated phrases and an overuse of terminology. For example, we are told there is a noose and a note on a desk, but the sentence says “beside the noose on the heavy red oak desk lay a note,” and then the sentence continues for several lines to describe the quality of the words.

On the simplest scale, the audience doesn’t need to know the desk if heavy unless the weight comes into play. The bigger issue, however, is how complicated the rest of the sentence is as it tries to describe the note, “it’s words were not frantically scribbled down for a change, they were the only words he believed in, one of the few things he did believe in, in fact, for a terrible lack of belief sprang throughout his life.” The unnecessarily clunky prose that is used for this book makes it difficult to follow, and as a result, this is a book that I was unable to fully digest.

Some authors write in a complicated manner, which tends to make their books inaccessible. In the case of this book, it doesn’t seem to be the case. The author’s voice feels sincere but also feels fresh. This is a great start for learning to write, but I would highly advise investing in writing courses for future works to make them more accessible and engaging.

Disclosure: I have received a reviewer copy and/or payment in exchange for an honest review of the product mentioned in this post. This product is reviewed based on content and quality in consideration of the intended audience. Review or recommendation of this product does not solicit endorsement from Reviews by J or the reviewer.

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to DNF this book about halfway through. Normally I would post a full review by starting with a brief synopsis of the book. Sadly, I am unable to do that for this book as I really had no idea what I was reading. One reason for this is due to the overuse of words and underuse of punctuation. Keeping in mind that I did read this book on my Kindle at a pretty average font size, but even so most of the sentences would run an entire page long or even longer. Many of these over-extended sentences had so many adjectives and descriptions in them it made J.R.R. Tolkien almost seem lacking in details about Middle Earth. Suffice it to say, by the time I reached the end of one of said sentences, I no longer had any idea what the original intention of starting the sentence was. This makes the storyline impossible to follow or determine what the most important parts are to follow in the plot.

It seemed the majority of the story was taking place within the character's mind. Very little action or world building, not really any description of the character himself. The reader is immediately plunged into this guy's head full of random, untraceable thoughts with no background information to understand what is happening or why. Unfortunately the most exciting part of the book is its abstract. I'd like to say that major editing and revision would need to be done to make this book readable, but honestly I think it would be better to start from scratch if the story is really meant to follow its intended premise.

[Lillian Freire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the author for reaching out to me and asking for a review. He's a very young author and this is his first book!

English isn't my first language so my first thought was "what does ubiety mean?". Basically, it defines the quality or state of being in a place, according to Merriam-Webster. The way I see it, it's all this book is about: Adam's sense of belonging and exploration of where he is or where he's supposed to be.

I'm pretty impressed by the way the author writes. I can only imagine that if he writes this way at the age of 16, with time, experience and maturity it can definitely get even better. His writing is really descriptive and carefully explores all details from the scene. However, I felt a bit confused at times. I wasn't sure what was happening exactly or what real or wasn't real. While reading the book, I felt in a constant state of having a dream, where scenes change and you're not quite sure how that happened - they just did and there you are. Either way, it got a promising concept.

[KayBee's Bookshelf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure where to start with this one. There were so many things that worked to muffle the author's intention with this story.
I could not connect with the protagonist or his story who appeared to end his existence because the world he imagined would come was not one he wanted to be involved in. Although I'll be the first to admit, I 'm not certain about it. The story was bogged down with "fancy" colorful words that only added to the confusion and lost feeling I felt as I continued to read. What worked was I understood the parallels. The Dream sections were Adam going through critical moments in his life which were taking place in what I believe to be Purgatory. Unfortunately, the lack of consistency or coherent thought processes made this science fiction read extremely confusing. I didn't get the magical or mysterious elements & the philosophical message missed this reader.
I think there are readers who will get it. For me, I would have to cut out some of the flowery language and speak plainly.

review provided by kaybee's bookshelf team member @theambitiousreader

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, that's clear as mud. I'll admit that metaphysical fiction is way outside my wheelhouse, so maybe it's just me, but I did not get this one at all. To me, it seems like a whole lot of flowery language strung together, and at times it even felt a little like stream of consciousness writing. Whatever the intent, this one could've done with a good bit of editing. The very long, run-on sentences and commas placed almost haphazardly throughout drove me a little crazy. I don't know if the grammatical errors were on purpose or not, but the only thing they accomplished for me was to distract from the story such as it is. Basically, what this one amounted to for me was that I kept wishing the author would just speak plainly and for the love of God, use a period every now and then. I mean, there were parts that had two people speaking in the same sentence? paragraph? I'm not even sure at this point. What I am sure of is this is most definitely not the book for me.

[Simona · Rating 1 out of 5]

* The author kindly offered this book in exchange of an honest review*

And, honestly, I have no idea what I have read. It was like reading a book in a foreign language, that you don’t understand.
I really wanted to like it, so I just pushed myself to read in hopes, that next page will be better, that I will finally understand what I’m reading. However nothing changed.

I couldn’t tell what this book is about even if you offered me spa day. The only thing I know that this book is about some dude Adam and that’s it.

Also, I think that author just tried too much to make this book more “sophisticated”, sometimes less is better. Sometimes simple words can make huge impact AND help readers understand what you are saying.

However for a 16 year old it is a huge step to publish a book, so I can only wish him luck in his future work.

[Gemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Grzegorz for a copy of his book in exchange for a review.

I have to admit I had no idea what was going on for the majority of this book. I understand that the book is supposed to be searching for a deeper meaning and it asks the question "how can you prove what is real?" but I didn't get any of the book.
I like the quotes that were used at the beginning of each chapter but the book is filled with unnecessary big words that no one understands and the sentences were very long!
One line I did particularly enjoy: "Consumerism is a disguised poison that we are all led to believe is an antidote".
There are a few gruesome scenes and one particular scene is an attempted suicide which can be triggering for some.
Overall the book would be good for readers who enjoy the sort of deep philosophical questions about life and meaning but it was not for me.

[Tabatha Shipley · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I Did Like:
-The quotes. The quotes used to start many sections of this book are important and well-chosen. They help to identify what mindset we should be in and prep us for what is about to happen.
-Pretty sentences. If you like how beautiful description sentences sound, this book may be exactly what you want. The long sentences are descriptive and pretty.

Who Should Read This One:
-If you like beautiful language, long descriptive sentences, and philosophical questions about life you may like this one even more than I did.

My Rating: 2 Stars. This one was problematic for me.

For Full Review (including what I didn’t like): https://youtu.be/GdmndrcsKJo

[Louise Tong (shadybookdragon) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Orginially published on my blog here!
Whilst this book is intended to be thought-provoking, I just felt like it just wasn't for me.

The ideas were rather interesting, however the execution could've been greatly improved. I found that the ideas were often slightly jumbled together, and the sentences were rather long. If the sentences weren't so long in points, the story might have made more sense to me.

Otherwise, this is a super impressive effort from such a young writer.

Rating: 2/5

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ubiety is an okay read for me. But I couldn't give more than 2 stars because the pace got me confused from time to time. I got the meaning of this book's intention, it's about a life, but it's slightly messed up when I don't get the main idea.

I've spent a couple if weeks to finish reading this although you might able to finish it in one shot read.

However, I like it when the title is relevant to the story. I believe this can be improved and became an inspiring read.


Thank you so much author for reaching in exchange of an honest review

[Millennial Book Review · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I can’t really say that I enjoyed Ubiety. It was a struggle to get through, and since its story is all over the place and has no real resolution, I was a bit annoyed when I reached the end. I will commend the author for writing this work at the age of 16 and I feel like, given some time and with some editorial feedback, he could have a very successful career as an author. Fans of dark and intense literature might enjoy this book, as well as anyone who wants to ponder over the meaning of life for a few days. This book simply wasn’t for me.

[Benoît Seron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grzegorz Kunowski's book raises an interesting starting question, which everyone should at least give a thought about. I know I did, and it was not without its benefits. It's somewhat Russian too in its approach. Dark and mad, yet characters display strength but are also human and compassionate. That's something that's hard to put on paper. I wouldn't say that he did it like Shostakovich, but it's a worthy read for sure. The writing is also excellent in itself, I like its poesy.

[Cheryl_cajun · Rating 4 out of 5]

From page one this book will make you feel emotional for Adam. Throughout the book it takes you down many paths that is Adam's life. As you read you will have a lot of questions that only time and choice will answer, leading down dark roads that just may have a bright spot here or there. From sorrow... joy..back to sorrow. If you like a good book that makes you think this will grap you to take you down a whirlwind of past and present madness.

[N.A. Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books was a little hard to understand at first, but once I was able to really focus on what I was reading I found it deep and poetic. The author has a way unique way of writing; at least unique to anything I have read. There was a lot of repetitive sentences that seemed redundant at first but I realize that it is purposeful to place emphasis where the author wanted you to focus. The story was beautiful in it's twisting darkness and I am glad to have read it.

[Stephanie (the nerdy princess) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was asked by the author to review this book and provided a copy for an honest review

We follow Adam on his journey that may seem like we are traveling with a mad man. It is hard to explain without reading the book yourself

I was honestly confused to what was happening and even to what the general plot was at times

Sorry but that's all I can give. I was confused and mildly bored.

Hats off to the author for writing a book at 16 years old.

[Gina Rae Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but thought-provoking.

This is an unbelievably deep book written by a sixteen year old. Metaphysical fiction is not exactly my forte, but it kept me turning the pages.

Although this is a novella, it has enough material in it to keep you thinking for days.

I would consider this a niche book. It will definitely appeal to lovers of Nietzsche‘s philosophies.