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On the Crest
Tige Anderson goes through a series of emotional, physical and psychological adventures in this coming-of-age roller coaster, balancing his life among his romantic trysts, his ambitions, his humanity and his gay best friend. The one thread that connects all of the people in his life is the fact that the cycle of life puts everyone through a series of ups ('on the crest') and downs. Whether an individual winds up on top of the wave or under it depends on them.
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2009
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April 30, 2009
'On the Crest' is a great title for this book. Whilst reading it, you could almost feel as if you are being tossed and turned on the great waves of emotion lying within these pages. It's an addictive read. I found that I was constantly wanting to know what would happen next. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick, entertaining read.
The book is the story of Alex 'Tige' Anderson, a young man who grows up in a close-knit family. The author does a great job in the character development of the protagonist. He comes across as likeable, and also as a typical young man with his love of partying and women. There is also a more serious side to him.
Although the book is mostly written in the third person, it is unconventional in the way that the author also lets us into the minds of the characters. The book reverts to first person narrative every now and then, within square-brackets.
We follow Tige through his young love relationships, and also follow his close relationship with his best friend, Matt. Much of the action is centered around what happens at Tige's family's beach home, and so there are many references to the sea and waves throughout the book; hence the title. The author makes references to the ups and downs of life as being like the rise and fall of the waves. The main character, Tige, mentally associates waves crashing to the shore with the bad things that happen to him or his friends.
Tige chooses to become a teacher because of his love of children and the feeling that he wants to teach. When Tige becomes a teacher he is thrown into a world of dysfunctional families, a world totally at odds with that in which he grew up. There are many emotional problems and tragic circumstances for him to deal with throughout the book. Will he end up on the crest or will he crash to the shore?
This is a book which asks questions about the way we live today and is seen through the eyes of someone who wants to bring about change, sending out a positive message.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I did have a few issues with it. Firstly, the book requires editing to get rid of the typos which keep popping up. In a lesser book it would have totally ruined it. Secondly, I thought that the references to waves crashing as a symbol of the bad things that happened was a little overdone in places, and took away from the dramatic effect of the rest of the prose. Finally, for me, the ending was a bit weak.
All in all, I think the book was very well written and is a wonderful debut. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
The book is the story of Alex 'Tige' Anderson, a young man who grows up in a close-knit family. The author does a great job in the character development of the protagonist. He comes across as likeable, and also as a typical young man with his love of partying and women. There is also a more serious side to him.
Although the book is mostly written in the third person, it is unconventional in the way that the author also lets us into the minds of the characters. The book reverts to first person narrative every now and then, within square-brackets.
We follow Tige through his young love relationships, and also follow his close relationship with his best friend, Matt. Much of the action is centered around what happens at Tige's family's beach home, and so there are many references to the sea and waves throughout the book; hence the title. The author makes references to the ups and downs of life as being like the rise and fall of the waves. The main character, Tige, mentally associates waves crashing to the shore with the bad things that happen to him or his friends.
Tige chooses to become a teacher because of his love of children and the feeling that he wants to teach. When Tige becomes a teacher he is thrown into a world of dysfunctional families, a world totally at odds with that in which he grew up. There are many emotional problems and tragic circumstances for him to deal with throughout the book. Will he end up on the crest or will he crash to the shore?
This is a book which asks questions about the way we live today and is seen through the eyes of someone who wants to bring about change, sending out a positive message.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I did have a few issues with it. Firstly, the book requires editing to get rid of the typos which keep popping up. In a lesser book it would have totally ruined it. Secondly, I thought that the references to waves crashing as a symbol of the bad things that happened was a little overdone in places, and took away from the dramatic effect of the rest of the prose. Finally, for me, the ending was a bit weak.
All in all, I think the book was very well written and is a wonderful debut. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
Displaying 1 of 1 review