A series of vignettes provide a pleasingly relaxed pace as we follow the life of Faith, who lives in a Chicago apartment with her cat called ‘Tangle’ and works as a Paralegal. (I had to look up ‘paralegal’ as it has different meanings. Faith is trained in legal matters but not qualified as a lawyer).
We soon find ourselves looking at the world through Faith’s perspective. Interestingly, we have to wait for the description of her in a wealth of details, her shade of lipstick, her eclectic taste in music (Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, Second Movement, Allegretto – Suzanne recommends you listen to it when you read chapter one)
It is also not long before you start to realise that Suzanne Davis has a very liberated style and enjoys exploring the possibilities of novel writing. For example, in chapter 2 she runs through the first nine tracks on Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection CD. (Later we find we are following every detail of how to make a red pasta sauce).
The book is full of real life details that create a very credible world that would be very hard to research. I also liked the way Suzanne’s economy with words creates a clear sense of place and character. Faith finds Chicago sinister and dangerous at night - and her date is like ‘Jim Carey in a serious role’.
Faith and Trust did offer an insight into the mind of a modern woman but also left me with more questions than answers. Do women really like being called ‘beautiful’ as a nickname?
Suzanne’s background as a psychologist really shines through in the dream sequences. More than once I found I had to re-read sections as I realised we had slipped out of the real world. That I wanted to is a testament to the way the book makes you work as a reader – and want to return to it at a later date. I wanted more. A sequel?
Author Suzanne L. Davis is a Social Psychologist and Consultant based in Houston. Suzanne says she has been fascinated by Psychology since she was six years old and aims to make psychological principles interesting and accessible.
Faith and Trust is available at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/45266 as well as Suzanne’s blog http://www.storiesaboutpsychology.com/ and she can be followed on twitter at @hellodrdavis
I enjoyed this review very much Tony (not being someone overly given to reading book reviews)! I have written them myself & know that a thorough reading only will suffice to produce the style of thoughtful & insightful piece you give us. All (good) books should offer an intriguing insight (if but a keyhole view) not only into the world & characters the author has created, but to the author too!
ReplyDeleteTony - thanks for introducing this book and review to me, I will look up both Suzanne and her book. I am interested to communicate with psychologists who write fiction, as I think it has it's own special challenges!
ReplyDeleteSuzanne shows how working as a psychologist is a great background for an author. (My first degree is in psychology but I specialised in memory and cognition... and it doesn't even help me to remember things!)
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