Review : No Mad by Sam Moffie

Title : No Mad

Author : Sam Moffie

Publisher : BookSurge

Publication Date : February 24, 2009

Genre : Contemporary

ISBN : 978-1439204610

Series : No

Rating : 3.5

From Amazon :

Racing home to share news of a long awaited book deal, Aaron Abrams unexpectedly finds his wife and beloved brother TOGETHER. Tossing a few mentionables into the car, along with his golden retriever, Churchill, his now only trustworthy lifelong companion, Aaron embarks on an odyssey like no other. With his own music as a backdrop, while guzzling his favorite Newman's Own Virgin Lemonade, Aaron begins in Youngstown, Ohio, travels interstate 80 in Pennslyvania, and continues into Gettysburg, Pa., Boston Ma., Roswell, NM., to name a few, ultimately ending his road trip in scenic Niagara Falls. Along the way, he continues to embrace each moment, every situation, all relationships and brief encounters. Never losing his zest for life, Aaron stays positive, upbeat and open for adventures, not letting his ex-wife-to-be interfere with his new found freedom, while at the same time rediscovering and recreating bonds that will never be broken. The game of Jinx has never gotten so much attention; what that means the reader is soon to discover.

Review :

I usually start out my review of a synopsis of the book in my viewpoint, but the book description from Amazon pretty much sums it up and I don't want to give away any spoilers. I will say that this book was very easy for me to get into. I felt like Aaron Abrams was a real person, and kept wondering in the back of my mind whether I was truly reading a fiction novel at all, all the while knowing that it truly was indeed fiction.

I have to say I laughed out loud a lot during this book, especially when Aaron travels through Pennsylvania and New York. I loved the fact that author Moffie captured the true image of Rt. 80 in "Pennsyl...fucking...vania". I personally have traveled this road many times in my life enroute to New York, and could relate to Aaron Abrams in the book. I also was quite surprised to read that Abrams character fed his dog red licorice! This was exciting news to me, as I do this exact same thing and am told that I am out of my mind. I'm obviously not the only one!

I loved how Aaron doesn't let the betrayal of his wife and brother hold him back from his dreams. Any normal person probably would have gone berserk over what was done to them, but not Abrams, he just takes it all in stride. Not to mention the fact that he swipes his precious dog Churchill for the ride, which I will say I would most likely do myself as a lover of all animals.

Aaron Abrams seems to me like an all around great character. In No Mad you will grow to love this man, and his obsessions. He is a great father of three children, as you will learn when you pick up this book, and you will feel as though you really know both him and his family.

I had to give this book a rating of 3.5 though, because at times I couldn't decide whether I just liked the book, or I really liked it. I'm still quite stuck on which way to go. I found myself getting antsy while reading of Abrams encounters with some of the characters in the book, and just wanted to pass them up. I'm more than certain it was because of the political aspects of the novel, and I'm personally not a political person in any way.

I look forward to reading Moffie's older novels. I would also love to read any future works by this author, as he has definitely proved to me that his work is worth reading.

Check out my Interview with the Author here.