12 Mar 2013

THE DISILLUSIONED.

First things first ..... my sincere thanks to the author D.J. Williams and publishers, Westbow Press, who went beyond the call of duty to supply me with a 'tree' copy of The Disillusioned.

THE DISILLUSIONED by D.J. WILLIAMS.

A mother's suicide threatens to destroy a family legacy. Her son's, Sam and Daniel, are forced to leave their comfortable worlds behind and search for a woman they believe they can unlock the secrets that have remained hidden. They are propelled into separate journeys from Los Angeles to the heart of the Zambezi, where they forced to confront a man known as Die Duiwel, the Devil. On their adventures they will find themselves in a place where death is one breath away, where thousands of children are disappearing into the darkness, and where the woman they are searching for is on the hunt for revenge. When they stand face-to-face with the forgotten slaves of Africa, they will fight to redeem what has been lost.
..... Outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): I'm an old woman, sick and tired of the voices rattling in my head.

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 122): Boys and girls. Most seemed to be in their early teens, covered in dirt, ragged clothes, no shoes, with large brown eyes.

MY THOUGHTS: The story of a somewhat dysfunctional evangelical Christian family, The Disillusioned, a real roller-coaster of a read made even more so with its short, snappy chapters, begins with a suicide and the reading of a will that takes brothers, Danny and Sam, along with us, the reader, on a search, an adventure deep into the heart of Africa.

So much more than a meaningless gratuitous action/adventure story though, powerful, well written and full of corruption in high places, of kidnappings, of slavery, of family honour, this is a thought provoking novel full of topical issues that, as well as wonderfully compelling reading for the individual, will make superb reading (and prompt much discussion) for readers groups.


Disclaimers #1 :Removal of any part of this post without my express consent is considered copyright infringement. This post was created by and for Petty Witter @ Pen and Paper. If you are reading this post on any other site please contact the original blog owner/reviewer.
#2: Read and reviewed on behalf of the author, D.J. Williams. I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.

19 comments:

Jean said...

Your synopsis reads much better than the one on the cover (which had me rolling my eyes and thinking FORGET IT!) It's not something I think I would go out and search for but if I saw it, would buy it because of your review.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I'm glad this one was a winner for you!

Literary Feline said...

This sounds like an interesting read! There was a time not too long ago when I devoured any book set in or partially set in Africa. I will have to look for this one when the mood is right! Thanks for your great review!

https://www.facebook.com/JuicyJewelsbyElena?__tn__=%2Cd*F*F-R&eid=ARDbeBqpiERSEhErrAS_vfxt2YgAnFeHyDF-FiPcDkGEJZJLQ_PmJ6V725cdkM4IzFzm2LLI0nlsQlHv&tn-str=*F said...

Hello!

I wanted to say thank you for stopping by to visit thanks to vintage cobweb! So nice to meet you - glad you enjoyed a little snippet of beautiful Greece!

Interesting reads here gotta get me a coffee and SIT DOWN!

Elena - www.ideainteriorsmtl.blogspot.ca

Betty Manousos said...

i'm glad you enjoy this one. sounds like an interesting book.
thanks for sharing yet another excellent review, tracy!

big hugs
xx

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

This isn't a book I would gravitate toward but so glad you enjoyed it. You are right tho... would like to read it in a book club setting for discussion.

Chatty Crone said...

I would love your email to comment back to your comments. Mine is
skcz at comcast dot net

And thank you for the comment.

Now about this book - not my cup of tea - but I imagine a lot of people would like it.

sandie

Kelly said...

I agree with Jean.... your synopsis sounds much more interesting than what the cover provided.

Cherie Reich said...

Great review! This novel doesn't sound like something I would typically pick up, but it does sound pretty good. That first line is a great hook too.

Unknown said...

Sorry if this is a re-post for the comment. I seem to be having trouble with an error message.

Looks like an interesting book! Thanks for pointing it out. Good review. :)

(I think that's basically what I said...)

Suko said...

You do choose interesting books to review--or perhaps they choose you. Anyway, I'm glad you found this compelling. It's nice when time spent reading is time well spent.

Tangled Cobweb said...

I agree with the comment above, you do choose interesting books.

If I picked up this book in store I would have put it back down again, this is why I like reviews, sometimes the book title, cover or recommendation snippets on the cover can be misleading.

Tangled Cobweb said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Patti said...

Sounds interesting and I love books with short snappy chapters.

StarTraci said...

That is an awesome opening line. It sounds like an intriguing read -- nice review!

:-)
Traci

Aunt Mary said...

Hi petty,I liked your blog.The description you gave about the book is very nice.I think it will be a interesting read.:)

Lindsay said...

Sounds like a powerful read, though not something I would normally go for. Thanks for reviewing it.

The Bookworm said...

Glad you enjoyed it Tracy, and I agree, your thoughts on it belong on the back of the book itself.

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

Your review is so intriguing you made me want to read this one. I will suggest it to my book club! :)