Written by: Nathan Gross
# of pages: 320
My Rating: 4/5
Read in March 2014
Summary according to Goodreads
Jonathon is a Taker, some type of modern day psych in the growing industry of modern grief. Takers treat people for all that ails them just by listening. In session, a Taker doesn’t speak. A Taker doesn’t move. A Taker doesn’t even blink. They take till their patients have got no more negativity to give.
A chance meeting throws a new patient into Jonathon’s life. A girl whose carefree lightness of being is in complete contrast to the average patient. She makes Jonathon realise he can no longer refuse to deal with how his job makes him sick, nor his own destructive vice.
Murder is his only way out, an action that leads him towards his own death and beyond. It is a path he hopes will lead him to his freedom.
My Thoughts
I recieved a copy of this book to review as part of a blog tour, but that does not influence my opinion.
The writing style for this novel was very different, and actually included examples of onomatopoeia (words that make sounds like "pop", "bang", "click", "buzz", etc) - which is very unique for me to read. For this being an adult novel I found that the story flowed very well, and I did not find it to be too dense or slow.
The concept of this novel was also very unique and interesting, and thankfully executed well. It was such a different idea, that I think it could be a good and entertaining read for a lot of people. Every other chapter (more or less) is of one of Jonathon's clients, and this should a lot of character both in himself and for the clients. I found it very funny to read Jonathon's opinion of his clients, and what he really thought about them. As a Taker he isn't allowed to speak to his clients, so reading everything he wanted to say was a good addition to the story and character.
The author did a very good job balancing the story with excerpts about the clients and their issues, as well as Jonathon and his own problems. Considering I am only a teenage girl and the protagonast was a male adult, I was able to understand the character, and I believe that is a very powerful thing for a writer to do.
For anyone wanting to read this novel, just take into consideration that it is a adult book that includes things like swearing and sex. If that doesn't bother you, I definitely recommend you check it out!
