The Nobody Show by Jonathan Dunne took me a little while to get into, but once I did I found the story captivating. The multiple storylines that you know are going to connect somewhere are a little confusing until they connect. I do think that the author focuses a little too much on the story from the perspective of the main character once the storylines intersect, although that may be an artistic choice to show how Arthur's view of the situation becomes narrower as the story progresses. It would have been nice to get a few more glimpses from the outside from the performers as they start to notice Arthur's spiraling obsession and as they make their decisions; you do get a perspective from the townsfolk as they are drawn in to the action, so again I am led to assume that the author is trying to direct your attention to the people who are most impacted by the current action.

As I received the book as a PDF which I then converted to MOBI to read on my Kindle, I did have some distracting issues with formatting that might not be so distracting in a paperback, which might have allowed me to focus in sooner than I did.

All in all, I found the story at times fantastical and intriguing, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories of boring normal people and sleepy small towns that are quite suddenly taken in wild and inventive directions.

I received The Nobody Show through LibraryThing's Member Giveaway. ( )

Thanking the author for sending me a copy and giving me the opportunity to read and review The Nobody Show.

If this were a movie, it would probably not have taken long before I’d said something along the lines of “effing weird shit!” (In a positive way, though!). Obviously this is a book and I got off a little slow(er). I wasn’t sure whether it was the story or I was hitting the ball totally wrong. It didn’t make all that much sense to me. And yes, it did cross my mind and I did wonder “what kinda shrooms is this dude on!?”.

Once the characters’ paths started to cross, I was on track. Boy, did I enjoy this ride towards an unexpected end! I find it very difficult to let you have a glimpse of what The Nobody Show is all about, fearing that lifting up a corner of the veil, would spoil it all… So, I won’t!

What I can say, is that Dunne knows how to touch his readers, sometimes it’s even sad. But then he throws in a witty comment and a spoonful of humour as if he pats you on the shoulder, saying “everything will be fine!”, without getting all syrupy and sticky. No clue exactly how he creates this near-perfect balance, but I guess that’s all part of the magic… isn’t it? ;-)

PS. I bought bananas. They’re South American… Bonnie would not approve! ( )