#AusReadingMonth2020 Simpson Returns (novella)

• Author: Wayne Macauley
  
• Title:  Simpson Returns ( pg 135)
  
• Genre:   novella
• Published: 2019
• List of Challenges 2020
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• #AusReadingMonth2020  @Bronasbooks
• Bingo card: VIC
  
• #NovNov @746Books

 

NOTES:

1. Main character:
2. Jack Simpson – ghostly World War I hero soldier
3. …not everyone can see him, apart from those who helps
4. Helper: Murphy, his donkey
5. Quest: Jack is in search for an inland sea in the center of the country.
6. Majority of the tale:  deals with characters he meets along the way
7. teenage runaway
8. refugee
9. Vietnam veteran
10. single mother
11. deranged ex-teacher,
12. Setting:  Australia
    
13. Theme:   Jack tries to help others but sometimes fails….
14. Jack  defends his actions by claiming the
15. …intention is more important than the result.
    

 

Conclusion:

1. Backstory: Shrapnel Gully – bullet in the heart – Lasseter’s vial – the Inland Sea.
2. Characters:  Sad stories
3. …that could not spark a scintilla of  pathos in me, sorry.
4. While the first half or so of the book
5. …was interesting (Jack and Murphy) it became repetitious and tedious.
6. Each section had the standard line to a character:  “…tell me your story.”
7. After 61% of the book….
8. I decided to approach it from a different angle.
9. With the help of KINDLE flashcards
10. I noted ONLY the dialogue of Jack
11. …and filtered out the tragic stories of the other characters.
12. I flashed the cards
13. ….and had a rolling conversation with Jack.
14. I just wanted to salvage anything from the book.

 

Last Thoughts:

1. Perhaps I’ve have been spoiled
2. …after reading Nigel Featherstone’s
3. stellar novella Fall On Me.
4. Page turner? Only when I was turning
5. …a few pages at a time hoping it would get better.
6. It did not.
7. #ReadAndDecideForYourself