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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
1+1 = Lots of Fun, February 5, 2009
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After reading the description of this book, I knew it would be an interesting read - at least for me. The main character is a counter, which is one form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Everyone has some level of OCD. My OCD is a very mild form of counting. I like fours and multiples of fours. It is not debilitating in any way, but I often find myself going through the proverbial motions. I tell you this not to portray myself as a weirdo, but to set the stage for my state of mind while reading. Grace, the protagonist, is a counter in the extreme sense. Her number of choice is ten. She counts steps to and from her apartment to the grocery store. She counts the poppy seeds on her cake, and subsequently eats it in the corresponding number of bites (which proves quite difficult if the number is less than 15 or more than 30). I really like Grace. She has an astounding sense of humor and a high level of intelligence. She knows she's a little different and accepts her life as it is. She lost her teaching job due to obsessive counting of children instead of teaching them to count. She loves her family, but has no friends. She has a very structured meal plan and her clothing selections are planned out indefinitely. Everything changes for Grace when she meets Seamus. Seamus is an average-looking but persistent man who won't take `no' for an answer. He pursues Grace until she agrees to go out with him. Their relationship blossoms and she becomes so distracted at times that she often forgets to count. Things get even more complex for Grace when she agrees to seek help for her problem. I can't say any more without giving away the story. Suffice it to say that Grace really does know what she wants from life. Seamus is an amazing man. Best of all, this is a quite good story. It drew me in from the first page and I couldn't put it down until I got to the last. Bottom Line - Grace is a real `character' and is sure to make you laugh. Although the book has a few tense scenes, the author delivers difficult subject matter with a lighthearted approach. I'd certainly be willing and interested in reading more by this author.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe I was expecting too much, December 31, 2008
'Addition' isn't an awful book, and I admit I *had* to finish it. I guess you could say it was a page-turner in an irritating way. My first gripe is with the love story, which I really didn't believe. I found Seamus bland, and couldn't really see what either of the protagonists saw in each other. It almost seemed to be a relationship of convenience. Also, Jordan's description of semen as 'pearlescent' made me laugh so hard I couldn't take the relationship seriously thereafter. Secondly, I thought the story trivialised OCD--made the condition look somewhat 'charming' and 'easy'. I don't claim to be an expert on the condition, but I'm not sure Grace would magically forget about counting just because a nice man's in her apartment. Her journey through therapy, too, seems extremely simplified. The last thing I found irritating was the sheer number of numbers one had to read. I skipped a lot. Call me insensitive, but a page on the description of a toothbrush and its bristle count isn't the most stimulating text I've ever read. But, as a piece of chick-lit, it *was* entertaining, most of the time.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet and quirky romance, September 1, 2008
Grace has a type of OCD which means that she is obsessed with counting and measuring her world. Numbers and routines dictate her life. For example, the number of poppyseeds on her cake determine how many bites she must take to eat it (between 20 and 30 is optimal). She shops in multiples of 10 and when she discovers one day in the supermarket that she has only 9 bananas, she swipes one from the shopper behind her. Which is how she meets Seamus. I thought the subject matter of this book might make it a somber read, but it's not at all. Grace is a witty narrator and the books tears along - I easily read it in a day. The story is about her relationship with Seamus and how they come to terms with her condition. In many ways it's a celebration of the way that we are all unique. It's a sweet, quirky, warm little book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's hard to believe that this is Toni Jordan's first novel. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
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