Customer Reviews

The Ballad of Pinewood Lake

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Ballad of Pinewood Lake is a novel that doesn't fit easily into a genre, but I'm going to call it a love story with a style of its own. It is a well written story that gave me a glimpse into a very different world than the one where I live, never-the-less there are parallels to be found in the sturggles of Johnny and Angela, and they are parallels that run alongside all of our lives pushing us to explore the multiplicity surrounding us.

They dreamed of a different life. A life not supported by concrete pillars, decorated by crowds of people, and the sounds of automobile motors and smell of exhaust. Pinewood Lake seemed to have the answers, where writer Johnny Paul could find peace in his work, and where together with his alcoholic wife, Angela, and their toddler son, Colin, they could start anew. THE BALLAD OF PINEWOOD LAKE is a story of a family and how they confront a personal crisis, and also, quite possibly, how they hide from it. Seemingly content with their new surroundings of the lake, with the harmony of tall pines and wildlife, they intertwine with the people of Pinewood Lake, who unexpectedly go against the grain of the Paul's desired change. They too, like the Pauls, have come to a place to bury their past, with the assistance of alcohol, only to find that their problems are still very much alive and indiscreet as ever. But in Pinewood Lake they remain, to follow the seasons and brave the social life, dreaming, and trying not to lose it all in the dark pits of their worst fears. Jory Sherman, notable for a vivid and stylistic prose, comparable only to classics such as Joyce, Fitzgerald or Hemmingway, triumphs again with a story as touching as it is tragic. Undoubtedly a book for all times, and quite possibly Sherman's best work yet.

The Author is able to capture your full attention and is able to make a book into a real life story as with Johnny and Angela. Written with the heart. A story that will bring out all your feelings and even a heartbreaker. I look forward to his next ballad.