Customer Reviews

Charade

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you ever felt betrayed this book will captivate you. And revenge? Yes it's in here...but you won't believe how it unravels. Gilbert Morris is dynamite when he puts his mind to the pen and paper. What a classic, unique twist from all the other fiction books I have read out there. It was a page turner let me tell you, another book you won't be able to put down.

Ollie Benson is an extremely overweight man who spends his days fixing computers in the back of a repair shop. He has no luck with women, and one blind date he goes on ends in an embarrassing manner. Ollie has no self esteem and no proper social skills. Ollie is also very smart and hits it big with a computer program that overnight makes him a millionaire. Dane Fetterman contacts Ollie with hopes of representing him in the fast paced software industry. While Ollie is rich he is still lonely. Then he meets Marlene, a beautiful woman who loves him for who he is. Soon tragedy strikes and Ollie is destroyed. Will Ollie choose the worldy way and seek vengeance on those who wronged him, or will God intervene with Ollie's soul and allow him to forgive those who wronged him?

Charade is the fast paced new novel from Gilbert Morris. It is told in a quick, first-person point of view. The plot moves fast and never bogs down. It seems Morris knew the scenario he wanted to set up for the ending of his novel, so some of the plot devices he uses as part of Ollie's downfall seem a little farfetched, but it doesn't really detract from the story. Morris creates a world of people who have tons of money but lack in what really matters, God and morals. These people have everything but are always searching for more. I enjoyed his realist portrayal of sexuality in a Christian novel. Its nice to see an author acknowledge that sexual attract can exist in moral people.

Morris' religious message is simple and isn't forced and the conclusion is quite predictable. I enjoyed this novel from beginning to end, in spite of Morris's implication the the Sierra Club is a worthwhile charity for Christians. In my opinion, while the Sierra Club might have lofty goals, they are in reality a left wing political organization that does more harm than good. Morris should leave politics out of future novels.

I enjoyed Morris' 3-mystery "Cat" series and decided to try another book by him.
I quickly became involved with Ollie, the main character and his troubles as a fat man in a world that values thinness. The pivotal event in his life was poignant and horrifying. The clear parallels with "The Count of Monte Cristo" made the story even more intriguing and it was fun to watch the transformation of Ollie from a sweet introvert into a vengeful charmer. An exciting and satisfying conclusion ended this enjoyable book.
Apparently, Gilbert Morris is a prolific author in many, many genres. I'd like to read more of this kind from him.

Story is about a very obese young man faced with societies rejections, lack of love, his struggle to confront his situation, and the pitfalls along the way. His few "friends" add to his difficulties until fate and a kindly "loner" set him on a corrective course. Book grabs you from the very beginning and is hard to put down. Highly recommended for adults young and old, of both sexes.

I bought this book because it was labeled as Christian suspense. It started out great, but I was soon disappointed. The characters weren't very believable, and there were several errors (his explanation of receiving a large amount of cash in a briefcase within two hours simply by making a phone call and giving the secret number to his account is inane). Other things were not explained at all. I was able to suspend disbelief about his social naivete, but other things just didn't make sense.

As Ollie gets further along in his search for revenge, he seems to believe that if people are wealthy they are living empty, if not immoral, lives... and certainly there are many who do. However, money itself is not evil, it's the love of money that is. (In fact, anything that is put before God.) For all Ollie knew, there may have been many wealthy Christians living in that community who were doing godly things with their money, but he was judging them by how he felt personally. This viewpoint didn't seem to change, even when he realized it wasn't up to him to judge others.

Another thing that bothers me is his (seeming) belief that animals and the earth's ecology are more important than humans... certainly, that is the Sierra Club's viewpoint. For Mr. Morris to be pushing this secular organization as worthy is offputting.

The underlying theme was forgiveness, and he delivered it fairly well. However, forgiveness is unilateral, and doesn't mean that the person who is being forgiven should not be punished for his illegal deeds in this world. Lying to the police so that a person can evade justice is wrong, no matter how good the intentions.

On the whole, I'll give this 3 stars because I did want to read to the end to find out what happened.

CHARADE

By Gilbert Morris

Review by Laura V. Hilton

Price $12.99




Ollie Benson is a computer video repairman who loves to invent computer programs in his spare time. At the urging of a friend, he sends his latest program in to a company and, to his surprise, they want to buy it! Suddenly, Ollie is rich beyond belief and everyone wants to be his friend. Even as they are repulsed by his obesity, they are drawn by his wealth.



Ollie is an innocent and not sure how to take his new-found popularity. He watches people and, if they seem repulsed by his hideous appearance, he stays away. But his agent, Dane, convinces him that he must move to California, and there Ollie finds love. Or so it seems.



When the two people Ollie most trusts betray him, Ollie develops and carries out the most elaborate plan for revenge. It is truly spectacular, and leaves no room for error. Can Ollie carry it off? Or is it possible something or Someone will change his mind?



I didn't want to like CHARADE. It just didn't sound like a very good book: an obese, computer geek hero suddenly thrust into the world of the rich and famous. Still, I picked it up and couldn't put it down. I read CHARADE through in one sitting. Ollie is real. He's lovable. He's the guy next door.



I figured out where the story was going early on, but even so, it wasn't disappointing. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, especially once Ollie learned to stop reacting to other people's opinions and focus instead on his own individuality. That is when it really became interesting. Fantastic book. My only complaints were that some of the events seemed unrealistic and that the Californians Ollie came into contact with seemed very fascinated with all things Confederate. $12.99. 304 pages.

This reminds me of one of my favorite books, The Count of Monte Cristo. The protagonist is duped in a scheme and plots revenge. You'll have to read this page-turner to find out if he goes through with it or not.

I never really connected with the characters. It seemed to me this was a hastily written book, and unlike other Morris books I've read, I found several obvious mistakes. Plus Morris repeated lines several times, as if each time he was writing it for the first time. I thought the ending was trite and quick, and what promised to be exciting, the whole revenge thing, was pretty much summed up in a few chapters. Sometimes books are subtly witnessing, but this one turned into a sermon! Not his best.