Drop Out [Kindle Edition]

Neil Ostroff (Author)

Book Description

The room was sparse and dimly lit with the flickering of strawberry-scented candles. Power was out. It had been nearly a decade since Nathan had stood inside someone’s home; since that tragic day when he lost everything that ever mattered to him. Outside, a hurricane sounded like it was beating palm trees against the earth. Nathan didn’t know the woman who’d rescued him from the throes of the deadly storm, but he would soon enough. Her name is Miriam and she is about to change everything he ever thought about the meaning of life and what lies beyond. Nathan will discover that the strength of love can piece his shattered world back together and heal wounds that cut deep into his soul. But he never figured the perils he and Miriam were about to face by knowing the most horrible knowledge that one can know.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Linda's review

Sep 06, 11

Read in September, 2011

I enjoyed this very much. How fitting to read it this week - the week of 9/11. It was hard to put down - following Nathan through the collapse of the Twin Towers and then more adventures in the Florida Keys. It will certainly put your own problems in perspective.

From the Back Cover

When the Twin Towers fell, Nathan Cruz saved the lives of dozens of strangers but the one life he could not save was that of his pregnant fiancé. Wracked with survivor's guilt and unresolved goodbyes, Nathan drops out of society where he lives self-sufficiently on a houseboat in Florida.
 
A twist of fate lands him into the home of Miriam Kanter, a young, fiercely independent woman with a shocking secret. Alone together in the midst of a raging hurricane, Nathan discloses the nearly unbearable sorrows of his past and finds strength to piece his shattered life back together. Being with Miriam, he feels the connection he'd been missing, stirring up feelings buried long ago. But will Miriam's own life cut short and plunge Nathan back into his world of reclusive isolation?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 221 KB
• Print Length: 110 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005FX0K7U
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,235 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A struggle of man against himself. April 13, 2012

By Sunday S. Smith

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

About the Book:
An elevator ride cut short by the crash of an airplane into one of the twin towers is the opening of this book. We follow Nathan Cruz as he tries to rescue people while trying to reach his wife who is several floors above him. He has contact with her by cell phone but the fire is keeping her where she is and a blocked stairwell is preventing him from going to her. Neil saves dozens of people and eventually is seen as a hero by everyone else but himself. He has failed.
Ten years later we find Nathan has dropped out of life and is living on a small boat in the Florida Keys, keeping himself in food with fishing and the gathering of eggs from his pet chicken. A hurricane is quickly approaching the Keys but Nathan is determined to ride out the storm, though even the most seasoned of residents are telling him to evacuate. The storm is so powerful that Nathan loses his small craft but manages to make it to shore. There he spots a lone figure, struggling against the storm. Intrigued that someone is still around, he follows the figure who, as it turns out, is Miriam Kanter, a fellow individualist who was determined not to leave. She invites him into her shelter and it is there that Nathan's life changes drastically.

My Take:
Some books just stay with you. Some scenes continue to stir up emotions and ride with you like a backseat driver, popping up now and again to remind you of something or in this case remind you of a feeling. In Heir to Power (Michele Poague), it was the scene when Kinter holds one of their band as he dies; in Eragon it was the tomb transformed into crystal. But with some books, there are so many pieces that hang in there. I believe for many of us this will be one of those books.
When I started to write this review, I kept trying to figure out just how to tell you what the book was like. To me it is important that you, as my reader, don't get mislead about the nature of a book. Meanwhile, as I struggled, one book kept knocking on the door of my emotions - The Old Man and the Sea. They say there are only three basic plots - man against other men; man against nature; and man against himself. Like The Old Man and the Sea, Drop Out is about man's battle with himself, told in crisp scenes and realistic dialog that keeps the pages flowing smoothly.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, but especially those readers who enjoy an in depth study of man's battle against his own nature. If you are looking for quick reads with huge climaxes and twists and turns, this may not be the book for you but if you are looking for something that will touch you deeply and stay with you long past the final page, this is the book.
There is some sex that is somewhat graphic (and my readers know I don't like sex for the sake of sex) but it is dearly important to the story.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really different (and that is good). August 19, 2012

By Bloody Well Write

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I waited a while to think about this book and how to review it. Drop Out is very different from most stories. It moves through a lot of different situations and each one is well written to perfectly fit the part of the story being told. I have seen several derelict boats just like the one Nathan called home. In fact, I may have seen someone just like Nathan rowing to shore in his dinghy just this morning. The author makes the people and places he describes become a part of your life. Next week I may not remember the book I am reading today, but I will remember Drop Out for the rest of my life. It is just that good.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars drop out April 5, 2012

By kelly m.

Format:Kindle Edition

This book drew me in by the second page. It so clearly brought back the images of that horrifying September day. Nathan was such an easy character to care about-so battered by life- but still somehow holding on. I was captivated by Nathan's rocky path to salvation from beginning to end.

More About the Author

Raised in a rural town outside of Philadelphia, Neil D. Ostroff has been a published author for more than twenty years. He is an avid poker player when not working on his novels. Neil also enjoys fishing, hiking, and all things outdoors. He's been interviewed in such publications as PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE, THE PHILADELPHIA INTELLIGENCER, and THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. His books have been described as noir with a twist of the unusual.