Customer Reviews

The Lazarus Child

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're willing to suspend your disbelief for most of this novel, sit back, relax, and marvel at the wonderful imagination of Mr.Mawson you'll enjoy this book. I found it fascinating, exciting, and a wonderful escape from my own life here with four healthy children. Mr.Mawson takes the reader into the unknown world of the coma victim as various interesting characters attempt to bring an innocent child back to the conscious world. There are plot twists and enough surprises to keep one guessing.

There seemed to be a lot of interest in this book, so I ran out (actually bought on amazon). The subject matter was interesting, but executed in a too-slow, too-schmaltzy manner. There are lengthy dream sequences that were pure torture to read. I suffered through them, only to reach a completely unsatisfying ending. Blechhhh.

This was a great book in the beginning but, as it wore on, the pace became slow and predictable. The last few chapters of the book were unclear and, honestly, annoying to read. All in all, I gave this book two stars.

I loved the start of this book and couldn't put it down. But then it started to turn into a sort of ghosts and spirits book. The characters became unbelievable as well as the story. The ending was the worst. I too, skipped through the coma-type communications. Pity that a great story line didn't continue to the last page.

Sometimes writers and publishers can just try a little too hard. Reading this book which I hoped would be a searching exlploration of a potential human tragedy, I became inceasingly uncomfortable with its frequently ham-fisted attempts at manipulation. I don't know if the author has suffered through anything like the events his novel describes, but on this evidence I doubt it.

I read The Lazarus Child by Robert Mawson. It is a fiction novel about the strength and love of a family. I had mixed feelings about the book, but I enjoyed it for the most part.
I liked the overall story and the plot. I enjoyed the ending. I would say more about why, but that would give it away. All of the characters were well developed and I think the author wrote them all well.
There were only two things that I didn't like about this book. One of them was that the author goes overboard with the descriptions. He went into such detail in some places that I skipped ahead to the next paragraph. The other thing that I didn't like about the book was that it jumped around. Within a chapter the plot would move from Frankie's hospital room to Dr. Elizabeth Chase's childhood, and then to Jack's office. It was hard for me to keep up with the plot and what had happened in the previous chapter. It was especially hard if I put the book down for more than a day. It would have been a lot easier to keep up if I had the time and the patience to sit down and read the book in one sitting.
Despite the two low points of the book I would have to say that the overall story and the concept of the book outweighed the low points. I would also have to say that I would recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a good book to read, but to be prepared and have your thinking cap on.

The story's premise is fascinating, and for that reason I saw it through to the end. But I found the characters a bit too stock, the research into consciousness non-existent (for example, the author routinely confuses unconsciousness and dissociation), the editing and structure sloppy and choppy, and, as someone else pointed out, the ending wholly unsatisfying. As for the dream sequences, the author would have been advised to leave that kind of thing to Stephen King and to not jump back and forth between the dream world and the conscious world. It also would have been a much stronger book had the author maintained a single point of reference with just one character.

One highlight of the story was the grandmother. Her character was another reason I stayed with the story. In the hands of a skilled scriptwriter, the story could be transformed nicely for the screen and I vote for Dame Judi Dench as the grandmonther.

In Cambridge, England, the Heywoods' lives are forever changed by two incidents. The family matriarch Alison tosses her philandering spouse out of their home when she catches him sleeping with his secretary.

That change forces their twelve year old son Ben to walk his younger sister to school every morning. On one particular day, Ben leaves his sister and her friend outside a store and he dashes inside to make a quick purchase. By the time he returns, a few seconds becomes eternityal when his sister and her friend are hit by a van. His sister is in a coma and her friend is dead. Desperate to save the life of her daughter, pronounced as being in an irreversible coma, Alison flies to the states to enlist the help of renegade practitioner Dr. Elizabeth Chase. Still, even with Elizabeth's uncanny success, a miracle will still be needed to save the little girl.

THE LAZERUS CHILD is a tremendous, poignant thriller that deeply explores many of the critical ! ! social issues confronting mankind as we step towards the new millennium. The tear jerker story line is crisp, fast-paced, intelligent, and heart grabbing. The characters feel real as readers will believe that for the grace of God that is how they would have reacted to the tragedy. Robert Mawson lives up to the pre publication Everest like interest with a winning family drama that will definitely win hearts.

Harriet Klausner

From the very first chapter, the story pulled me right in! The characters really came to life as well and Mawson revealed their histories, flaws and traits in an interesting style that kept me turning the pages well into the night. And while the ending felt a bit rushed and chaotic, with a few too many outside forces pressuring down on them from every side imaginable, it did end well - with a very cinematic flair. I am curious to read his first book now!

I just logged on to see if I could find more by this author. I really enjoyed the book. I thought the descriptive passages showed much talent and imagination. It was a great read. I couldn't put it down. I was surprised to see that it didn't have a five star review.