Customer Reviews

Tasting the Wind

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4 star:		(2)
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I was caught by surprise when I couldn't put Tasting the Wind down. It's a psychological thriller set in a group home for adults with severe disabilities, but it downplays the thrills to focus on the characters: the residents and the employees who care for them. It's a fascinating window in to a way of life that I know nothing about, and approaches the subject of working with disabilities realistically but with humor. The only thing I found jarring about the story was that it was told from two points of view: first person (Martin's perspective) and third person (everyone else's perspective). After the first few chapters I got accustomed to the switching back and forth and it didn't bother me anymore.

"Tasting the Wind" has two things going for it. The first, and most obvious, is the thriller storyline. Were it not for blurbs and occasional glimmers in the actions and dialogue of a couple of the patients, you might not realize for a good portion of the book that this is a thriller. The mystery slowly builds. Coming down the stretch, however, the action and suspense pick up and it becomes very apparent.

The other thing I liked is more subtle. One is the exposure to what it is like working with people who have what the author describes on his website (talking about his day job) as "profound and multiple disabilities." (I'm sure there is a term some would deem more politically correct, but I'll stick to the old standby here.) It takes a special kind of person to do well working in this environment. Those who don't care about their patients (or clients) won't do well.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

Allan Mayer's "Tasting the Wind" brought back memories of my visits to a long-term-care facility where my mother had spent some time. Allan's characters are so well developed and real-life that I could put faces on them from my meetings with similar caregivers and patients. The descriptions of patients' treatment by the various staff are so authentic, and the anecdotes so real that one cannot wonder if the author is not writing from first-hand experiences?

While the setting of a story in a group-home may not be appealing to some readers, Allan's use of a novel device, the weaving of a murder mystery and humour into the plot, makes the book come alive and a page-turner.

I found the start of the story where an unusual death occurs in a hospital, and its revelation as a murder some years later, captivating. It made me wanting to read on and learn if there might be more similar deaths and the murderer brought to justice. At the same time we learn of the complexities, the difficulties and the intense human interactions needed to run a health care facility. The real life needs and desires of mentally challenged and disabled people are portrayed in a non-intrusive manner that makes us empathise with them. Although Allan brings out his characters on the pages in quick succession, as if in a play, I used the standard technique employed in the theatre, and prepared a list of the cast (in their order of appearance) along with their roles. Perhaps Allan may consider this in his next novel, which might be a sequel? I for one would be interested in learning more about the patients' lives, we had come to esteem, and get to know how they got along in later years.

Reviewed by: Waheed Rabbani, author of, "Doctor Margaret's Sea Chest."

home.cogeco.ca/~wrabbani

A wildly original story about a bunch of health care providers staffing a group home, resettling into the community adult patients with developmental disorders ranging from moderate to severe. Sort of a backwards mystery, the murder revealed in the opening pages. Then the story jumps forward a decade and the plot revolves around the workers piecing together facts involving their nurse ratchet boss' involvement in the crime, using clues from the ramblings of one of the patients in their care. This works very well, keeping the focus of the story on the group home, issues related to care of the patients, and their integration into the community rather than the mystery itself. The setting is the 80's when this practice was just first being used and somewhat controversial.

I work with high school students with developmental disorders and I found the story to be a highly inspirational and successful attempt to incorporate this population into a story and did a great a job of highlighting that these folks have depth that anyone spending more than an hour with them will clearly see. This book will be enjoyed by those who can at least open themselves up the possibility that such depth exists as well as anyone with personal experience along these lines.

The book was at first difficult to become engaged in due to the wide number and range of characters that were dropped on me. But things settled in, and I became hooked on the story. The end had a strong impact and was quite unexpected, even being in the know from the beginning of the main facts and the feeling that I knew what was coming.

One thing I do have to mention, the book is pretty heavily loaded with grammatical mistakes, but honestly the story was so impressive that this detracted none from my enjoyment, but I'll take one star off for that.