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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An exquisite novel that touches your heart, mind, and soul, January 10, 2005
This review is from: Waiting for the World to End (Paperback)
Normally, I review a book as soon as I finish reading it. That is not the case with Nicole Hunter's Waiting for the World to End. This novel is so profound, so exquisitely crafted, and so thought-provoking that further mental distillation was required before I could attempt to sit down and attempt to describe it. The words appear on the printed page, but this story is written on nothing less than the human heart itself. It is a book about right and wrong, making and coming to terms with difficult choices, and faith - but the author is quick to point out that this not a religious story; at its essence, this is a human story. It is in fact an exceedingly human story. Guys, don't turn away from this book because you think it might be "sappy" or something; ladies, don't pass this one over just because the main character is a men's basketball coach. This is a book crying out to be read by anyone who has ever searched for meaning in life, tried unsuccessfully to forgive oneself for past mistakes, or experienced (or merely yearned to find) love of the noblest - and, by its nature, sometimes most difficult - form.
Thomas Olsen would seem to be living one version of the good life. He is the head of the English department and head coach of the men's basketball team at Indian River High School in Indiana, and he is a local celebrity among the basketball-crazy citizens of the local area. He already has one state championship, and hopes (not to mention expectations) are high for him to claim a second title. In his early 40s, he could have his choice of any number of fawning females. The Thomas Olsen that everyone sees is not the real Thomas Olsen, however. Olsen is in fact a painfully lonely character molded incompletely in childhood by rejection and weighed down by the grievous weight of a painful decision he made two decades earlier. His is an empty body, long separated from what he considers his soul. Hunter uses pieces of poetry quite brilliantly in order to define the essence of Olsen in the most poignant of terms.
Some of the missing pieces that Olsen has all but given up searching for now begin to turn up, however. He develops a fatherly bond with Ben Wendling, his team's star player, looking upon Ben as the son of his very soul. Then he meets Ben's mother Mary, and in an instant he glimpses everything he has been searching for his whole life. There is, of course, a problem - Mary is a married woman. This doesn't stop Owen from insinuating himself into Mary's life - quite obviously, at times. The two become especially close when Ben suffers a horrifying accident on the court. Mary is a very religious person, and Owen opens up to her in ways he has never done before, revealing a large measure of his heart and soul.
The novel covers some six years of Owen's life. It is a story of constant pining, searching for life's meaning, doing the right thing no matter how unbearably hard it is to do, testing the waters of faith and prayer; most of all, though, this is a story of love in its purest, more soul-quivering form. I can't begin to do the novel justice; it's like trying to describe a deeply personal experience. That is exactly what Waiting for the World to End is - not a novel so much as a moving, heart-touching personal experience full of joy and sorrow, pain and relief, emptiness and fulfillment, and the most poignant form of human love. It's not a story you can ever forget because it becomes a very real part of you. Reading for entertainment is a fantastic thing, but the true wonder of reading is only reflected in the rarest of novels, one that makes you plumb the depths of your own heart and soul - and Waiting for the World to End is one of those rare examples of literature at its most powerful and enlightening.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful yet heartbreaking, February 10, 2005
This review is from: Waiting for the World to End (Paperback)
I am the sort of person who spends an inordinate amount of time watching movies of a decidedly low budget caliber. I spend so much of my time watching films that any spare time for books usually revolves around the drudge of forced reading for school. That is why it is such a delight to come across a novel like Nicole Hunter's "Waiting for the World to End." There is more genuine human emotion in this novel about a man struggling with loneliness than in any book I have read in the last year. How moving and thoughtful is this book? Here's an indication: I sat down with Hunter's book intending to read only the first couple of chapters since I had several other important things to take care of. The next thing I know it is the middle of the night and I am halfway done with the book. I finished it upon waking the following day. I cannot convey to you how rare it is for me to do something like this. I can always put something down and come back to it later, even if I enjoy it immensely. Not so in the case of "Waiting for the World to End." I had to finish reading to see what would happen to the protagonist Thomas Olsen.
In a way Olsen is also his own antagonist. He's a man in the prime of his life, forty-one to be exact, and a man in an enviable position. His job as an English teacher at an Indiana high school coupled with his success as head basketball coach has endeared him to his students, their parents, the school's administrators, and nearly everyone else in town. Olsen is the sort of teacher students remember for the rest of their lives, the sort of teacher that inspires students to use some of their free time in order to paint an ornate mural on his classroom wall. Can you see why he's in an enviable position? Most people would give anything to find something to do in life that garners such admiration and respect from others. Problem is, all of Olsen's accomplishments are external. Inside he dies a little more every day because of loneliness and bad memories. His loneliness stems from his inability to find the right woman with which to share his wonderful life. The bad memories are legion, starting with a former girlfriend's terminated pregnancy during his youth and leading up to the present day with recollections of his unpleasant childhood. His parents, both distinguished university professors, failed to bond with their only son and failed to support his decision to teach high school.
A ray of sunlight pierces the black veil surrounding Olsen's heart when he meets the beautiful Mary Wendling, the mother of Tom's star basketball player Ben. Her mere presence sends his mind racing, and subsequent encounters only confirm that this woman is the answer to all of Olsen's woes. He loves her in a way few people ever experience, but there are problems. Mary is married to a man who helped rescue her from a problematic youth. Moreover, Ben presents a significant barrier to any potential relationship. Tom worries that the boy will interpret any move he makes on Mary as a violation of their own close bond. That Olsen considers Ben Wendling the son he never had only further complicates matters. As the years pass by, the bond between Tom, Ben, and Mary grows stronger. Mary's son heads off to Tucson State at the same time Olsen gets a job offer there, so the two gain the opportunity to continue their relationship in a new way. Meanwhile, back in Indiana Mary encounters problems in her marriage to Virgil that could potentially clear the way for a liaison with Tom. Ben's impending wedding could finally be the time and place where Olsen conquers his eternal loneliness. Or perhaps not. It's to Hunter's credit that her novel refuses to deliver an ending of the type we have seen in hundreds of other books. Instead she gives us a finale approximating real life.
"Waiting for the World to End" is a triumph, a book bursting at the seams with intense examinations of human emotions, characters struggling with their relationship to God, and the problem of reaching across the spaces between people in order to make meaningful and lasting connections. This last point is particularly relevant to the Tom Olsen character. Try as he might, he has great trouble connecting with people. He has friends at the school, certainly, and he befriends an elderly neighbor who lives across the street from him (a situation that has repercussions later in the novel), but he never seems to follow through on his relationships. It's quite rare that anyone ever shows up at his house, and when they do they don't stay for very long. His home is a symbolic reflection of his lonely personality. He's a bit of a recluse, but an unwilling recluse. On this point alone I connected with the book; I'm a lot like this character in that respect, as I don't let many people into my life very easily. I consider any book great when I can relate to it in some manner, and I related big time with "Waiting for the World to End."
I suspect most readers will find something to identify with in this book. In an increasingly impersonal age, where computers and e-mail often serve as substitutes for face to face contact, we can expect to see more and more Tom Olsens. Nicole Hunter has written a memorable book indeed, one that ought to become a bestseller if there is any justice in the world. I'm going to hold on to my copy for many years to come; I have the feeling it's going to be worth a lot of money someday.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Look into a complicated man, June 25, 2006
This review is from: Waiting for the World to End (Paperback)
This book brings you into a thinking mode while entertaining you.
A capable man who can make practical reality based decisions who
declines to take control or make things happen in his personal life. A man who reacts rather than acts, through most of his life. It is also introspective of a man's view on loss. I truly felt this was a thinking feeling person's book. All the more remarkable for a first novel writer. even though an experienced writer. Looking forward to the next book from this writer who shows a brilliant future. Entertaining, emotional, and educational, what a combination!
Patt Gronick
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