Dear John by Norma L. Betz

Released: 2008 / 206 pages

First sentence: “Susanna Abigail Smith was dreading the trip to Weymouth.”

Summary (from back cover): When financial aid director Susanna Smith goes to Massachusetts to settle her aunt’s estate, she never suspects that her well-ordered life will take an unusual turn. Susanna and her faithful companion, Quincy, embark on a journey into the past that not only reveals the life of an ancestor — a famous historic figure — whose circumstances parallel her own but also results in an important discovery about her own life.

Review: There is a lot about this book that I like, and one signifigant aspect that I didn’t… 

First, the positive!  The relationship between Susanna and her Weimaraner, Quincy, is a wonderful representation of how powerful the relationship between human and dog can be.  This was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the novel. 

Second, I enjoyed observing how Susanne dealt with her grief over her aunt’s death and her guilt over not being with her enough at the end.  Psychologically, this angle was particularly appealing since I struggle living far away from much of my family, too. 

Third, the story is compelling, engaging and very readable.

However, my least favorite aspect of Dear John is pretty pervasive — the writing!  It is not poorly written by any means, but the writing felt stilted and… clunky?  Or awkward?  I’m not sure exactly how to describe what seemed disconnected, so I’ll quote a passage and see if my readers can help me out:

‘Mr. Shaw, I must tell you how surprised I am by this information.  My aunt never mentioned you.  This is the first time I’m hearing about any of this.  I must also tell you that I’m happy my aunt had companionship and that somone was with her at the end.  I’m here, however, to settle the estate, and I must get it done quickly so that I can return home and get back to my office.  Can we please get down to the matter at hand?’

Mr. Shaw looked at Susanna sadly, and for a moment it appeared as if he were going to say something, but he stopped himself and, in an instant, was the polished lawyer he had always been.  What Susanna didn’t realize was how difficult the confession had been for this proud man.

I realize the context is unclear from this passage, but I think the flavour of the writing comes through well.  Overly formal?  I’m not sure what… but something wasn’t quite natural with Betz’s writing… I think a first person narrator would have been more effective, especially since the protagonist is interesting and likeable.  But, somehow, the writing didn’t detract from the story enough to make me dislike it!  (I’m not sure how this is possible, but it’s true — I enjoyed the novel overall!)

So, if you are interested in a free copy, simply leave me a comment below!  And congratulations to Heather for winning the two-for-one give-away of You-Turn  and Spark!! 

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