Friday, August 24, 2007

A Delightful Dilemma

I finished FJ Warren's book, Archelaus Hoskens' Dilemma. Ms. Warren is the "Shy Cornish Lady" I spoke of in a recent post. She is modest in the extreme and after reading her book I am quite convinced she is so for no good reason. She is a very fine writer.

Here is the review I just posted to Amazon, which should show up in a few days:

A young pick pocket finds himself in jail after being caught in the act and then is bailed out by a young lady who has plans for him that change his life in a dramatic way. This is a hilarious tale of scheming and subterfuge, of marriage and romance (in that order). The author brings to life a number of enchanting characters and has the reader smiling from the very first pages.

The book is written as though by an author from the early 19th century. So immersed did I become that I began to feel I was reading a book published in 1810 rather than one of recent vintage. The author has done a masterful job of weaving a clever tale using local color and the language of antiquity to remove the reader to another time and place.

The book is very brief at 109 pages, but is well worth the read. The author manages what very few do and that is to engross the modern reader without gimmickry, sex, or violence. Kudos to Ms. Warren for a fine piece of work.

2 comments:

F J Warren said...

Barry,

Thanks for your kind words and even kinder review.

Best wishes,

FJ

Cellophane Queen said...

I just got this book yesterday and zoomed through about 1/3. I should be able to copy and paste your good review since I'm getting the same impressions on the writing style.

How do you pronounce Archelaus, I wonder? I guess I'd better go ask FJ.