Author: Shana MahaffeyISBN: 978-0-451-22791-1
Publisher: New American Library [Penguin]
Source: Pump Up Your Book Blog Tour
"Though she doesn’t remember the trauma that caused it, Holly Miller has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her personality has fractured into five different identities, together known as The Committee. And as much as they make Holly’s life hell, she can’t live without them. Then one of those identities, the flirtatious, southern Betty Jane, lands Holly a voiceover job. Betty Jane wants nothing more than to be in the spotlight. The rest of The Committee wants Betty Jane to shut up. Holly’s therapist wants to get to the bottom of her broken psyche. And Holly? She’s just along for the ride."
I personally love debut novels. I find them thrilling to read. The author at best will be a fresh, exciting voice with potential for many new novels which I will read. At worst, I tried something new but it didn’t agree. Shana Mahaffey easily wrote her way into my “at best” category. “Sounds Like Crazy” is a refreshing and original debut novel. I can honestly say I haven’t read anything like it. Ms. Mahaffey delivers a wonderful work of fiction in a clear and concise manner. The novel revolves around a young woman with DIS, formally known as multiple personality disorder. Holly has five voices living inside her head, all of which the reader will come to know. My first thoughts were “I hope I’m not confused.” I was not! The novel is very easy to read and understand I never felt lost or confused. I found myself engrossed in the topic of Dissociative Identity Disorder and by the end, learned quite a lot about the condition. I was amazed at the authors’ ability to write about the subject within a story. She clearly did her research.
If I could change anything about the novel it would be the pace set at the beginning. The novel was slow to begin and didn’t quite grab my attention at first. There were a few additional spots throughout the novel that were a tad slow and easily lost my attention. These spots became few and far between as the novel progressed. I couldn’t put the book down by the end.
What did I like best about this novel? The ending! It was amazing. I found the last half of the book riveting! I couldn’t put it down. The ending left me amazed and satisfied with awareness and understanding of the character and what she was going through. I honestly had no clue what to expect and couldn’t have chosen a better story. It was emotional on many different levels and left me impressed with Shana’s writing. I really enjoyed getting to know Holly and her committee but was happy to also learn about her disorder and the great capabilities of the mind.
Overall? It is a great book, a magnificent and educational read. I definitely suggest you pick this debut novel up. In fact, I bought a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader! To enter the giveaway use the form below. If you need a good read I suggest heading to the bookstore and picking up a copy. The novel has been out for awhile so you are likely to get a deal on it. You’ll at least learn more about an interesting condition, but hopefully find a new author to support and enjoy!
About the Author
Shana Mahaffey lives in San Francisco in an Edwardian compound that she shares with an informal cooperative of family, friends and five cats. She’s a survivor of Catechism and cat scratch fever, and is a member of the Sanchez Grotto Annex, a writers’ community. Her work has been published in SoMa Literary Review and Sunset Magazine. She welcomes all visitors to her website www.shanamahaffey.com, and is happy to meet with book groups in-person or in cyberspace (phone/webcam/the works).Giveaway Rules
1 copy will be up for grabs from January 5th - February 5th at 11:00pm CST.You must be a GFC follower of this blog or a subscriber. Be prepared to leave your GFC name or email address that you subscribe with.
1 extra entry is available by sharing this giveaway via Twitter, blog post/sidebar or Facebook. For Twitter @cozyreadersnook should be included in your tweet. Be prepared to leave the direct link to your post.
Good Luck! Please use the form below. Entries only count via the form.
I also really enjoyed this book. I purchased it at Borders originally and there it sat on my TBR shelf. When I saw the tour, I thought, "Hey! Perfect opportunity to read and review it now!" .. so I joined in. I'm very glad that it got put to the top, as I enjoyed the writing style very much. Like you, I was taken by how the bits and pieces that brought each of the personalities into being were revealed. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read this, to see the 'progression' of 'multiple personality' from "Sybil" to this book, and the differences between what was supposed to be factual, and a work of fiction.
ReplyDeleteBTW, loving the blog!!!