​​The famous “coming of age” story; you could say that it’s been done to death, but with each generation of authors there is always something fresh and new to the genre: the era, the locale, the gender of the protagonist or protagonists, as the case may be.

I was first caught by the cover of Another Life, simple with just enough pop.  Don’t discount covers, if it blends in with all of the others, I might not notice it.  Haller’s synopsis was intriguing.  I thought that this might be just the change of pace that I was looking for.

Haller painted the picture of one summer in a small town in upstate New York.  He allowed me to peek into the lives of some of the residents and he weaved an intricate web of connections and disconnections.  I really felt like I got to know his characters.

For whatever reason, I was unable to immerse myself into Another Life.  It’s hard to put my finger on why.  The writing was good but didn’t captivate me; the characters were interesting but didn’t become new friends; the plot was well paced but I didn’t feel the intangible pull to get back to the book.

Unfortunately, Another Life didn’t make me feel.  When I reached the end, I felt that some of the storylines were unfinished, but then again, perhaps that was the point, real life is never really finished.


*3 Stars

Feel free to comment or share.

    2 Book Lovers Reviews

Another Life


By Robert Haller