Title: Telemachus

Author: Peter Gray

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis:

Told through the medium of a colony of migrating birds, this is essentially a love story which explores the meaning of the word ‘love’ to different individuals. 

It’s about pain and joy, illusion and reality. It’s also about the fragility of love and the way it can be destroyed so easily for some, while for others, it’s the immutable spine of their very existence.

Tom John-Mary has two contradictory anticipations in his early days, both about females who will have a future influence on his life. Daisy, an unwelcome intruder, and Sally, the love of his life. 

Daisy inserts herself into his respected family and Tom’s belief that Sally is to be his gift from Aves, God of Birds, is shattered. Meantime, Sally becomes paired with Jacob who, at an early stage, mistreats her and absconds.

Telemachus is the big red eagle at the end of the northern valley and from whose talons none return. Tom doesn’t know if he’s real or an illusion, as none ever return to say they’ve seen him. He’s the threat that’s there in the face of all life, the danger that’s met around any corner. In some ways, he’s the existential response to illogical teaching and distorted reasoning.

Follow this incredible story and discover the storms, twists, turns, tragedies, and migrations that Tom and Sally have to endure before love can really start to soar.

Short Review

Telemachus is a brilliant idea of a novel; however, the writing itself has a few shortcomings.

Full Review

After reading Telemachus and looking at the book on Amazon, I was surprised to see how many high ratings it has.  Unfortunately, my review is not as stellar.  Telemachus is a beautiful premise for its story, but the writing fails to translate the message well.

Telemachus is an unusual love story mixed with tribal-esque spirituality and a sense of fate.   I loved the way that Peter Gray made Tom and Sally fight for their love through an incredibly adventurous plot, and I thought that his twists and turns were intriguing.  His vision of Tom and Sally as birds was also unique in the way that no racial issues were crossed.  The love story between Tom and Sally was exciting and I think that it would satisfy a wide audience.

However, I was disappointed in Gray’s writing style.  His spacing between dialogue and narration was odd and a chore to get through.  I felt as though he was telling me the story instead of showing me, and I skipped a lot of his descriptions.  The brilliance of his idea was lost in blocks of dull writing and had I not been interested in the idea of his story, I wouldn’t have finished Telemachus.

Due to the odd writing style, I have to give Telemachus 3/5 stars.  I gave it three because I felt that the story redeemed the writing a bit.  You might enjoy this book if you like fast-paced romances, but be aware that it is a slow reader.