Pages

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Review: The Life O'Reilly and a giveaway

Title: The Life O'Reilly
Author: Brian Cohen
Pages: 266
Published: August 18th 2009 by iUniverse.com
Genre: Fiction
Source: Author

  What was I doing with myself? I couldn't help but think about my unsavory corporate clients, off in their weekend cottages and vacation homes, water-skiing behind yachts and diving in Grand Cayman, basking in the comfort of knowing their misconduct was easily being covered by directors and officers liability insurance, boasting about how royally they screwed their own shareholders.
  Ha, ha, ha, fraud, schmaud!
  And then I thought about Dawn and drifted off on my office couch for a while until the phone rang.
  It was Dawn.
  And it wasn't good. (p.53)




My Thoughts:  Nick has worked hard to get to where he is at...long hours spent at the law firm, time spent away from his parents, and no chance to really develop any type of relationship.  It isn't until Nick is assigned to do a "pro-bono" case that he realizes what is missing in his life. We follow Nick as he tries to find a better and more fulfilling life for himself. I'm sure the author, who is a lawyer, had quite a bit of life experience to draw from while writing this book, and I admire the men and women who spend so much time working and trying to climb that corporate ladder, but at what cost? I think it takes a lot of inner strength to realize that everything you worked for really doesn't matter in the end (money and all the trappings that come with it), and that big changes need to happen in order for you to feel that your life actually matters. At times, I did feel that the story was predictable and I started to think that I  knew exactly how it was all going to end. I was SO wrong about the ending though, because it actually threw me for a loop and I'm still not sure how to interpret it!!! I feel comfortable recommending this book to others...not a bad way to spend an afternoon!
 GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
 If you would like to win an autographed hardback copy of this book please leave me your email address in the comment box! Per Brian it will be open to international and o.k. to be sent to a P.O. box! Last day for entry will be April 30th at 11:59 pm. The winner will be announced on May 1st!



I was not compensated for my review.

18 comments:

  1. i actually love it when an ending throws me for a loop! LOL!!! we were watching a show the other night and I was like...'he's gonna die' and i was right...and then later i was like, 'he's gonna ask her to marry him'...and *sigh* i was right again....i don't like it when i can predict the stuff that's gonna happen ... i like the surprises better! lol!!! sounds like a great book! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great review, Staci. I'd love to be entered. Thanks!

    persianpickle at hotmail dot com.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great review! I need to get my copy read. I love when an ending just comes out of nowhere!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. My husband was all about work until the last few years when he finally came to realize that life's too short to spend it working, so I can probably relate to this book.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I'd love to enter! Sounds like a great read.
    nataliew2(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. pls enter me, great review!info@tribute-books.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Threw you for a loop, really, sounds very interesting, hm, I wonder what happened.

    And open to all, cool :D

    blodeuedd1 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. The kind of life depicted in this book is the polar opposite of mine! I love surprise endings, too!

    jgbeads(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the cover and your thoughts. Please sign me up.
    stacybooks at yahoo

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the cover and your thoughts. Please sign me up.
    stacybooks at yahoo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great review. I love that you included a quote, it gives such a good sense of the writer's style. Sounds like a great book to trigger some thoughts on life, but yet entertain as well.

    Throw my name in the hat, please!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like that the ending is not predictable because I was predicting the ending as I read the synopsis. (I think I'm becoming jaded.) I like stories about lawyers so sign me up.

    margot dot peck at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. No need to enter me - but I'm glad to hear the ending made it worthwhile!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Not an entry -- just a comment. :-) I enjoyed this book, too. And the message is very relevant. No one ever lay on his death bed thinking, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office!"

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds like a great read... I'd love to be entered in the draw - my email address is reederreads@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one. No need to enter me. I have a copy to read and will get to it very soon.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I just loved your review. Makes me want to read it more. Please include me.

    Thanks for the chance.

    sharon54220@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Hello Friends!! I want to take this moment to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and thank you for leaving me a comment.

* Because of the excessive spam I have decided not to allow anonymous users to comment.

Happy Reading!