Monday, August 27, 2007

14 Degrees Below Zero by Quinton Skinner

My Rating: 5/10

I had never heard of the author Quinton Skinner before (he has written just one other book: Amnesia Nights). So, when I picked up this book to read, it was a pleasant surprise to know that the story is set in Minnesota! I liked reading about treacherous winters in Minneapolis and how people cope with it. However, the book is not about winter and cold; it is about a man Lewis Ingraham, his eccentricities and his life after the death of his wife.

The story is well-written, with the author getting into the psyche of all his actors; it is like going and meeting the characters yourself and trying to know what’s going on in their life. The only thing I did not like and disapprove of was the unbelievability of the climax of the story. You would say, ‘common, it’s just a story, it depends on the whims and fancies of the writer!’ I agree somewhat, but the point is: it should sound and read like its possible! Right? Why don’t you read it yourself and find out? Here’s what it is about:

Lewis Ingraham is cold. He’s lost his wife, his executive career, his once sure grip on the world around him. All that he can hold on to is his beautiful daughter, Jay, a formerly brilliant student who now struggles as a single mother. But even Jay is starting to slip away from Lewis, favoring her self-important boyfriend, Stephen. This time Lewis is going to fight back.

But when Lewis takes out his fury on Stephen, he ignites a chain reaction of violence. Now, as winter bears down on Minneapolis, desire, guilt and rage swirl in the snow. And a heinous crime is about to lead three people down a steep and unforgiving slope- into a realm of cold, hard truth.

Few lines which I loved from the book:

“…It was true that Stephen had a tendency to view the events of his life in literary and analytic terms- every neck ache was a manifestation of unresolved conflict, every sin of omission was a veiled statement of intent, yes, yes, guilty as charged…”

“ …weather predictions in Minneapolis resembled the speculative fancies of hardcore paranoiacs…”

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