The Reencounter: A Spiritual Journey by Angelos IoannisMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
I did not like this book at all for many reasons. Technically it requires editing because I suspect that it was a translation from another language into English since there were many words used that did not have the correct meaning for the context in which they were used; and it did not make sense semantically. The way that dialogue was presented was frustratingly clumsy and was remarkable by the almost complete absence of speech marks – using either the conventional speech marks like double “…” or single ‘…’ floating apostrophes or even, maybe, italics. I had too much difficulty deciding who was speaking or thinking to take much notice of what was being said. There was far too much telling of the story in first person singular and very little of the, very desirable, showing of it, so much so, that it became like sitting in a lecture theatre listening to a speechifying person deliver a boring succession of platitudinous nonsense.
Set in the early 18th century the central character, Mikhaela, a young and very naïve girl, has her head and emotions turned away from her husband, Elias, towards Allessio. He came across to me as a very conceited and opinionated man who would not last a day in today’s world of social networks, “me too” campaigns and gender equality. There were many statements expressed by Allessio as though they were undisputable facts and when I read that “Faith is Truth” in the book (rather than simply belief) I lost all patience with the general tenets of the tale. This book may appeal to readers who are confirmed believers of one religion or another, or maybe to those who are searching for some kind of comforting reassurance in their lives. However, it is too simplistic and sometimes fatuously insulting for an atheistic scientist like this reader to enjoy.
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