Publisher: Now or Never Publishing
Page Count: 185 pp.
Released: 2009
Leaving Lovestiff Annie
by Chris F. Needham
The famous ocean strip in White Rock, B.C. will never look the same after reading Chris F. Needham’s third novel Leaving Lovestiff Annie. The pier, the huge white rock, the ocean and the restaurants that on the surface project glamour and a lifestyle of leisure are torn open in this book to reveal the gritty underbelly of a restaurant trying to get by and the messed up lives of those who run it.
The novel focuses on the challenges the lead character, Needham himself, has as he attempts to overcome the guilt he feels towards his wife who died a year earlier from cancer. But the way he tries to get peace isn’t going to be found on the pages of a grief counselling book. Chris sleeps with the waitresses he manages at his restaurant, gets into fights and steals from just about anyone who will let him. This is a reckless character who seeks refuge in all the wrong places.
Leaving Lovestiff Annie is a complex book about dealing with the emotional stress of losing a wife. Needham does a good job of weaving together a story that really only makes sense near the end. He is a thoughtful writer and one who is true to his characters. However, because the story is a bit disjointed, it is hard to get into it. The writing in the beginning is dense and sentences are full of unnecessary modifiers. If a reader can get over that initial wtf feeling when they read the first few pages than they are in for a compelling story.
Needham writes in a stream of consciousness style. The dialogue runs into the flash backs runs into the narration. This technique, again, makes it difficult to follow the flood of characters that we are introduced to right away. But, once the book gets going it really works well with the characterization of Chris. He has yet to sort out his feelings, so it is revealing that everything in his life is bumping heads and a little chaotic.
For readers thinking about picking up Leaving Lovestiff Annie, stick with it through the beginning few pages because the characters become so enticing and the story so intricate that you may just end up enjoying your experience.
