BOOK REVIEW – MARTHA MOODY: THE OFFICE OF DESIRE

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Martha Moody’s keen observations on the human condition make The Office of Desire an entertaining read as she takes us through a year in the life of the doctors and staff of a small Midwest medical clinic… the trials and tribulations of marriage and family… the pitfalls of office romances and the re-examination of one’s own life life amidst the rise and fall of others. She writes inter-personal relationships quite well and the unraveling of office unity when those relationships falter.

The Office of Desire is insightful and compelling, thought-provoking and poignant. Martha writes with a narrative style that is comfortably-paced and descriptive, yet doesn’t bog the reader down in ‘place’, instead allowing us to identify with the characters… their thoughts and emotions. There is a strong sense of reality to the characters and the situations they face. We get to see them ‘warts’ and all; Martha doesn’t ‘air-brush’ them into the stereotypes so common to television and movies.

I would recommend The Office of Desire to anyone looking for a story that goes beyond the superficiality of a lot of the fiction out on the market today. This book will make you think… and that isn’t a bad thing in a market flooded with sugar-coated story-lines and one-dimensional characters.

I gave The Office of Desire only four stars… and I struggled a bit over that decision… not because it isn’t a good story – it is – but because I felt there were a couple of plot points that were a bit weak. This doesn’t take away from the story as a whole, however. I really have only one criticism and that is in regards to the HIPAA violation committed by one of the characters in discussing confidential patient information. I don’t know if that was done on purpose, and it does make for a good discussion point for a book group; it just unsettled me a little bit. I would like to think that doesn’t happen in real life, but that may be wishful thinking on my part. We are after all… only human.

One of the characters, Caroline, says this – “Desire is a dog impossible to train.”

We’ve all been bitten by that dog, and as the story shows… there really isn’t a cure for the pain that follows.

Thank you.

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Silverdale, Washington
9 June 2012

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About VeronicaThePajamaThief

Bio: Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw Born in Lisboa, Portugal to parents of Portuguese/Russian descent, Veronica Marie and her wife, Christina Anne, call the Pacific Northwest home, where the couple are “still very much on honeymoon!” When not teaching and finishing her own studies for a Masters in Sociology, Veronica writes fiction, primarily noir - "I love dark!". Her long fascination with noir fiction prompted Veronica to try her own hand at writing fiction several years ago. She has been published in Pulp Metal Magazine, The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology, the horror anthology 100 Horrors, from Cruentus Libri Press, Nightfalls: an End of the World anthology, Drunk On The Moon 2: A Roman Dalton anthology and Gloves Off: Near To the Knuckle's debut anthology. Veronica has also appeared in the inaugural issue of Literary Orphans magazine and her horror/urban fantasy short story SOUL TAKER was recently chosen for inclusion in Lily Childs' february femmes fatales, an urban fantasy/horror anthology. Veronica counts among her mentors - Carole A Parker, Lily Childs, Paul D Brazill, Richard Godwin, Joyce Juzwik and Vicki Abelson. She is currently working on the third draft of her first novel – a memoir – as well the second draft of her first fiction novel, a fantasy novel and the publication of a collection of her flash fiction and short stories. Lily's The Feardom and Vicki Abelson's Women Who Write Facebook writing group have both been a tremendous source of support and inspiration for Veronica. Veronica’s writings can be found athttp://veronicathepajamathief.blogspot.com/ andhttp://veronicathepajamathiefwritespoetry.blogspot.com/, andhttps://veronicathepajamathief.wordpress.com/

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