OEB Incident #1: Ritz Cheese Bits Sandwiches

My wife sometimes gets too enthused when she opens something she craves for.

Ritz bits on the loose

Kept in the Dark by Penny Hancock – A satisfactory read

Synopsis: Sonia, a middle-aged woman, is attached to the home she grew up in situated beside the Thames River in London. As this narrative novel plays out her days in the house, her thoughts and her feelings reveal many unresolved and conflicting issues she has with her own family, her mother and with the memories of her childhood.  Little do her friends and family know, Sonia has kidnapped Jez, a youth who is brilliantly gifted in the musical linguistics of the guitar. Why is she greatly obsessed with keeping Jez with her at all times? Who is the mysterious and alluring figure in her memory who she refers to as “Seb?” Most importantly, how does Sonia reconcile with the disorder she has created for her own gratification?

My Blurb:

When I first started to read this novel, I was greatly surprised that it was written by a British author. Typically, British novels are filled with British wordings. I found that this novel was generally written in a demotic American tone. Of course, there were inserts of British expressions.  Most interesting is Hancock’s descriptions of Sonia and Helen’s attire. Both characters are costumed in European fashion. I think the author’s choice to tone down the British euphemisms was a good move.  It helped readers like myself understand and follow the characters’ internal and physical struggles.