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First published December 25, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 12, 2017
The Plainview Lottery: A Town Learns a Hard Lesson in Basic Economics Kindle Edition
by Markas Dvaras (Author)
This book started off so promisingly but ultimately lead to disappointment. I am not suggesting you ought not to buy and read it. One man’s poison… you know what I mean. A warning – there is a spoiler at the end of my review.
The author started off with such a witty premise – the lottery fever that infected Plainview, a fictional small town in America. A model town, I suspect belongs to history, possibly in the 1950’s. He uses the lottery and its effects as an allegory for the ills of modern society. I liken it to a modern Aesop’s Fable.
The author tells his story through some great characters, the reporter, the factory owner, and Old Mr. Miller, besides others. He utilizes some great dialogue to spin the yarn and keep the story moving forward.
But, and a big but, is he uses too much repetition. I found I could only take so much of the description of the “magical” lottery tickets to use but one example. It struck me the author was trying too hard to ram home a point or two. Most readers are not stupid. They get it!
There are also too many pieces of “magic” in the tale. Okay, with many novels it is a norm the reader will suspend belief surrounding one piece of “magic.” But to overdo it invites the reader to switch off.
I am striving not to be overly critical. The author must be applauded for tackling this story in the manner he did. He almost pulled it off. It was a real page turner well into the book then petered out as the repetition kicked in and yet more magic took place.
Satire? Yes, it was satirical and well written satire at so many stages of the book. It also made me stop and think about the issues – the ills of modern society. It wasn’t until the Plainview tale had finished that I realized what the author had in his sights. It was the internet. To paraphrase Old Mr. Miller who was referring to the gold bars but could have been referring to the internet – if you can’t eat it, wear it or live in it, I don’t need it.
The author reveals his main target in two short stories following the end of the Plainview saga. This is where he turns amateur philosopher – a device that was unnecessary and irked this reader. He joins forces as himself in a dream world with the likes of Albert Camus and an Ancient Greek in what was clearly an illustration of the point of the Plainview story. Again, readers are not stupid and do not need the moral of the story ramming down their collective throats.
It was a brave and possibly foolish device to place himself as the author within a debate with some of the world’s greatest philosophers. It made me think the author has no humility.
As for the second short story involving a fictional President of the United States – well, what can I say, another pointless exercise in a totally gratuitous explainer. Stick to writing novels, sir! You are actually a good storyteller but leave the morals and philosophy at home next time. Rather, please be more subtle and weave it all into the story. It will make for better reading I can assure you.
One further message – the author queries what use to mankind is the internet. One answer is that it allows authors to bring their works to the attention of the world. Long live the internet!
My quandary now is how many stars to give this book? It is highly readable but flawed. The author must not be discouraged as he has a real talent for writing fiction. Two stars means “I don’t like it.” That isn’t the case. I liked it with reservations so it has to be three stars meaning “it’s okay.”
The spoiler, so do not read on if you intend to read this book – why didn’t anyone in Plainview adopt the simple expedient of travelling to Covington? The author tells us it was a neighbouring town. Surely, the intrepid reporter, James, would have done so?
by Markas Dvaras (Author)
This book started off so promisingly but ultimately lead to disappointment. I am not suggesting you ought not to buy and read it. One man’s poison… you know what I mean. A warning – there is a spoiler at the end of my review.
The author started off with such a witty premise – the lottery fever that infected Plainview, a fictional small town in America. A model town, I suspect belongs to history, possibly in the 1950’s. He uses the lottery and its effects as an allegory for the ills of modern society. I liken it to a modern Aesop’s Fable.
The author tells his story through some great characters, the reporter, the factory owner, and Old Mr. Miller, besides others. He utilizes some great dialogue to spin the yarn and keep the story moving forward.
But, and a big but, is he uses too much repetition. I found I could only take so much of the description of the “magical” lottery tickets to use but one example. It struck me the author was trying too hard to ram home a point or two. Most readers are not stupid. They get it!
There are also too many pieces of “magic” in the tale. Okay, with many novels it is a norm the reader will suspend belief surrounding one piece of “magic.” But to overdo it invites the reader to switch off.
I am striving not to be overly critical. The author must be applauded for tackling this story in the manner he did. He almost pulled it off. It was a real page turner well into the book then petered out as the repetition kicked in and yet more magic took place.
Satire? Yes, it was satirical and well written satire at so many stages of the book. It also made me stop and think about the issues – the ills of modern society. It wasn’t until the Plainview tale had finished that I realized what the author had in his sights. It was the internet. To paraphrase Old Mr. Miller who was referring to the gold bars but could have been referring to the internet – if you can’t eat it, wear it or live in it, I don’t need it.
The author reveals his main target in two short stories following the end of the Plainview saga. This is where he turns amateur philosopher – a device that was unnecessary and irked this reader. He joins forces as himself in a dream world with the likes of Albert Camus and an Ancient Greek in what was clearly an illustration of the point of the Plainview story. Again, readers are not stupid and do not need the moral of the story ramming down their collective throats.
It was a brave and possibly foolish device to place himself as the author within a debate with some of the world’s greatest philosophers. It made me think the author has no humility.
As for the second short story involving a fictional President of the United States – well, what can I say, another pointless exercise in a totally gratuitous explainer. Stick to writing novels, sir! You are actually a good storyteller but leave the morals and philosophy at home next time. Rather, please be more subtle and weave it all into the story. It will make for better reading I can assure you.
One further message – the author queries what use to mankind is the internet. One answer is that it allows authors to bring their works to the attention of the world. Long live the internet!
My quandary now is how many stars to give this book? It is highly readable but flawed. The author must not be discouraged as he has a real talent for writing fiction. Two stars means “I don’t like it.” That isn’t the case. I liked it with reservations so it has to be three stars meaning “it’s okay.”
The spoiler, so do not read on if you intend to read this book – why didn’t anyone in Plainview adopt the simple expedient of travelling to Covington? The author tells us it was a neighbouring town. Surely, the intrepid reporter, James, would have done so?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2017
A charming fable-like story. Took me a while to get into the style of writing, but I did end up liking it. I know no one really talks like the characters did in the book, but go with it, and you might just like it. The people weren't particularly well fleshed out, but the town itself seemed like a great character.
I did wish the book would have been tighter and more concise. It did get a little difficult making it all the way to the finish, but I was curious enough to want to find out how it all ended.
The story kind of reminded me of the Simpsons monorail episode :)
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I did wish the book would have been tighter and more concise. It did get a little difficult making it all the way to the finish, but I was curious enough to want to find out how it all ended.
The story kind of reminded me of the Simpsons monorail episode :)
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 17, 2019
Honestly I have no idea what this book brings to the literary world. It is pages and a pages of people queuing for lottery tickets and precious little else. a Political Satire according to its metadata yet it fulfils none of the identifying factors for satire "the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues" I certainly didn't smile let alone laugh I am sorry this just does not work
February 23, 2020
A very good idea for a moral tale, but it reads like a first or second draft. I got surprised by the repeats of the dialogues, on and on, and I expected more from the plot line. This would be better perhaps as a short story.
March 18, 2020
This book was interesting. It was a quick read with a good moral but it felt preachy and heavy-handed. The old-fashioned tone was unique and even though you know how it's going to end from the very beginning, it was an enjoyable read.
July 12, 2018
Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for giving a free copy of this book to review.
On the face of it, ‘The Plainview Lottery’ is a cautionary tale about greed and the susceptability of the human condition.
Plainview is a sleepy, content little town. All that changes when a few strangers arrive in the town overnight and set up a lottery. The promise of untold riches brings a gleam to every citizen’s eye and soon, the town capitulates to avarice. Regular, honest citizens give up their responsibilities and drain their savings in the pursuit of wealth, as they buy stacks of tickets in the vain hope that they will win.
As one might correctly assume, the game is rigged from the start and the strangers are only out to make a quick buck.
There was a lot of potential to the story, but Markas Dvaras squandered it all by settling for tacky prose and repetitive plot. The dialogue too, lacks life, as characters speak as if they’re reading lines from a script.
If done well, this could have been a wonderfully complex tale with rich, fully realised characters. As it were, the characters were not fleshed out and so, lack any depth. They’re more caricatures than people and as a result, you feel little empathy for them. Given that this was meant to teach a moral or two, the book fails as it, like I mention, does not draw any empathy from the reader.
For the novel idea and the interesting start to the book, I give this 2.5 stars.
On the face of it, ‘The Plainview Lottery’ is a cautionary tale about greed and the susceptability of the human condition.
Plainview is a sleepy, content little town. All that changes when a few strangers arrive in the town overnight and set up a lottery. The promise of untold riches brings a gleam to every citizen’s eye and soon, the town capitulates to avarice. Regular, honest citizens give up their responsibilities and drain their savings in the pursuit of wealth, as they buy stacks of tickets in the vain hope that they will win.
As one might correctly assume, the game is rigged from the start and the strangers are only out to make a quick buck.
There was a lot of potential to the story, but Markas Dvaras squandered it all by settling for tacky prose and repetitive plot. The dialogue too, lacks life, as characters speak as if they’re reading lines from a script.
If done well, this could have been a wonderfully complex tale with rich, fully realised characters. As it were, the characters were not fleshed out and so, lack any depth. They’re more caricatures than people and as a result, you feel little empathy for them. Given that this was meant to teach a moral or two, the book fails as it, like I mention, does not draw any empathy from the reader.
For the novel idea and the interesting start to the book, I give this 2.5 stars.
May 4, 2024
The Plainview Lottery is a cautionary tale. Plainview is a content peaceful town until one day, some strangers come to town and offer a lottery. Greed gets the best of the townspeople as they drain their savings in hopes of winning. The lottery is obviously a scam. It's a tale we've all heard before to be content with what you have. The story was just too long and repetitive. Otherwise, not a bad read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
done-with
March 15, 2018Ok, I think this should have been a short story - or novella at most. I'm 20% in and already it feels like it's dragging and there's nowhere to go that isn't obvious. It's entirely possible there are hidden surprises here, but frankly the flat, one-dimensional characters and flat, one-dimensional tale thus far are not enough to drive my curiosity to find out... Despite the intriguing concept, this one just did not appeal to me at all.
My review copy was provided by NetGalley.
My review copy was provided by NetGalley.
May 1, 2019
Worth reading just for the uniqueness of it, but could have used one more round of editing. Human nature explored.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews