SHEgo - the novel

[Tania]

Post comments and questions about SHEgo here to gain responses from other group members.

[Dani]

I really enjoyed reading this book even though it was very,very far from the relm of my experience. As I told Tania, it was like looking inside the head of an alien! Which is facinating in itself, but at the end I could still say "yes, this is a place I know inside me as well". I guess that's a good lesson for readers and Authors who think their work can't appeal to a larger group.

[Tania]

This review of SHEgo was posted on SheWrites on September 6, 2010:
"I was intrigued by the author's daring experiment of not naming one character in the story and, in my opinion, she pulled it off. And it's an appropriate tactic when the reader considers the early self-absorption of the narrator, her main character. In the first few chapters, I laughed at the narrator's sassy attitude about everyone and everything. Then I sensed unnerving shadows lurking about, like the darkness behind the door of a partly open closet or the unclear bottom of a basement stairway. I actually began to feel fear at the intimacy of being so much inside the mind of someone whose sanity I began to doubt. The author uses unusual strategies that reveal some of the main character's flaws; for example, the narrator, someone I'd definitely call an antihero, is highly educated and frequently calls it to the reader's attention, yet tramples on language usage as easily as she tramples on the feelings of other people. Also, jumping in and out of other characters' minds, an omniscient approach frowned on in beginning writing classes, gives the reader relief from the sarcastic and angry voice of the main character and the opportunity to gauge what's really going on. The dark humor running through the story helps balance the uncertainty of what will happen to this person, or what she will cause to happen. Despite almost continued anxiety as I read, I enjoyed the book and recommend it."
Terri McIntyre, Author of Stronghold, Winner of Peace Corps Writers Award 2010

[Loretta]

I agree with Terri McIntyre, and would add that the strong, distinctive voice, rhythm, and pacing built tension and made it feel like an impending train wreck at high speed.

[Terri]

Good observation, Loretta. An example of the rhythm that was very entertaining to me is the ongoing, intense writing done by the narrator that is broken by such hilarious scenes as the Schwann Man and the solicitor kid, each interruption causing the narrator/main character to demand, "Now who the hell is that!" It reminds me of my own (and no doubt many others') writing experience. :-D

[Deanna]

I haven't read it yet, but I plan to. The cover caught my interest the first time I saw it. (It looks like my sister with straight hair)

[D.E.]

Great book event today, Tania! Got my copy of SHEgo and knocked off the first chapter already. This is going to be enjoyable.