Cover Image: The Hollow Middle

The Hollow Middle

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Member Reviews

Albert Lesiak is a discontented man. Contemporary society has disillusioned him and he decides he needs to live a simpler, purer life off-grid on a piece of land he owns in Maine. His wife Mary is equally discontented but in her case she feels she will find purpose in the adoption of 10-year-old autistic twins whom she has discovered on an adoption website. Can these two desires be reconciled? Much of this wonderfully compelling novel is narrated from Albert’s point of view, and what a quirky point of view that is. His world is that of the observer, the outsider, of someone alienated from those around him, even from his wife who finds meaningful communication with him problematic. But he’s a thoughtful and insightful man and his diatribes and monologues are wonderfully entertaining. It’s a slow and deliberate read, one that meanders over various topics and issues, but Albert always has something interesting and relevant to say. At times I found my interest flagging a bit – there’s only so much I can read about building a cabin in the woods in such excruciating detail – but overall I found myself totally absorbed in Albert’s world and watched with fascination as he began to change and grow. It’s an original and unusual book, well-written and well-paced, and one that gives the reader much to ponder on.

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I am about to write my review on this book for my blog Patricias Wisdom dot com. I will share a link when posted. We are treated to tale of a 44 year old English teacher who has suffered a brain injury and received some insurance money which he uses to purchase an isolated piece of property in Maine. He goes there during breaks in the school year. He is feeling old and restless and his wife Mary is wanted to adopt 2 autistic boys and add to their family.
The family receives money from his father's death because he worked at a toxic chemical plant for years and years and was exposed to the toxins which resulted in a painful cancer death. Albert uses his share of the money to work on a cabin in Maine, adopt the twins and hopefully get off the grid and live a life which celebrates nature and which he can live a more ecological life style.
The book is fascinating and where some might find his long term mental trips into history, law, and abuse of the environment they add to Albert's delightful resonance with the critters around him and their nature and beauty. He loves the silence and non-pressure. His brain damage makes him not very emotionally responsive and not able to read other people and yet frees him to think amazing inside perspectives and concepts. They were a couple trying to figure things out even though they were very different. They were wonderful with the boys when they finally arrived - very good compliments as parents for these two fellows.
Albert self-medicates with lots of beer and that gets him into trouble and because he does not communicate verbally well, his wife often is confused and that adds tension to the story as well.
Thought provoking story, interesting new premise and refreshing take on the environment and aging. I liked this book from cover to cover.
Only problem: my digital copy has a formatting error and often there were phrases, sentences and whole paragraphs that I had to stop and decipher. I just hope that this book gets big looks and wide spread publicity My full review is for 1/17/18 I will attempt to get a link placed

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This novel looked really promising to me, with many ways in: themes of marriage, parenting, adoption, aging; the Connecticut setting; the promising plot device of a man deciding on whether to chuck it all.

Unfortunately the book did not satisfy me at all (and maybe that was Popielski's point, to induce a strong experience in the reader). It was a wandering tale with forays into great detail on topics such as how to mark lumber for the proper roof angle. And fishing, so.much.fishing. And yet when there is a serious breach in the protagonist's marriage, no attention is given to how (whether?) things are set right. When housing plans are threatened, what happens? We will never know.

The story is further weighed down by a style that is really verbose (for this reader's taste). Hung over vomiting is "matutinal catharsis," "the natural rhythm of matutinal evacuation" refers to morning toileting, and there are five other uses of the word "matutinal."

There are probably some readers out there for whom this is a much better fit. May you and this book find each other!

Thank you to Unsolicited Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my hones

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Albert is an English teacher who receives a windfall in acknowledgment of the government’s complicity in his father’s death. His wife, Mary, suggests that they foster autistic twin boys.

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