Thorn - Stefan Plesoianu

Genre: Literary Fiction | Adult Fiction | Contemporary Fiction

Release Date: Expected 17th September 2021

Other versions available now.

Seven has ambition, he has hopes. He dreams of one day becoming a sucessful writer but his hope is slowly wearing thin. He's jumping between dead-end jobs to try and support his aging family, trying to navigate the confusing world of dating and sex, and a stubborn and somewhat troublesome group of friends who encourage all sorts of bad habits.

When he meets Cynthia, Seven beings to feel that spark of hope once again. He has a brand new energy, someone to be there and support him, someone to love even. But it doesn't take long for it to go bad - but he is determined to hold onto that hope just for a bit longer.

Thorn is one of those stories that is about nothing at all, but everything at the same time. No dramatic twists, no daring adventures, nobody being swept of their feet - just a brutally honest rendition of true life on paper. Seven was exceptionally written - very flawed and aware of it, and just very human. He is every bit the struggling young artist and he captures the struggles that many people his age are facing all the time and handling them just as badly.

The writing style was more like a conversation, or a diary entry, than a novel and it definitely made for an intruiging read. Jumping from very poetic prose to blunt stops, it made for an intruiging read. There were a few sentences that felt somewhat unfinished or oddly phrased but this was an easy thing to skim past.

Now of course, there's some sensitive content such as drugs, explicit language, sex and drinking but it's all handled rather well - the only thing that made me uncomfortable were some slight remarks about sex workers and transgender people, but this is the characters voice and not that of the author as far as I can tell. Seven definitely has an objectifying view of women at some points throughout the story, but is also capable of respect and adoration as well.

A quick, realist read about the life of a young man who's trying to hold onto hope when it keeps slipping through his fingers.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Stefan for an advanced readers copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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