cmjwallace

Knowing the history of Macgregor’s Propinquity made the book a fascinating read; he published it about 18 years before The Da Vinci Code was released, and the material is comparable. But there the similarities end.

Propinquity is not a thriller in the classic sense, and the pith of the story didn’t begin until about chapter 9. However, what it lacked in pace and suspense it more than made up for in humor. Macgregor’s writing is witty, erudite, and amusing, and those qualities, which the book has in spades, are what engaged me. Oddly enough, the story left me feeling that he has great potential as a humorist, although I doubt that that was his goal.

Those of you who follow my reviews know that I’m an editor and that I evaluate and rate with a book’s editorial merit in mind. This book had errors, but none were egregious enough to jerk me out of the story. In evidence were some word misuse, punctuation and spelling mistakes, and typos (e.g., “snapping at my hells,” which was rather Freudian and droll, actually, considering the subject matter). A few places had word repetitions such as “she she” and “telling him telling him.” In short, the manuscript could use a good polishing.

That being said, here’s something I’ve never said before: The wit and sophistication of the work overshadowed its redactional deficiencies, and I was able to ignore them and enjoy the book.

I look forward to what this author has to offer.

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