sWitch by Scott Norton
Suburban housewife Barbara Ducharme is in a constant state of agitation dealing with her husband’s disinterest, her daughter’s failed marriage, and her son’s recent isolation from his friends. However, the family dynamics pale in comparison to the convict Barbara has recently started corresponding with, and as she becomes more enmeshed in Jasper’s life, her desire to rescue him grows stronger. Unsure of what she believes, she begins to subscribe to Jasper’s theory that evil rules the world, but has no idea how to explain her transformation to her traditional, normal, plain vanilla family.
While on a weekend trip to see the house Barbara inherited from her grandmother, a woman well-known by the locals for her strange behavior, Barbara feels various rooms of the house are calling to her. Unbeknownst to her, Jasper has also made plans for the weekend, and when the two meet up, sparks fly…but not exactly as either of them had expected.
The contrast between Barbara’s ever-so-normal exterior and the smiling woman who wanders around chanting is hilarious, and I loved the family’s initial meeting with Jasper and his friends. There is a lot of humor woven throughout the book, with some situations that border on the slapstick, and I liked the incongruities, such as when Barbara and her daughter are baking a cake while escaped felons roam through the house. Although the situations are often comic, the author does a great job of looking under the surface and showing the reader that these characters cannot be defined in just a few words. There is an unexpected, but much appreciated, depth to the book, and I really enjoyed the offbeat storyline.
Book Stats:
- Paperback: 314 pages
- Publisher: Yellow Horse Productions and Publishing (September 13, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0982836406
- ISBN-13: 978-0982836408
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Now this sounds like a book that is now on TBR list. I have not heard of this author until now.