- Paperback: 289 pages
- Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA); Reprint edition (6 Jan 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 030739638X
- ISBN-13: 978-0307396389
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 1.7 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Product Description
Sunday Business Post
'a smart, unnerving and intricate page-turner.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
""Obedience" is evidence that crime fiction is hardly a played-out genre .... [G]rafts the world-turned-upside-down suspense of a Harlan Coben thriller to the hall-of-mirrors vertigo of a novel by Paul Auster .... [I]ts ultimate implications continue to spin out in a reader's mind after the final page is turned."
--"Wall Street Journal"
"Authentic puzzle mysteries are an endangered species in these hectic times, so it's a genuine, if slightly perverse, kick to follow every byzantine clue in this bizarre game.... If you solve this one without peeking at the last chapter, it's an automatic A."
--"New York Times" Book Review
""Obedience" is a fiendishly clever thriller, debut or no, and Lavender exhibits deft control at the wheel."
--Bookgasm.com
""Obedience" is quite a twisty little number .... the taunting nature of the challenge is irresistible...."
--"New York Daily News"
"[T]his is one of those high-concept thrillers with a final twist that upends all expectations, filled with characters who are not what they seem."
--Entertainment Weekly
""Obedience "is a full course load of sinister fun."
--Salon.com
An inspired thriller about cognitive dissonance, conjectural misdirection and the conspicuous dichotomy between academia and the real world."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Will Lavender stuns with this compelling thriller.... The surreal but believable landscape fairly bursts from its confines, goading the reader into finishing just one more page."
--"Louisville Courier-Journal
""It's a terrific book, part cat-and-mouse mystery and part psychological study of group behavior.... [A] wonderful book with a strong emotional punch at theend."
--"St. Petersburg Times
""Lavender's first novel suggests he has a bright future. The novel is briskly plotted with deft narrative. "Obedience" builds to a swirling conclusion. It becomes a place where morality is blurred and intentions drift astray."
--"Tampa Tribune
"
"In his tautly strung debut novel, "Obedience," literature professor Will Lavender tears a page of out Milgram's notebooks and sets into motion a chain of events that escalates far beyond its intended intellectual exercise. . . . Mystery fans will be satisfied to hang on around the story's hairpin turns as the list of suspects swells and narrows with the unearthing of each clue, but Lavender . . . is aiming at a broader target and posing deeper questions."
--"Bookpage"
"First-time novelist Lavender has a knack for creepy characters and red herrings."
--"Library Journal"
"First novelist Lavender has sprinkled his text with enough red herrings to feed the Biblical 5,000 but uses them to build page-turning suspense. . . . Lavender's invocation of the notorious Milgram experiment conducted at Yale on obedience to authority adds an additional-and salutary-layer of psychological meaning to his elaborate plot."
--"Booklist"
More Praise for Obedience:
""Obedience" draws you in and never lets go -- and what a ride!"
--David Baldacci
"In his dream-like and labyrinthine debut, Will Lavender delivers a clever, intricate page-turner that kept me guessing late into the night. "Obedience "is a house of mirrors where every corner we turn is a false reflection of the truth until the shocking final scene. A gripping exploration of human nature and all its foibles told inLavender's fresh and original voice, "Obedience" is not to be missed."
--Lisa Unger
"Obedience is a very scary story set on the border where good meets evil, located in this case in that scariest of places, academia. Taut, twisty, and highly original: the pages turned themselves."
--Peter Abrahams
"A taut and timely thriller that explores the dark side of academia, where classrooms are dangerous and paranoia abounds."
--Karin Slaughter
"A taut, clever puzzle, so artfully crafted and tightly wound that it springs open its trap when you least expect it to."
--Carol Goodman, author of" The Sonnet Lover "and "The Ghost Orchid""
""A devilishly inventive debut that reads like a house of mirrors. Nothing is what it seems, right up to the devastating finale.""
"--Brian Freeman, author of "Stripped
"
--"Wall Street Journal"
"Authentic puzzle mysteries are an endangered species in these hectic times, so it's a genuine, if slightly perverse, kick to follow every byzantine clue in this bizarre game.... If you solve this one without peeking at the last chapter, it's an automatic A."
--"New York Times" Book Review
""Obedience" is a fiendishly clever thriller, debut or no, and Lavender exhibits deft control at the wheel."
--Bookgasm.com
""Obedience" is quite a twisty little number .... the taunting nature of the challenge is irresistible...."
--"New York Daily News"
"[T]his is one of those high-concept thrillers with a final twist that upends all expectations, filled with characters who are not what they seem."
--Entertainment Weekly
""Obedience "is a full course load of sinister fun."
--Salon.com
An inspired thriller about cognitive dissonance, conjectural misdirection and the conspicuous dichotomy between academia and the real world."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Will Lavender stuns with this compelling thriller.... The surreal but believable landscape fairly bursts from its confines, goading the reader into finishing just one more page."
--"Louisville Courier-Journal
""It's a terrific book, part cat-and-mouse mystery and part psychological study of group behavior.... [A] wonderful book with a strong emotional punch at theend."
--"St. Petersburg Times
""Lavender's first novel suggests he has a bright future. The novel is briskly plotted with deft narrative. "Obedience" builds to a swirling conclusion. It becomes a place where morality is blurred and intentions drift astray."
--"Tampa Tribune
"
"In his tautly strung debut novel, "Obedience," literature professor Will Lavender tears a page of out Milgram's notebooks and sets into motion a chain of events that escalates far beyond its intended intellectual exercise. . . . Mystery fans will be satisfied to hang on around the story's hairpin turns as the list of suspects swells and narrows with the unearthing of each clue, but Lavender . . . is aiming at a broader target and posing deeper questions."
--"Bookpage"
"First-time novelist Lavender has a knack for creepy characters and red herrings."
--"Library Journal"
"First novelist Lavender has sprinkled his text with enough red herrings to feed the Biblical 5,000 but uses them to build page-turning suspense. . . . Lavender's invocation of the notorious Milgram experiment conducted at Yale on obedience to authority adds an additional-and salutary-layer of psychological meaning to his elaborate plot."
--"Booklist"
More Praise for Obedience:
""Obedience" draws you in and never lets go -- and what a ride!"
--David Baldacci
"In his dream-like and labyrinthine debut, Will Lavender delivers a clever, intricate page-turner that kept me guessing late into the night. "Obedience "is a house of mirrors where every corner we turn is a false reflection of the truth until the shocking final scene. A gripping exploration of human nature and all its foibles told inLavender's fresh and original voice, "Obedience" is not to be missed."
--Lisa Unger
"Obedience is a very scary story set on the border where good meets evil, located in this case in that scariest of places, academia. Taut, twisty, and highly original: the pages turned themselves."
--Peter Abrahams
"A taut and timely thriller that explores the dark side of academia, where classrooms are dangerous and paranoia abounds."
--Karin Slaughter
"A taut, clever puzzle, so artfully crafted and tightly wound that it springs open its trap when you least expect it to."
--Carol Goodman, author of" The Sonnet Lover "and "The Ghost Orchid""
""A devilishly inventive debut that reads like a house of mirrors. Nothing is what it seems, right up to the devastating finale.""
"--Brian Freeman, author of "Stripped
"
"From the Hardcover edition." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book last week, came home and looked it up on Amazon and was disappointed to read 2 very negative reviews of it. Still, having bought it I gave it a go and have to say that my opinion of it was somewhat different to that of the other reviewers. I do agree with them that characterisation wasn't the author's strong point, I never felt we really got to know any of the main three characters' personalities, and consequently wasn't particularly drawn to any of them.
However, I disagree with the views that the book was so poor. It held my attention all the way through, was easy to read and engrossing, BUT, the ending and explanation of everything that happened was a real anti climax, and felt like a cop out. It was almost as though Will Lavender wrote a great and complex plot but had no idea how to end it, so came up with this ludicrous and feeble conclusion. It's a shame because apart from the ending it was a good read. I've given it 3 stars, I would've probably given it 4 but the end was so disappointing it let the rest of it down.
However, I disagree with the views that the book was so poor. It held my attention all the way through, was easy to read and engrossing, BUT, the ending and explanation of everything that happened was a real anti climax, and felt like a cop out. It was almost as though Will Lavender wrote a great and complex plot but had no idea how to end it, so came up with this ludicrous and feeble conclusion. It's a shame because apart from the ending it was a good read. I've given it 3 stars, I would've probably given it 4 but the end was so disappointing it let the rest of it down.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book in an emergency I needed something to read on a long journey and thought it was more expensive than many other books I would choose to buy. I ended up doing what I have never done before; I looked up the back of the book to get the ending and save me having to trawl through the plot which was tedious in the extreme.I then spent the rest of the journey sleeping!
The premise of the novel is very unlikely, the obvious flaws and lack of logic are just frustrating.
The author only concentrates on 3 characters out of a bigger class - why them?
The characters lack depth and I honestly didn't care what was happening to any of them. I had no enagement with them and felt no sympathy nor empathy. I could not understand why they were "obsessed" with the class and the notion that a college would allow such a class to run like that was ridiculous.
When it came to the final denouement the premise was SO ludicrous, no way did that have any basis in reality. A total waste of money and the book will be off to a charity shop asap
The premise of the novel is very unlikely, the obvious flaws and lack of logic are just frustrating.
The author only concentrates on 3 characters out of a bigger class - why them?
The characters lack depth and I honestly didn't care what was happening to any of them. I had no enagement with them and felt no sympathy nor empathy. I could not understand why they were "obsessed" with the class and the notion that a college would allow such a class to run like that was ridiculous.
When it came to the final denouement the premise was SO ludicrous, no way did that have any basis in reality. A total waste of money and the book will be off to a charity shop asap
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The premise for this semi-thriller is great: at a small liberal arts college in Indiana, the professor of Philosophy 204: Logic and Reasoning, lays out a challenge for his class, to solve the fictional disappearance of a girl within the six weeks of the shortened term using logic and, um, reasoning. What a great alternative approach to teaching the topic, right? Unfortunately, the execution totally squanders the potential of the premise, and requires far too much suspension of disbelief.
Things start well enough, as the mysterious Professor Williams lays out the puzzle of a missing teenager named Polly for the class, telling them that if they don't find her, she'll be murdered. But right from the start, there are problems with the plot, namely, the mystery around Professor Williams. At small liberal arts schools like Winchester (and like the one I attended) there are thriving networks of information about courses and professors (not to mention internet sites like RateMyProfessor, PickMyProf, and the like), so the notion that there's some tenured professor no one knows anything about is hardly credible. And since Williams' identity is central to the plot, this is a rather large flaw.
Another immediate hint that things are awry comes in the classroom scenes, or rather, the lack thereof. Other than an introductory class, where the difference between deductive and inductive logic are outlined, the professor doesn't actually teach anything relating to logic and reason. Rather, he presents additional clues to Polly's case, and engages in some very minor discussion with the class about the case. Each class seems to take about ten minutes, and it's entirely obvious that the course itself is a fake.
A third major flaw revolves around the students. Having established this mystery that the class must solve, the author concentrates entirely on three characters, basically writing their twenty or so other classmates out of the story. Having Mary, Dennis, and Brian all team up is fine, but the problem is that many of the other students would as well -- and they'd certainly all be sharing theories and information together online. But the conspiracy at the heart of the story could never hold up to the attentions of an entire class, so the author is forced to forget about them and hope that the reader will as well. Unfortunately, the characterization of these three is pretty thin and weak, and they are never able to draw us in enough so that we forget these other gaping flaws.
As the story slogs on, and the trio (with Mary mainly at the helm) drive to neighboring towns and question strangers about the real-life disappearance of a local girl years ago, the dominant feeling is one of tedium, not excitement. Everything is so heavily dependent on coincidence and characters not asking obvious (ie. logical and rational questions) that only the most lenient of readers will be able to forgive it. And when all is revealed at the end, it manages to be both entirely predictable and completely unsatisfying. Somehow, even the epilogue manages to beggar belief as one character is permitted to continue their life and another's life is completely derailed -- an outcome that is both legal and logical nonsense.
Finally, the whole premise behind the book is rendered entirely moot if you know that universities are required to have institutional review boards that approve any research involving human subjects. The conspiracy at the heart of the book would simply never have been approved. One could go on and on with the plot flaws, and if you're interested, there is a customer review from March 18, 2008 which lists a whole host. Total waste of a good premise and few hours reading.
Things start well enough, as the mysterious Professor Williams lays out the puzzle of a missing teenager named Polly for the class, telling them that if they don't find her, she'll be murdered. But right from the start, there are problems with the plot, namely, the mystery around Professor Williams. At small liberal arts schools like Winchester (and like the one I attended) there are thriving networks of information about courses and professors (not to mention internet sites like RateMyProfessor, PickMyProf, and the like), so the notion that there's some tenured professor no one knows anything about is hardly credible. And since Williams' identity is central to the plot, this is a rather large flaw.
Another immediate hint that things are awry comes in the classroom scenes, or rather, the lack thereof. Other than an introductory class, where the difference between deductive and inductive logic are outlined, the professor doesn't actually teach anything relating to logic and reason. Rather, he presents additional clues to Polly's case, and engages in some very minor discussion with the class about the case. Each class seems to take about ten minutes, and it's entirely obvious that the course itself is a fake.
A third major flaw revolves around the students. Having established this mystery that the class must solve, the author concentrates entirely on three characters, basically writing their twenty or so other classmates out of the story. Having Mary, Dennis, and Brian all team up is fine, but the problem is that many of the other students would as well -- and they'd certainly all be sharing theories and information together online. But the conspiracy at the heart of the story could never hold up to the attentions of an entire class, so the author is forced to forget about them and hope that the reader will as well. Unfortunately, the characterization of these three is pretty thin and weak, and they are never able to draw us in enough so that we forget these other gaping flaws.
As the story slogs on, and the trio (with Mary mainly at the helm) drive to neighboring towns and question strangers about the real-life disappearance of a local girl years ago, the dominant feeling is one of tedium, not excitement. Everything is so heavily dependent on coincidence and characters not asking obvious (ie. logical and rational questions) that only the most lenient of readers will be able to forgive it. And when all is revealed at the end, it manages to be both entirely predictable and completely unsatisfying. Somehow, even the epilogue manages to beggar belief as one character is permitted to continue their life and another's life is completely derailed -- an outcome that is both legal and logical nonsense.
Finally, the whole premise behind the book is rendered entirely moot if you know that universities are required to have institutional review boards that approve any research involving human subjects. The conspiracy at the heart of the book would simply never have been approved. One could go on and on with the plot flaws, and if you're interested, there is a customer review from March 18, 2008 which lists a whole host. Total waste of a good premise and few hours reading.
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