The Sun Sharer [Kindle Edition]

I had the misfortune to meet the author in Waterstones too, who convinced me to buy what he called a "controversial" book. This book seems to be one man's excuse for being completely selfish and abandoning his family and responsibilities for his own hedonistic pleasure. It made me feel sickened and disgusted at some of his attitudes, using spirituality as an excuse to run away. Pathetic.

I have read some really terrible books, but this one had to be the worst ever....It even prompted me to write a review because it was so bad I don't want anyone else to ever waste time like I unfortunately did.
There was no point and it was self-absorbed, and simply the dumbest, biggest mistake ever....

Corblimey, I can't say if I'm glad to have read this book.

The central character is self-centred and deeply unhappy. I truly don't know if the author is sharing his own unhappiness with the reader or if it is a portrayal by an author capable of thinking himself into a deeply flawed fictional persona from his lofty writing perch.

There's nothing so boring as people's holiday reminiscences when they're positive - "The beds were SO comfy and the waiters EVER so friendly" - and you try to resist stabbing yourself with a biro to relieve the boredom. Much more interesting is "...and when the emergency door blew out at 30,000 feet the whole plane gave out a bloodcurdling scream". Similarly, this tale of betrayal and mystiballs - as the central character takes aim at every she-person he encounters - is far from bland, far from a comfortable read. We all love a bit o' jeapordy, eh?

To what extent is this book autobiographical? Hard to say. If it's Jack's true account of the collapse of his own family then I suspect that the much-maligned wife will have a very different perspective on where it all went wrong, and their young son will be horrified by the graphic account of his father's deployment of, er, Mister Wiggly when he gets to read it in adulthood.

All in all the book is not without merit; it's maybe a warning to others that crap strategic decisions can end up corroding your soul and shrivelling your generosity. Readers who need happy endings would be best advised to stick to Little House on the Prairie and its elk.