Title: Ordinary Obsessions
Author: Tom Corbett
Publisher: Papertown Publishing
ISBN: 9781948000345
Pages: 646
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Susan Brown
Hollywood Book Reviews
This book is the sequel to the author’s Palpable Passions. Sequels can be tricky. Successful ones should stand alone for readers who haven’t read the original story. Ordinary Obsessions does just that. I did not read Palpable Passions, but now I must, because from the first page of this sequel I was hooked, and I need to know the whole story behind the challenges and struggles of the Masoud and Crawford clans, the two families who dominate both of these novels. Ordinary Obsessions picks up their story after their lives first intersected in northern Afghanistan.
Chris Crawford, the protagonist, is comfortably settled as a professor with his wife, Amar Singh, at Oxford in England. He and Amar have adopted, Azita Masoud, after her parents were killed by the Taliban. Her sister, Deena, lives nearby. As survivors and keepers of their family’s history, the sisters share an unbreakable bond that sustains them through the difficulties of navigating a new way of life in a completely different culture, as well as mourning the loss of their parents. While Chris is not the patriarch of the family since his father is still alive, he is the de facto leader. He is sought out as a much needed insightful and dependable figure, since the lives of all of these characters are impacted by the tumultuous times they live in. It is post 9/11 in the USA and the country is facing threats from many fronts. An oppressive religious government has taken hold of Afghanistan.
Against the backdrop of unsettled global communities, Mr. Corbett spins a captivating story that showcases his incredible knowledge and understanding of history, politics, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, cultural mores and the delicate balance of successful interpersonal relationships. It is a feast for the mind, moving seamlessly from one arena of expertise to another as the plot evolves and each character’s story unfolds. I like these characters — the rich American Crawfords with a social conscience who want to not only safeguard those in unstable areas around the world, but also stem the rising conservative political agenda which seems poised to forever alter the democratic governing structure in the United States and are filled with drive and purpose and a sense of responsibility to leave the world in a better state than what they inherited. Mr. Corbett hits all the high notes with a mixed bag of other characters — gay, black, female, Asian, immigrant, American Dream success story and one megalomaniac. His attention to the details of each and every character makes them believable, engaging and endearing.
This novel is long, 646 pages give or take a few. It’s so packed full of through-provoking dialogue, romance, sinister evil-mongers, mystery, intrigue and, fortunately, optimism and hopefulness that the pages practically turn themselves. And then you’re at the end, almost before you’re ready. Mr. Corbett does bring the storylines to natural conclusions, but left me wondering, “Will there be another sequel.”
I hope so!