Review and Giveaway: The Broken Parachute Man

From the book cover: After middling pharmaceutical company executive Clyde Young boards an airplane to attend a national meeting to make a presentation concerning his employer's premium drug, his schedule is thrown into a curve when terrorists hijack the plane. After refusing to keep his head down, he is hurled out with a parachute that barely functions.

He is able to survive in the wilderness, but upon his arrival back to civilization, no one believes his story. They assume he is one of the terrorists that hijacked the airplane, so Young escapes to Las Vegas to determine why he was targeted and who was responsible for his ordeal. He lives as a street person and meets four people who believe his story: a sociopath, a prostitute, an alcoholic doctor and a pickpocket.

These people become his allies. They travel with him to the east coast and then to Europe. As Young continues his investigation, he discovers abuses on the part of his employer that could result in mortal danger for innumerable innocent patients. He must act quickly to expose the danger by staying one step ahead of the unknown criminals who are closing in on him and his allies.

I received an promotional review copy of this book early in February. The author, Robert Bolin, is an oncologist, and that fact, probably unfairly, made me skeptical of his creative talent. The beginning of the book sucked me in, as I read of Clyde’s struggle to survive in the wilderness amidst flashbacks to his corporate life. He even talks to us, the readers, at some points. I got to know him as a person with complex emotions and a drive to survive. Clyde’s escape to Las Vegas and his connection with the group of homeless people kept me interested. I was reading of a man who found a way (if at times far-fetched) to take charge of a situation into which he had be thrust and, in doing so, evolved as a person.

The second half of the book is where Clyde really begins to connect the dots regarding his employer’s scheme with the help of his homeless allies. I have to admit that my interest waned at points that were crucial to the plot. As I considered why this was, I decided it was at this points that I lost touch with the characters. Their personalities were overshadowed by the logistics of the plot, which was at times pretty complicated.

Clyde happens upon some extremely lucky opportunities for a homeless person and, with the help of his homeless friends, is able to capitalize on all of them in ways I think would be tough for anyone, much less people afflicted with mental illness, addiction, and other complicated life issues. I also felt that the pieces of the puzzle came together too cleanly. I can’t say it wasn’t captive suspense that kept me reading to the end, but simply the need to know what Clyde would do with what he learned. I must admit I was underwhelmed.

This being my first promotional review, I had hoped it would be glowing, as I appreciate the opportunity to help authors promote their creative efforts. I can only begin to empathize with the energy that goes into producing a novel and getting it published. The book does have its merits, as I mentioned above, and I think someone with a particular interest in the pharmaceutical industry might find the motivations of the big, bad drug company and related players entertaining. But, it probably won’t make my list of best reads in 2009.

Though I’m new to blogging and my readership is low, I am offering my copy of this book as a giveaway to anyone in the U.S. who might be interested. Just leave me a comment on this post with a way to contact you. I will draw a winner (if there is more than one interested party) on March 28, 2009.