G194 E-Reading Book Review of The Drake Equation by Heather Walsh
Author: Heather Walsh
ISBN: 9781492295310
Publisher: Createspace
Type of book: Environmental issues, GeoForce, Democrat vs Republican, romance
Year it was published: 2013
Summary:
She’s a Democrat, he’s a Republican. She spends her days fighting global warming at an environmental non-profit, he makes his living doing PR for Bell Motors and their fleet of SUVs. But as soon as they meet, Emily Crossley and Robert Drake realize they have encountered their intellectual match. You’re never challenged, he tells her. You’ve surrounded yourself in a cocoon of people who think exactly the same way you do. She hurls the same accusation back at him, and the fiery debates begin. Despite both of their attempts to derail it, there is no denying that they are falling in love. But their relationship is threatened by political differences, Robert’s excessive work hours, and Emily’s fear of losing her identity as she falls deeper in love. Can their love survive? The Drake Equation is a tale of modern love and all its complexities.
Characters:
The primary characters are Emily who is democratic, doesn't eat at certain restaurants due to their lack morals, very strong, opinionated and wants to make a world a better place. Robert is Republican who is fascinated by astronomy and enjoys challenging Emily a lot. He is also into psychology and understands the why of the people. Other characters include Emily's co-workers. While they all had memorable characteristics, sometimes I felt that there was a little too much back-story and I had some difficulty in keeping them in my mind. I recall that one character is gay, one is named Rachel who comes from a wealthy family, another is a boss who depends a lot on Emily and isn't to be depended on. I'm not sure if there others.
Theme:
Love is unexpected
Plot:
Its written in third person narrative completely from Emily's point of view, and a lot of focus went into the dialogue between Emily and Robert, as well as Emily and her co-workers. What I liked is that the characters actually change throughout the year, along with their lives, and that its not a simple happily ever after novel. The obstacles between Robert and Emily are numerous as they are complete opposites, but somehow they fall in love. Some issues I found a bit confusing, in particular whether or not Emily wants children, and Robert's justification for why people drive SUVs is pretty interesting.
Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)
website http://www.hwalsh.com
twitter username HWalshWriter
member since November 2012
Heather Walsh grew up in North Haven, CT, fantastically close to Pepe's pizza.
She received a B.A. in English at Mary Washington College, which has been renamed to, drum roll please... the University of Mary Washington. This was after a failed attempt to name it Washington & Monroe University, because there aren't enough schools honoring dead Virginian men already. Heather graduated Phi Betta Kappa and summa cum laude, which sounds kind of fancy but really means she took easy classes.
She taught high school English in Brooklyn for one year, where she loved the students but not the system. She then joined corporate America and worked there for too many years as an IT trainer, project manager, business analyst, and SQL dabbler (select * from Dented_Cans).
Her favorite writer is Alice Munro, her favorite movie is The Godfather Parts I & II (tied for first), and her favorite TV show is The Wire. She has lived in some pretty neat places, including Brooklyn (kind of before it was hipster-cool to do so), Manhattan, and San Francisco. The unfortunate result of living in these locations is that she has become an obnoxious foodie.
She currently lives in Brookline, MA with her husband, Mike DeLucia, and their two children
Opinion:
I found it a well written and intelligent read about a love between a Republican man and a Democratic woman who are more alike than they give themselves credit for. What has impressed me is the dialogue, issues that were presented, lack of sexual scenes, quirky and memorable characters, and a debate between the two over just about everything. I did feel that the book lacked believable chemistry between them and sometimes it seemed as if there seemed to be too much needless detail about the town, which was meant to be interesting, but it didn't really capture me, unfortunately. The book spans a whole year from the time Emily meets Robert, and it goes beyond the happily ever after.
Quick notes: I would like to thank the author for the opportunity to read and review the book.
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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