G916 Book Review of Life long by Ronald L Ruiz

Name of Book: Life Long

Author: Ronald L. Ruiz

ISBN: 9781937484538

Publisher: Amika Press

Type of book: Schizophrenia, bus ride from California to Texas, Zyprexa, money, bad choices and decisions, voices, interesting characters, Laredo, Mexico

Year it was published: 2017

Summary:

Ray Lopez is on the run with a duffel bag full of cash. Both drug dealers and the police are after him. But Ray is not a criminal. His last brush with the law was over traffic tickets. Recently released from the hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, he is haunted by voices, auditory hallucinations, that frighten him and cause him to question his every move.

Ray’s journey from California to Laredo is perilous. Like so many Americans before him, he travels through unfamiliar territory with no clear way of knowing who will help and who will harm him. And he may well find himself on the wrong side of the border with a mind that has no borders.

Characters:

Main character is Raymond Lopez, an orphan with auditory schizophrenia who made some bad choices and is now on the run from both cops and his cousin's possible druggie friends. Raymond is resourceful although reckless and he is trying to survive his decisions. Other characters seemed to come and go and like Raymond they were drawn well and memorably, although its a pity their visits were short.

Theme:

Things are not what they seem

Plot:

The story is told in first person narrative from Ray's point of view. What is also cool about this book is that made me wonder and question the plot. Ray is schizophrenic, and it feels as if the author plays with the reader's perception of schizophrenia because I wondered what was real and what wasn't and how the story will turn out, and it gave me a taste of how frightening schizophrenia can be. The characters, the mood and the grittiness along with realism are done very well and are extremely feasible. What I also appreciated about the story is that the main focus was not on illegal drugs or an undercover cop/detective, but it was, literally, on an everyday human being who could be a next door neighbor or friend or an acquaintance.

Author Information:
(from iRead Book Tours)


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Meet the Author:

Born and raised in Fresno California - Educated at St. Mary´s College California, University of California Berkeley, University of San Francisco - Practiced law from !966 to 2003 as a Deputy District Attorney, a criminal defense attorney, and a Deputy Public Defender - Appointed to the California Agriculture Labor Relations Board by Governor Jerry Brown in 1974 and later served as the District Attorney of Santa Cruz County California.

Ronald L. Ruiz has published 5 novels and a memoir. Happy Birthday Jesus (1994), Giuseppe Rocco (1998), The Big Bear (2003), A Lawyer (2012), Jesusita(2015). and Life Long (2017).

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Facebook

Opinion:

When I saw that the author has returned for another book tour, my heart grew excited at the thought of reading his latest novel. I loved his previous beautiful and haunting novel, Jesusita where there is a combination of historical fiction as well as immigration story; how will Life Long be like? It definitely isn't a historical fiction. and it sounded far different. I am happy to say that although Life Long is a different genre, that of suspense/psychological thriller, it really matches up to Jesusita.  The ending is also different than what one would expect in a suspense/psychological novel, and the story is both gripping and gritty with bus rides from California to Mexico and the uncertainty that plagues Ray as he tries to run away. Somehow, this book feels far more true to life than some other suspense/psychology thrillers I have previously read in the past.

This is for iRead Book Tours

BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:

Sept 18 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway
Sept 18 - Books for Books - review
Sept 19 - Working Mommy Journal - review / giveaway
Sept 21 - The Reading Life - book spotlight / giveaway
Sept 22 - Olio By Marilyn - review / giveaway
Sept 25 - Writers and Authors - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sept 26 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review / guest post / giveaway
Sept 27 - Cheryl's Book Nook - review / giveaway
Sept 28 - Leels Loves Books - review
Sept 29 - The All Night Library - review / guest post
Oct 3 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
Oct 4 - Ali - The Dragon Slayer - review / guest post / giveaway
Oct 5 - Travelling Through Words - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 6 - Nighttime Reading Center - review / giveaway
Oct 6 - Library of Clean Reads - review / author interview / giveaway
TBD - The Book Drealms - book spotlight / giveaway

5 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.)