R. McKinsey

To start, Sydney West is a strange book. Opening with Sydney telling a total stranger to call for help and then passing out in a coffee shop - then waking up in the hospital without any memory of "who" he is or "what" he does and "why" he does it. Said stranger decides he needs to check up on Sydney who is strange in his own right and thus forms a new friendship if you can call it that. Sydney is very self involved and almost autistic in that things need to be a certain way, he isn't very sociable and as he learns about himself he finds out he has no friends, loves tea and when he gets home he has no food in the house.

I'll be honest, I really struggled with this book. I didn't like Sydney much - but I really liked the stranger (I'd like to know more about him - he reminded me of Leonard from Big Bang Theory (don't ask me why). I felt sorry for Sydney because he had no memories to ground him, no friends to care for him and he doesn't seem to have a purpose in life. There is a mystery involved but it took about 1/2 of the book to start finding out what the true mystery is (and it's not Sydney's amnesia - sorta) and then to find out about someone who is playing with Sydney's life through the ability to hack into his computer and "watch" Sydney.... I think you get the idea.

On a positive note: this book is very well written and Rebecca has the intellect and skill to write a book like this - and 2 more sequels as well. While I struggled with the book I have a feeling books 2 and 3 will not be quite as unsettling (mainly because I'll be expecting this kind of book) and perhaps more questions will be answered. If you like unusual books (with sarcastic & mysterious/suspicious undertones) I suggest checking this one out from the library or purchasing one through Amazon

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Sydney West to read and review on GivingNSharing. I was not required to write a positive review and no money exchanged hands.… (plus d'informations)

A bit of a slow start, I thought, but only at first. Reading into the actual story I realized this was necessary to setting the plot. This is a book unlike any I've read.

A very unusual story, who is this man Sydney West? I almost felt that the author was playing games with the reader, which somehow made me want to learn more. There are a number of clues scattered throughout the book if you take the time to see them for what they are. Otherwise, Sydney West is a complete enigma. Sydney not only marches to a different drummer, his feet take him where he doesn't know he wants to be. I feel I've fallen down the rabbit hole, Sydney is the white rabbit and as Alice would say "Curiouser and curiouser." Who or what is Sydney? No matter the whys and wherefores, I am intrigued. How did he play such a wonderful piece on the piano when he doesn't remember it? How does he know one thing and not another? This is not just a case of amnesia, but perhaps something much darker.

Sydney attends university, has a friend, maybe even a few friends, young people who he meets along the way while trying to figure out why he is there. Who knows if they are truly friends? He is someone he is not, so how can he trust others? This book is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but maybe a tea of a different flavour is good. In my opinion this would be a great book for discussion, for readers looking for something completely different in a mystery, readers who like puzzles, and those who enjoy conspiracy theories. Don't get me wrong, this bizarre book is character-driven and the main character is fascinating. A complicated character, one who we'll be seeing again. Rebecca McKinsey is definitely a storyteller. A challenging and imaginative debut series for this author.… (plus d'informations)