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Thom Satterlee

Auteur de The Stages: A Novel

4 oeuvres 65 utilisateurs 3 critiques

Œuvres de Thom Satterlee

The Stages: A Novel (2012) — Auteur — 45 exemplaires
Burning Wyclif (2006) 13 exemplaires
God's Liar: A Novel (2020) 3 exemplaires

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The Stages by Thom Satterlee is an intriguing mystery starring a very unusual but likable protagonist.

For the past eighteen years, American Daniel Peters has been living and working in Copenhagen as translator of philosopher Søren Kierkegaard's works. Socially awkward with a penchant for routine, Daniel was unaware that these traits are, in fact, symptoms of Asperger's syndrome until rather late in life. His close friend and boss Mette Rasmussen was instrumental in helping him understand his condition and while he still has difficulty reading social cues, he is making an effort to interact more regularly with his co-workers. Mette was very protective of him and in the aftermath of her death, Daniel is trying to put his well-ordered life back on track when he learns he is the lead suspect in her murder. In an effort to clear his name and recover a recently discovered but now missing Kierkegaard manuscript, Daniel steps out of his comfort zone and investigates the clues that he hopes will lead him to her killer.

Daniel is highly intelligent but he is definitely at a disadvantage in social or work environments. He is never quite sure whether people are making fun of him and he is often at a loss when trying to read facial expressions or grasp subtle nuances during conversations. He also struggles to understand what emotions he is experiencing and although he misses Mette, he does not feel grief at her death. He is very reflective of their shared history and there is no mistaking his long held affection for his former girlfriend, but grief is just not in his emotional vocabulary. Instead, Daniel tries to make sense of his new life without her but without Mette's protection, his trusting nature makes him a target of unscrupulous people who try to take advantage of him both at home and work.

Daniel's innocence is refreshing yet also heartbreaking. The police have questions about his last encounter with Mette and he is genuinely perplexed when his explanations do not clear him as a suspect. Once he realizes this, he fully co-operates with their requests while at the same time investigating her death on his own. He makes a few puzzling discoveries that he tracks down but his Asperger's makes it difficult for him to put what he uncovers into any type of understandable context until a shocking revelation helps Daniel put all of the pieces of the puzzle together.

Although a bit of a slow starter, The Stages is a captivating read with an engaging cast of characters. Daniel is an interesting protagonist and viewing the world through his perspective is quite fascinating. The mystery aspect of the storyline is well-written and Thom Satterlee does a superb job of concealing the perpetrator's identity and the motive for the crime right until the novel's stunning conclusion. Overall, a clever yet baffling mystery with a unique premise, unexpected plot twists and an atypical lead character that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.
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Signalé
kbranfield | 2 autres critiques | Feb 3, 2020 |
The Stages by Thom Satterlee is a mystery first and foremost. Additionally it provides a glimpse into the world/mind of an adult with Asperger's. It also gives some information on, and is even structured a bit on, Soren Kierkegaard and his philosophy. These three elements are woven together into a coherent whole, no small feat there. Satterlee succeeds on all three endeavors and as a result engages the reader both emotionally and intellectually.

The mystery is perhaps a little slow to develop early but this is also where we begin to grasp the dual mystery facing the narrator/protagonist, namely the murder and his attempts to understand the people he is now forced to deal with. As the novel steams ahead it becomes a page turner and ultimately concludes with a wonderful twist.

I don't know a lot about adults with Asperger's but asked a friend who works in this area a few questions based on scenes from the book and she said they seemed realistic. As with any condition there is no single presentation but what I asked appeared to her to be within the realm of realistic. I'll take her word for it and just add that it certainly added to my enjoyment of the book.

Kierkegaard used to be an area of study for me so I enjoyed what there was about him and think there may have been some structural concepts, in addition to the stages, that might have been a nod to Kierkegaard. I hope to reread the book with Kierkegaard's works next to me sometime soon. By the way, if anyone enjoyed this aspect of the novel may I recommend Walker Percy's novels. Kierkegaard made a huge impact on his life and Percy incorporates both explicit references as well as incorporating many of Kierkegaard's ideas into his works.

I would readily recommend this book to any fan of mystery as well as readers with an interest in how an adult with Asperger's navigates the world.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.
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Signalé
pomo58 | 2 autres critiques | Feb 24, 2016 |
I guess this book was just not my cup of tea. I really tried to get into the story. I even got half way. Yet, I found myself having a hard time staying focused on the story. There was nothing that piqued my interest with the story or Daniel. Although, I have read a few other books where the main character had Asperger's I did not get the strong sense of struggle in society that I have experienced from the other characters in the books I read. Not to say that all people with Asperger's is like this. I just am commenting on what I have experienced from the books I have read. In fact, if you were to ask me what happened in the first half of the story, I would not even tell you one focal point as it was that unmemorable to me.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
Cherylk | 2 autres critiques | Jan 24, 2016 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
4
Membres
65
Popularité
#261,994
Évaluation
4.1
Critiques
3
ISBN
7
Langues
1

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