Review: Supermarket

Supermarket by Bobby Hall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ok, I debated rating this a two, instead settling on middle of the road. That doesn’t mean I liked it—at ALL. In fact, I couldn’t wait for it to end. The three stars, then, reflect only the ingenuity of the author. With that said....

It’s difficult to discuss this one with some spoilers. So, here they are!

(view spoiler)[ When the book opens, we are introduced to the narrator, Flynnigan. He is twenty four, lives in his mother’s basement, and was recently dumped by his girlfriend, Lola. His father is deceased, a victim of suicide after a schizophrenic breakdown. Flynn is actually a writer, who in the midst of his own depression suddenly receives a substantial advance to finish his first novel. With that advance, he rents his own place, adopts a dog and takes a job at the local supermarket in order to research background for his book. Immediately, his circumstances are suspect. For example, when he walks his dog, Bennett, he describes the reactions of those around him. CLEARLY something isn’t right. Couple that with the hereditary nature of schizophrenia, and you’ve figured out the hook. There is no dog. There is no supermarket. Instead, Flynn is a patient in a mental institution, where he mentally turns doctors, orderlies and fellow patients into coworkers.

The book changes direction enough times to have left me dizzy, and the reader is never sure what’s real and what is being created by Flynn. This idea of an unreliable narrator is nothing new, but it felt like author Bobby Hall was pushing the envelope with the concept. The writing felt forced, juvenile and immature, and read more like a rough draft than an edited and published novel. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, for me this just fell flat.

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