Publication Date: November 3, 2014
Michael and Lina meet on a bus. They struggle to find common ground and build a relationship. Can young love survive with different goals?
The author, Nicholas Budgen, gave me a copy of this novella in exchange for my review.
Michael and Lina are a bit of a mismatch on the surface. He’s graduated from a university, she’s just begun and is working a day-to-day job. He’s looking to the future and she’s looking for the moment. Their common denominator seems to be awkward banter and physical attraction. Generally well written, the novel is threaded with the overly analyzed relationship questions of the young. Why are we always attracted against our own interests?
Toronto is a great city in which to fall in love. Its also a incredibly lonely city if one is alone. It’s perhaps that loneliness that drives Michael to look for something he perhaps can’t achieve. He’s been absorbed in a purpose and is now at a loose end. He is also a bit of a romantic. Budgen writes Michael as a romantic and an idealist. Budgen writes Lina as a more generic free spirit not focused on her education or the possible next steps in her life. She is a caricature of an idea not fully focused but as desperate to avoid monotony, as her boyfriend is to find purpose.
The great virtue of this novella is that [easyazon_link identifier=”B00P6SH25M” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Blue Eyes Blazing[/easyazon_link] is technically well written and short. Perhaps people younger than myself that are starting their romantic lives might find the story more poignant and real in its philosophy and naval-gazing outlook. It’s the story of the ins and outs of young love but more an overview than an in-depth look. There’s no more reason to believe that Michael and Lina might be attracted to each other than their snap-together parts.
If [easyazon_link identifier=”B00P6SH25M” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Blue Eyes Blazing[/easyazon_link] looks interesting to you, give it a look. There are few reviews on Amazon and they all have five stars. [easyazon_link identifier=”B00P6SH25M” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Blue Eyes Blazing[/easyazon_link] is not a huge time investment standing at a brief 33 pages. If you do pick up [easyazon_link identifier=”B00P6SH25M” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Blue Eyes Blazing[/easyazon_link] or have read it, let me know what you think.
You can read an excerpt and buy Blue Eyes Blazing by Nicholas M. Bugden on:
Amazon U.S. • Amazon U.K. • Amazon Canada
For more information about Nicholas M. Bugden and his work, visit his website. You can connect with him on Goodreads.