Book Review: The Orphaned Anything’s by Stephen Christian

I am lead to believe that in our progressive society, incorrect punctuation and an abundance of grammatical errors are distracting and can ruin a good story, yet contrary to this popular opinion, the underuse of capitals and the evidence of minimalistic proof reading in Stephen Christian's The Orphaned Anything's forced me to concentrate even harder on what the author’s message was. I didn’t get complacent on my ability to read and I ended up feeling a sense of unanticipated flow, which I felt added more meaning to the story. I am sure there are many reasons why Christian chose to forgo a spell-check session or two, and I would very much like to learn about those from him.

Just as Christian doesn’t possess strong grammatical proficiency, I can’t claim to be exceptional at book reviews, but I can promise that I have taken the time and care to make sure my review speaks highly of the story and the gentle way which Christian deals with more sensitive topics. In the blurb, Christian refers to TOA as his ‘project of will and life lessons’ of which can easily be absorbed by the reader based simply on these morals; yet for those who know and understand more of the Anberlin story and hence Stephen’s background, these lessons are embedded deep within a semi-personal account of events in his life (mixed with some artistic license). I think the honesty is what I enjoyed the most.

The imagery is strong and compelling, with many references to historical philosophers paired with some of their memorable quotes. Each section of the story is mundanely titled “NEW CHAPTER”, followed by a personalised tagline. Quotes play a magnificent part in the emphasis of  sub-story lines.

In what then starts mimicking the types of themes and lessons touched upon by the 2010 film “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”, and Paulo Coelho's novel "Veronica Decides To Die", TOA begins to develop Ayden’s character from a patient in a mental hospital who had a lacklustre approach to life, to an inspired human who discovers motivations he never imagined having. This gaining of worldly views, personal acceptance of hidden skills, and confession of dark secrets, combines to deliver the main character with a new sense of purpose - the concept that "There's more to living than being alive."

Another positive I can draw from the novel is the development of a soundtrack to read the book along to. With many of the song titles and musicians being mentioned in the book, it feels as though the book wouldn’t be complete without the soundtrack. During my first read of the novel, the song “The Sporting Life” by a band called The Sea and Cake (whom I had never heard of before purchasing TOA) matched up flawlessly with its mention on page 42; it seemed ‘perfectly deliberate’. Some of the music does not form part of my usual listening choices; however, I have also discovered some brilliant music from this experience, much of which I am likely to listen to over and over again.

Christian uses his novel as a medium to convey many thoughts and feelings he has towards life, and he frequently questions the reader with whether there are other people out there who all think the same, and when the last original thought on Earth existed. Christian admits he finds it compelling when those who have treasured a novel take the time to write notes in it's borders. I hope that when I read TOA again, I can find the time to do this, and that one day I can pass it on so that others learn not only of the messages embedded in the story, but of what they meant to me, and what thoughts they triggered in my brain.

A fond addition to the bookshelf.