At the age of 46, Michael Lane’s life is at a point where he is just going through the motions. He has given up on his dream of becoming a piano player and is working as a piano tuner at Cory & Sons to make ends meet. He is bitter in life and is questioning everything in life.
The story starts with a day from hell for Michael; he wakes up from a dream that turns into a nightmare; he is late for work and gets fired from his job; to top things off he gets a month’s notice to empty his apartment. Mike is utterly broken when his telephone rings and he hears a whisper that tells him to pick it up. It was a call from his office telling him that they need him for an urgent job. From that point on Mike’s life takes a turn and he keeps hearing the whispers.
The writer has done a great job of portraying the depression in Mike’s life. He is able to capture all the helplessness that the protagonist feels in his words. The characters have some depth in them but other than Mike no one stands out. Even the character of Nancy, Mike’s love interest, is quite flat and un-relatable. The characters of his father and mother are also important parts of the story; they are there without being physically present. Mike has baggage that has been weighing him down and holding him back. Through the course of the novel Mike is able to let go of it little by little and move ahead in his life .
The story has some elements of paranormal but mostly it deals with human relations and emotions. The writing is good but lacks spontaneity. The progression of the story is nicely paced but at some points it is painstakingly slow. Overall the story is good.
Review by Manisha Rajourohit