4 out of 4 stars
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Seven at Two Past Five by Tara Basi is a refreshingly unique novel that takes readers on a complex journey through the life and psyche of the old button maker Abi, also known as Seven. Abi has spent her life in a world ruled by routine and simplicity where she awakens every morning in her number seven bunk-bed-coffin and proceeds to her workshop where she receives a letter with the day’s button orders. Her orderly world is overturned when she awakens for the first time without having had nightmares, known as the Terrors, during the previous night. This change in routine is welcomed until she arrives in her workshop to find a new note instructing her that because of the absence of her usual Terrors, she is accused of “Disturbance Potential.”
After her accusation, Abi has her first ever contact with other people and ultimately decides to appeal the absurd and unfair judgement. This act of defiance, a first for her, sets in motion a change of events that is built with one difficulty after another. Abi and her Appeals Process Administrator, Zero, embark on a never-ending path to clear her name and receive justice. Yet, nearly everyone seems to be standing in their way with ridiculous and arbitrary demands, accusations and rules. As time begins to run out, Abi will have to come to terms with some startling truths that she has kept hidden deep inside her.
I rate Seven at Two Past Five 4 out of 4 stars because I find it an extremely well-written and creative novel. For starters, I didn’t find a single grammatical error or typo throughout the entire book, which was obviously professionally edited. As for the content, the story kept me in suspense the entire time, and I wasn’t sure what would happen to the characters or even what was truly going on behind the strange world until the very end. The setting is so richly described and always changing that I felt like I was actually being swept from place to place alongside the characters. I think that Basi’s descriptions are one of her strongest writing points, and they were proportionally mixed with interesting dialogue, a balance that many authors struggle to achieve.
This book will appeal to those who enjoy reading absurdist, surrealist, or philosophical novels that keep you guessing. The writing style and tone of the book are fast-paced with short, abrupt, often fragmented sentences that reflect the bizarre nature of the world and its people. The frustrating process of the appeal and the absurd behavior and explanations from the characters had me feeling so agitated and restless, and I think readers will be able to sympathize and identify with Abi. On the other hand, the situations were so ridiculous that I often found myself laughing at their relation to the paperwork and red tape we all have to go through in the real world, and I quite enjoyed this exaggerated parallelism.
If you’re the kind of reader who enjoys this genre, I do not think you’ll be disappointed with Seven at Two Past Five. It was a really interesting take on a subject I didn’t altogether expect—and which I’ll withhold to avoid spoiling the end. This book held my attention until the last page, and the ending was so fascinating that I’d like to read the book a second time now that the mystery has been solved, an unmistakable sign of a successful novel.
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Seven at Two Past Five
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