Assessment:

Plot/Idea: Alignment is a powerful and affecting story, framed by a messy and abusive relationship that leaves Baldwin bedraggled and deceived. The story is a sharp, bitter and poignant tale of soul searching and personal growth.

Prose: The text is insightful, effectively capturing the essence, atmosphere, and historical context of the global scenarios he finds himself in. The sentences often have a poetic rhythm that is stark and powerful, although the switch from third to first person narrative in the latter stages of the book is a little jarring.

Originality: Baldwin primarily presents his story in the third person, lending the narrative a tense and often electrifying energy that reads more like fiction than memoir. The episodic nature of the text serves the book well, as the storyline evolves over several countries and environments such as Israel, India, and the U.S. with each location offering fresh landscapes and dramatic possibilities.

Character/Execution: Baldwin's text is wide-ranging yet tightly executed. His tortuous and passionless relationship with Shilpa dominates large sections of the text, leaving Baldwin empty, traumatized, and trapped in a seemingly insurmountable web of deceit.

Blurb: A creative and touching story of self-discovery.

Date Submitted: January 20, 2024