Life Ain't Kind is a disturbing book about a brilliant young man who suffers from a combination of bad fate and bad decision making. At first, I was intimidated by it's length. However, the book is printed in a font that's easy on the eyes, and the chapters are short. There are 80 chapters in all, and it doesn't take long to read 5 to 10 at a time. In that sense, this book really is a page-turner.

The book is very well written. I was very impressed by the use of vocabulary. You may need a dictionary to look up certain words such as “legerdemain”, but a dictionary isn't required for reading. Nothing in this novel is contrived. Everything about it is unique, authentic, and interesting. The characters are among the most interesting you will ever encounter in literature, especially Phil and Veronica. But there are others who are very unique in their own way.

“Life Ain't Kind” is categorized as a novel rich with existentialism. I'm not really qualified to comment on that. I'm not a philosopher. It does involve the concepts of authenticity and free will, but that is much too deep for the scope of this review.

While being highly entertained, you will learn quite a lot from reading this book. Believe me, once you start reading it, you won't want to stop. And you will also want to read it again. “Life Ain't Kind” is definitely not a book you will forget. Don't let the references to Classical music scare you. It's really not about Classical music at all.

What I'm now looking forward to is a movie version of “Life Ain't Kind”. With the right film-maker, I can seen this novel winning several Academy Awards.

Life Ain’t Kind is a unique book. It may be the only novel that we may read where the protagonist is a young musician. His name is Nathaniel Cosgray, but nearly all the novel’s characters call him “Nat.” We see the principal character’s early life through a series of flashbacks. Nat’s childhood is fraught with danger and death. Even with so much tragedy in his young life, those events never seem to sway him into becoming a talented musician. His adult life is no better, in many ways worse. It appears that outside forces want him to surrender his vision of becoming a symphonic violinist and pianist. Moreover, when he resists his misfortune, he encounters pain and suffering. It is as though the goddess Fortuna has spun her wheel and placed Nat, not in the upper echelons of society with elite musicians, but rather down to the underbelly of society working in dead-end jobs. As often as fate tries to destroy Nat and his hopes, he escapes misfortune through his cunning nature and his love of music.

We witness through Nat’s travels, criminals, characters with menial jobs, and others who are “last leggers” who are attempting to make it to their retirement before being fired for their incompetence. The characters that Nat meets are broken and disillusioned. They barely have enough energy to make it to the next day. In short, they are prisoners of despair.
Seemingly there are dark forces that want Nat to succumb to a life of misery just as others have in this stratum of society.

As often, as Nat finds himself at the precipice of hopelessness, he steps back and finds solace in music. The protagonist has uncompressing commitment to music and his ever-developing talent as a violinist and pianist. One may argue that as the novel progresses, that Nathaniel becomes one with his music. Others persons that the musician meets have compromised their talents or have surrendered them for some short-lived gratification. The violinist is not an ideal hero. He is imperfect. He has his flaws. Still, the reader admires Nat because he knows how to survive and live. The protagonist uses his intellect and talents to overcome dejection. As viciously as fortune attempts to ruin Nat’s dreams and impose a life of desperation and negativity, the young musician challenges that dark destiny with his intellect, cunning, and musical talent. These instruments provide him with hope and a belief that one-day he will be able climb out of the inferno and create a new life.

I encourage others to read this book. It is long, but once you begin the book, you will lose sight of its length. One will be caught up in the life of this fine musician, and the various characters that he encounters to his final destination. In time, the reader will admire Nat’s tenacity to believe that life has something more to offer him than just surviving.

This is a large, existential, but clearly written, debut novel.
I believe it will soon be acknowledged as a masterpiece.
The author may be hard-pressed to come up with a second act.
I won't reveal anything of the plot, yet. Suffice it to say that the reader
will hear distinct echoes of JD Salinger, Mark Twain, Thomas Wolfe,
Hemingway, and even Norman Mailer. They all can be heard,
in some small way. This writer has read widely, been influenced by the best,
remembers, and hears.
This is just a mini-review..much more to follow.