Place

Place by Ned White
(CreateSpace / 1-442-14874-8 / 978-1-442-14874-1 / April 2009 / 236 pages / $16.95 / Smashwords $2.95)

Reviewed by Donna Nordmark Aviles for PODBRAM

Abigail Sipes is a highly sought after, independent corporate consultant. Hugh Ogden is a brilliant computer software engineer who is eager to sell his cutting-edge company, which harnesses distributed intelligence, before the tech bubble bursts. When their paths cross during acquisition talks, the attraction is immediate and intense.

Divorced for the past six years with a daughter in college on the East coast, Hugh’s marriage was failed from the start and he longs for a sense of place, a connection to planet Earth, a life free from the ordinary and expected. Abby, at thirty-six, has been a widow for four years although she willingly admits that she “didn’t like him much.” An unspeakable, life-altering event from her past has damaged her own sense of place and is preventing her – literally – from moving forward with her life. Together, Hugh and Abby seek to build a new family and repair that damage in an effort to become whole.

Place, set in a post 9/11 America, is a thoughtful exploration of family connections both in the here and now, as well as across the veil of time and space. Very well written with a unique, matter-of-fact prose, this intriguing story may leave the reader rethinking their understanding of what can and cannot possibly happen. The back cover blurb…A wounded life in a fractured land, she keeps disappearing… does not begin to touch on the depth and complexity of this story. Definitely worth the read, I look forward to reviewing Ned White’s earlier work, Calling Out Your Name.

See Also: Ned's Smashwords Page
Ned White's Authors Den Page
Ned White's Photography Site
Review of Ned White's Calling Out Your Name