I know, I know, but…

Chasing Hope

By JENNY WALKER
Available for download from http://www.lulu.com/product/download/chasing-hope/339547
Copyright 2006, 384 pages

I got a copy of this book and it took me some time to read it. Damn that real life getting in the way….

I’m glad I read it when I did get the time.

Jenny Walker has two other stories out that I had enjoyed, and I figured that this book would be no different. I was very wrong. It was actually better than the other two.

I love “The West Wing” and one of my all time favorite movies is “The American President”. So reading this book about a dark-horse political candidate who wants to run for President made me think of those two very strongly.

Like her other books, there is a transsexual in the mix, and it isn’t pointed out actually who it is until much later.

Click here to see a plot synopsis

I won’t give all the details away, but I will say that the tension between the various groups on the Campaign trail is masterfully written and very real. The characters live and breathe, they have flaws, they have joys and fears.

Just as a side-note I want to express my extreme compliments to Ms. Walker, she did a heck of a job of writing an American Political Campaign. I don’t know many Americans who could do much better, and the kick in the teeth is that Ms. Walker is Irish. She correctly wrote the actual process, the goals, what needs to be done first and in what order, the various conflicts with the stump speeches and even more. If for no other reason, please read this book for that.

Now for the bad; The book is divided up into five sections, but they are not chronological. It starts in present day, goes to fifteen years ago, then back to the present, then back to the past again, and finally in the present and finishes the narrative. I came very close to skipping the sections that go into the past, but I kept reading; boy am I glad I didn’t skip them.

It is in the flash back portions that you get the background on who is the transsexual, and there are many things that won’t make sense unless you read those flashbacks. My personal preference would have been to keep them chronological order, starting in the far past and moving on to the present.

However, even with that minor quibble, I enjoyed this book immensely and will probably read it again at some point. The actual PDF file is well laid out, it is in a clear and readable type, and of a sufficient font size that I could read it easily on my monitor without my glasses on. I’d advise the author to come up with other formats so that those who don’t like Adobe (because you can’t mark your place) can read and enjoy this work.

My rating?

Mini-Biography:  Joy is a transvestite who has been using her stories as a form of therapy. At this point she has no desire to undergo the full transition, but that might change some day. Read more about her story at My Story on this site.