What Does Love Sound Like? -by Padgett Gerler

• DougInNC book Review

The pace at which this book progresses is as perfect as any I have read. It is imaginative but does not wander. Upon wading in, there is a flow like waves on the ocean as segments of the story well up to capture your full interest. When one element passes, an equally interesting aspect is there to take its place.

When will the movie be made?

This work has all the makings of a film. It has crisp dialogue as well as unspoken thoughts that actors’ expressions could readily emote. Individual scenes build storylines and “what comes next” tension retains viewer/reader attention throughout. The locations are clear and well chosen, from Savannah to New York City with vignettes in Atlanta, California, and New Mexico.

While unmistakably a novel in its whole, this is a series of integrated stories around the evolution of heroine Jinx. Life events get to her, but she gets “it” and finds her path, on her terms, mingled with the parallel stories of family, extended family, and new friends.

Her willingness to shed old friends and her past is courageous. The author writes, “By now tears were streaming down Jinx’s face, tears of sadness for her past, tears of loneliness for her future. But Jinx had decided that she’d rather be lonely than hurt …”. The reader is won over by both the created and creator, i.e. character and author.

New and unique personalities are introduced and fluidly enter the central tale. Some are less convincing than Jinx, but each performs their role in moving the story forward.

Returning to the movie-ready concept, this book doesn’t often spend time on detailed scene description, notwithstanding an inspirational sunset in the desert of the western U.S.A. Readers are allowed to conceive backgrounds from knowledge of coastal living and city life, which one day a film could do instead. Interior scenes are developed more than those outdoors, as seems appropriate when the main character has a special talent for interior design.

Thanks to Padgett Gerler, for sharing “What Does Love Sound Like?” with the world.