Review of Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller

In honor of the B&N.com General Fiction book club feature novel of the month I'm republishing my review of this amazing piece of literature. Enjoy

Outside the Ordinary World

Dori Ostermiller

Mira

374 pages

It’s the rare novel that stays in your mind for a long time after you read it and yet that’s exactly what you’ll get with “Outside the Ordinary World”.

Sylvia Sandon is a complicated woman, which stems from her complicated childhood. Married with two daughters of her own she finds herself following in the footsteps of her mother, footsteps that she doesn’t want to walk in and yet seemingly without conscience thought she’s doing. The secrets of her past have found their way into her present and by reliving them finds herself on a precipice she would rather not straddle.

Dori Ostermiller gives us a remarkable and unforgettable story of family crisis, family failure and possible triumph and she does it with her amazing skill of storytelling. Her eloquent prose like dialogue takes us deep into the psyche of a troubled woman and the people who surround her. She’s not afraid to use hard language to tell us her tale and yet at the same time uses literary phrases to describe a scene or thought that enables her readers the ability to visualize her words. Her characters are all well thought out, three dimensional and all totally necessary to the novel. Her protagonist Sylvia is an exceptionally portrayed character and readers will find themselves entranced by her and will share in her sorrow and cheer in her triumphs and at times will want to slap her silly. This is no romance but there is a thought provoking love story here, one that will make her audience sit up and take notice, one that will resonate within all of us, especially those of us who like me can relate to it. The love scenes are creative and thoughtful and here is where you’ll find her most imaginative prose.

Outside the Ordinary World is a masterpiece of the written word. It’s a hard story to tell and yet one that needs to be told. So if you’re looking for a world class piece of literary fiction, a story on the dark side of family turmoil with that all elusive light at the end of the tunnel, then give this wonderful novel a try. It’s not an easy read but it’s one that needs to be read. So if this is the kind of tale that floats your boat believe me you will not be sorry that you took the plunge. It’s bound to get critical accolades, it’s that good.