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Looking for Mr. Nobody Sue Rann Trafalgar Square Books August 2003 Trade Paperback/254 pages ISBN: 1-84243-066-1 |
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". . . definitely not another cookie-cutter adventure novel." "Rann?s off-beat voice takes her readers to unexpected places, . . ." |
Its slightly different flavor reveals Looking For Mr. Nobody came to us from “across the pond” as did the James Bond novels and movies, but don’t prematurely dismiss this story of a nemesis menacing millions in a bid for world control as another spy novel. Between its covers are intriguing depths of feeling extending beyond the mundane plot. Quirky characters lead independent, detached lives as described in such popular 21st Century novels as Bridget Jones''s Diary.
From a slow start with few clues hinting at what’s ahead, Rann’s off-beat voice takes her readers to unexpected places, where planning for the future means knowing where the next meal will be found and whether a warm bed will be available to get out of the snowy streets. A friend is a valuable commodity for mutual survival.
Her protagonist is asked by a friend to help search for a missing man, and then the friend disappears as well. Much of the story revolves around a homeless man with amnesia, who senses danger stalking him as he sees other homeless people abducted from the streets of Amsterdam by mysterious black-coated men.
Despite being told in typical British espionage tradition with the reader looking on from a distance as danger accelerates out of control, this is definitely not another cookie-cutter adventure novel.
The setting–Amsterdam–is refreshingly unique, and Rann draws a poignant picture of a homeless life, lived on the fringes of society with the tiny kindnesses and cruelties the unfortunate endure. The mental confusion, pain and fear of losing one’s identity, one’s mind, and becoming a Mr. Nobody. Reviewer: Doris Lakey |
