Happy Hump-day, everyone! Sorry for the relative radio silence the past few days. I’ve been busy and, frankly, too tired to write. (Have I ever mentioned that at least one night of a solid eight-hour sleep can be key to actually getting stuff done?) Regardless, I’m here today and I’m bringing you another book review, this time of a book in the same vein as The Beauty of the Fall by Rich Marcello. This novel is called Crossing Allenby Bridge by Michael Looft.
Harry Stone is your typical white-collar American banker. Smart, moderately well-off, divorced, and, at times, a bit insensitive, Harry is what you’d expect a real high-up employee for a bank to be like (rather than some entirely-villainized robber baron). Then everything changes when he loses his job, “early retirement” as his company ultimately labels it. Yet when one door closes, another door opens—a door which leads to journeys across Asia and the Middle East but also to an ethical and spiritual struggle within Harry, one which could leave him either rejuvenated or destroyed. With the help of his new-found friends, will Harry discover his true purpose in life? Or will the weight of the darkness in the world—and himself—pull him into the abyss?
Image retrieved from Amazon
I must admit, given that his main career is in finance, I began the book a little skeptical of Looft’s ability to create impactful fiction. I wasn’t certain if he’d be able to get me to connect with his characters or the concepts discussed in this book on a human level. What can I say? Everyone has their prejudices, and one of mine happens—or happened, now that I’ve read this novel—to be against those in the financial sector as being rather impersonal. However, Looft uses this fiction novel to investigate microfinance (which I hadn’t even heard of before) and ethical finance, an investigation which gave me a better opinion of some financial workers and hope for the future if more people take a journey similar to Harry’s.
The discussion of microfinance and ethical finance necessitates that this book be slightly political. While a little more liberal-leaning, don’t think that either liberals or conservatives can read this book 100% satisfied with the characters’ views. In fact, Looft does fairly well in maintaining a more moderate, balanced political stance by giving a variety of characters’ perspectives and Harry’s growth as a result of engaging with these perspectives. In a sea of blue and red, it’s nice to see other shades—grey included—represented in fiction. I certainly didn’t agree with every view presented in this novel, but that’s one of the things which make it great. This book got me thinking more (which, in hindsight, might not be a good thing for my own mental well-being) and caring for characters despite the fact that we would not meet eye-to-eye in real life.
The characters are by no means perfect. Harry, while good at heart, says some…politically-incorrect things and harbors inside him dark secrets that could tear anyone apart. Elena, while a beautiful, has a temper and trust issues I did not expect and which soured my view of her rather quickly. (The latter reaction is appropriate given the subject matter when this happened. Still, I can’t discuss it any further than that because of spoilers.) Mark can be too stoic sometimes, and Sarah too cheery. Regardless, I cared about all the characters and their well-being. I became wrapped up in their drama and their happiness, as well as the sadness they felt over the poverty they witnessed.
Looft manages a book which is both humorous and emotional. For the most part, Crossing Allenby Bridge affected emotionally almost as well as The Beauty of the Fall. There were some moments in the narrative when I feel that Looft slips up on showing Harry’s emotions to readers when it was necessary, especially compared to how well he does so in the rest of the novel. However, in general, Looft knows just how to pull at a person’s heartstrings while also being able to pull them out of the darkness with some light-hearted moments and humor.
Perhaps my favorite moment of humor comes with the chapter titled “And Nightmares”. The fact that Harry called a Tarot reading and a levitating chair a “séance” made me want to fall over laughing. And calling the psychic a witch? Come on! I could tell that Looft meant for Harry’s reactions to be funny while also implying the general path the book would take, and he succeeded. The Tarot reading stuck with me for the rest of the book, as it did to Harry, and I kept wondering how the cards were going to play out. After all, such readings usually come true in ways we would never expect—and I’m pretty sure Harry didn’t expect it to be as accurate as it turned out to be.
The exotic locations, of course, will be a huge draw for American readers. Just don’t expect the typical tourist’s view of any of these places. Yes, the Philippines section does contain some such depictions. Still, even these are tainted by first-world human interactions. The rest of the time, illustrations of poverty and the plight in “third-world countries” make up most of Harry’s experience. While not the ideal light in which to paint these areas, it felt more real than anything I’ve ever seen or read about them. Just like Harry did, I really connected with these poor people and felt like there must be something I could do to help them, that Harry could do.
The book does have its flaws. Regardless, most of the ones I encountered are more minor clashes with my personal perspective rather than any flaw in the narrative. One moment which stuck with me in particular because it made me a little mad was this exchange between Harry and Mark:
“What are you, some kind of socialist, Mark?” […]
“Of course not, I’m American.”
There was more between those lines, such as a patronizing smile from Harry to try and lighten the mood, but these lines stuck out to me. What, being a socialist or having socialist ideals make you not American? The whole thought was absurd to me. Still, the fact that Looft could evoke such a reaction in me proves the quality of his writing. I was so invested in the novel that it was as though I were there, really listening to these men having this conversation.
There were some minor technical errors, such as grammatically-incorrect formatting of some snippets of dialogue. Nevertheless, these errors were so minor that I don’t even remember exactly what they were, and so did not detract from my reading experience.
Overall, Crossing Allenby Bridge by Michael Looft is an engaging and thought-provoking read. Truthfully, as with The Beauty of the Fall, I could go on for pages with praise for its messages, themes, and character development. The plot is your typical “character traveling to find his true self” sort of narrative with some twists about a disturbed tastefully mixed in. However, the messages that this plot carries and the character development are what really hooked me. Looft was never short on surprises regarding Harry and his past, all of which shaped him into the person he was going into this novel. If you like character-driven novels and don’t mind some liberal-leaning messages, I highly recommend this book.
You can buy Crossing Allenby Bridge by Michael Looft in paper on Amazon. Also be sure to check out Looft’s website and Facebook page for more information on this work, the author, and his non-fiction books on ethical finance.
Do you know of any books I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!
Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011