Alli's CBR-III Review #43 - It Feels So Good When I Stop

Apparently Joe Pernice is some kind of musician, but I just happened upon his book in the highlighted section of my library and decided to check it out. There are a lot of musical references throughout the book so I should have clued in, but I didn't notice until about halfway through when I decided to read some of the author recommendations printed on the back of the book. I haven't heard any of Pernice's music that I know of, but after reading "It Feels So Good When I Stop", I am now of the opinion that he is also a respectable fiction writer.

"It Feels So Good When I Stop" is the story of a nameless protagonist who flees his brand new wife and ends up on Cape Cod in his sister's vacated home. His sister is going through a divorce and so both her and her husband have left the home. Her soon to be Ex-husband keeps leaving his 18 month old son with our hero and makes him keep it a secret from his sister. Also our hero meets a woman from the neighbourhood who seems down and out, and they forge a relationship.

The story jumps back and forth from the past to the present, the hero's rocky relationship with the wife/girlfiend he left is explored. The writing is rather good, but the ending came too soon with not nearly enough resolution to the plots that are contained throughout. Had the story came to a better conclusion I would have been much more satisfied. As it is, I was left with the feeling that this was a rather pointless tale.