Life Knocks Review

I’m not quite sure where I should begin with the review this week. Even though I finished Craig Stone’s Life Knocks a few days ago now I still don’t feel like the dust has quite settled yet. There are so many questions and philosophical points from it that are still going around and around in my head...

So I’ll try starting from the beginning (duh). For a good first chunk of this book you will probably not know what is going on or where it is leading. We start off with an email that Colossus Sosloss sent to his bank colleagues in 2004 the day he decided to quit the rat race and embark on a new life of freedom - something most of us have fantasised about doing at one point or another. The rest of the story then alternates between that time period, slowly moving up through the years and 2010 when Colossus moves into a new flat. 

 

If you are still unsure what it is about I’ll tell you now. The book is about life and the ups, downs, mistakes, luck and love of an ordinary man. It is also a very honest look at life and while some people may find a few of the characters in the story outrageous and unbelievable, I will say this; I believe in all of them. I have met some people in my own life which defy belief...but that’s a story for another time. 

Throughout the narrative, you sometimes hear Colossus’s thoughts and his philosophical musings on life or certain situations. 

Though my favourite has to be one regarding a certain Hawaii sunset; I have never before heard a sunset being described as a child smashing crayons into god’s face before - but it works and it made me laugh. 

One of my few complaints about the novel is grammar and typing errors. While I have always found a few in every self-published novel or traditional novel that I have ever read I felt there was a few too many in Life Knocks. I’m not meaning errors on epic proportions here but it could maybe use a second look. 

Yet besides that this is a personal story well told with a lot of imagery, humour and philosophical musings on everyday life which we can all relate to on some level.

I give Life Knocks 7/10. 

It's available on Kindle here.