I was bored all the way through this book. In fact I never finished it. I may go back & finish some day just because I don't like to leave things undone.
I see that Mr. Hayes is a new young author & I must give him credit for at least writing a book. It's not everyone who actually does try to do this. In fact I keep saying I'm going to do it too - but so far nothing. So I do admire the fact that he has made an attempt here & hopefully any critique of this book will only serve to help him in his next venture.
That said ....basically this book is about a skate boarding dude who drinks a lot and smokes pot alot. He travels around the world too & his goal is to "find himself". If you're a young male then perhaps this book would resonate with you more than it did me as I am an older woman.
He goes to the jungle to live with a shaman and to drink a certain potion that is made from plants there. He was hoping for some grand hallucination or mystical vision to give him the secret to life or what he needs to learn in his life.
He tells about living there and going through these ceremonies with other people who are staying there too. Yet, he is still smoking pot and it seems like he cannot give up his routine from his regular life enough to be open enough to experience what he wants to experience.
Honestly for me this story was too repetitive. He talks about himself and his actions and thoughts kind of like a running dialog. And it just was not that interesting to hear about multiple times.
I hoped the book would get more interesting as I continued reading. But it just didn't. What could have added more meat to this book would have been more descriptions of his surroundings in the jungle. Also more character development. That's why I even picked it to begin with. If I had spent 5 weeks in the Amazon jungles you can bet I would have had a lot to say just about that experience alone, even without drinking potions concocted by shamans.
My critique for the author would be to change the title: "Five Weeks in the Amazon" is rather misleading. It leads readers to think that is what your book is going to be about and it's not.
How about "Searching for myself while using the drug Ayahuasca". See right away people would know whether or not they have an interest in this book.
You have to know your audience & advertise your book to the right readers. I feel like you've gotten a lot of negative reviews simply due to an error in the Title. So think about that and if you are able to change the Title at some point please consider doing that.
Also if you have a FB page for your book or a website - you might want to really explain what this book is about so that you do attract the right people. I think you're book is geared for younger readers, like 20s or 30s. To guys & gals who are into sports like skateboarding or going on adventures.
I wish you luck Sean. I really do. Don't give up. I feel there are more stories inside of you to share - so keep writing & maybe have some different age groups read your book prior to publishing and get a feel for what they think first. They can also proof read it for any spelling or grammatical errors while doing this for you. Then use the feedback to do your final draft.
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Top reviews from other countries
jagannath rao adukuri
it makes good reading. I am still reading and may take ...
Reviewed in India on September 21, 2015Wanderlust
and of how love - of both life and people - can overcome ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2015
Nadine Nelen
Colourful story filled with raw emotion and deep insights
Reviewed in Australia on December 3, 2014Edward G.
Five Weeks in the Amazon...a search for yor soul
Reviewed in Canada on October 6, 2015