Book Review #1 - "The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards"

The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards is the debut novel by Kristopher Jansma. I stumbled onto a copy at a nicely organized used book store in Webster, NY. This particular version is labelled as an "advanced uncorrected proofs - not for sale", which of course made me want to buy it more. Other than a few odd details, such as a lack of acknowledgements, I didn't really see much difference.

On to the actual book. On a superficial level, this book is about a group of insufferable, narcissistic people. I would never associate with any of these characters in real life. But this is not a negative review. Quite the contrary, I loved this book. Jansma's writing prowess elevates a story about three annoying people to a novel that you can't put down. He will make you care for these characters that you so want to hate. You will wonder why they make such bad decisions, but root for them just the same. You will be enthralled by the narrator's ridiculous journey around the world and his questionable morals.

The plot centers around a romance that is doomed to fail and a trip around the world. It can be hard to follow at times, due to the story-ception (story-within-a-story-within-a-story structure), but the characters are so well developed that you won't care. This book reminded me what I love about fiction - that feeling of living another person's life for 253 pages...and then struggling to move back to your own reality. 

I recommend this book because of the writer's detailed prowess. You will enjoy stories inside of stories inside of stories and root for detailed characters throughout their convoluted and ill-fated journeys.

Overall (avg): 3.6
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 5/5
Readability: 3/5

See my other blog http://bookwormot.blogspot.com/ for more reviews!