One young man's dizzying ascent through the dazzle of contemporary consumer culture takes him from orphaned tragedy to double-edged success.
One young man's dizzying ascent through the dazzle of contemporary consumer culture takes him from orphaned tragedy to double-edged success.
Family life, Humorous (general), Literary
The First Day in Paradise tells the story of a young orphaned family who have been passed on from one set of relations to another, and whose eldest sibling, Adam, becomes enthralled by the impending opening nearby of a gigantic and beautiful shopping-mall by a flamboyant entrepreneur. To the consternation of his aunt and uncle, who run a small business, he joins the staff of one of its stores, and begins a dizzying ascent through the ranks, until circumstances induce him to question whether his entire value-system has become corrupted.
Functioning both as social-economic critique, and as a personal moral fable about the conjuration of ambition from present-day consumer culture, The First Day in Paradise is an engrossing and layered tale loosely modelled on Dante's Paradiso, but most of all it's simply a great read.
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Synopsis: "The First Day in Paradise" by Stuart Walton tells the story of a young orphaned family who have been passed on from one set of relations to another, and whose eldest sibling, Adam, becomes enthralled by the impending opening nearby of a gigantic and beautiful shopping-mall by a flamboyant entrepreneur. To the consternation of his aunt and uncle, who run a small business, he joins the staff of one of its stores, and begins a dizzying ascent through the ranks, until circumstances induce him to question whether his entire value-system has become corrupted. "The First Day in Paradise" functions both as social-economic critique, and as a personal moral fable about the conjuration of ambition from present-day consumer culture. Critique: "The First Day in Paradise" is a deftly crafted, multi-layered novel that is a riveting read from beginning to end and showcases author Stuart Walton's originality and skills as a novelist. Very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The First Day in Paradise" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99). Children's Bookwatch: April 2016 James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief Diane Donovan, Editor Midwest Book Review 278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575 ~ Children's Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review
