Publication Date: 30 November 2020

Read it, love it and talk about it

My rating:  4 out of 5

A beautiful story about Sam, living an (apparently) everyday ordinary life, but is everything as it seems?

25 years ago Sam’s mother left a note and walked out on the family, or was her disappearance more sinister?  Now Sam learns that his estranged grandmother is close to dying, so he rushes to her side to see if he can finally discover what happened to his mother.

We follow Sam as he deals with his everyday job, his inability to sleep (brilliantly described!) and the mysteries within his family.   There is humour, there is sadness, above all there is mystery.   The reader sees everything through the eyes of Sam, but do others see things differently?

This is the third book I have read by M. Jonathan Lee, I have previously read  drift stumble fall, and Broken Branches.  Like M. Jonathan Lee’s previous books, 337 will leave the reader thinking.  The prose is beautiful, and I was drawn into the life of Sam, as he worries about the present, and remembers the past.  This author gets right into his characters, which then become like a good friend to the reader.  I certainly feel I  know Sam, and wish him well for the future.

I would love to have a book group to talk with about this book.  Not because things are left unclear – they aren’t, but because there is so much material here that a reader will judge depending on their own life experiences.  Why didn’t he …, why did she …?  I know what I think, but are you thinking the same?

The book format  deserves a mention.  The cover is beautiful, with different textures, so lovely to hold.  The size of the print is perfect, and the margins are wide – no excuse for anyone to break the spine.  A book perfect to give as a gift!

4*s from me, because the easy to read writing drew me in, gave me plenty to think about, and will keep me thinking about it for a while.  As the book blurb says “nothing is as it seems”.  Another great book from M. Jonathan Lee 

Warning:  There are some difficult scenes as Sam’s grandmother is dying.  These may be hard to read for anyone suffering from a bereavement.

Other books I have read by this author: