My Name Isn’t Joe by James Thomas

"One remedy for pain is joy."

After a string of failed relationships, a dead-end job, mental scars from his childhood, a stop-gap home, a social circle smaller than the needle eye that Spice often refers to, Joseph Bogart appears to be a lost cause. Can he find hope in a hopeless situation?

I liked that this story was able to shed light on a male character whom we've all probably come across in our day-to-day lives. The men who have been "othered" by our societal norms + expectations, the "average Joe's". Joseph's actions really made me stop, think + wonder about the experiences of men.

Now, even though this story is about Joseph, the element of the story that really piqued my interests, was that of Joseph's young neighbour + his mother. It was quite disturbing that a mother could allow her young child to go off with a neighbour that neither really knew. However, I'm glad she did, as I believe that Aaron's presence led Joseph to reconcile with his own inner child, and ultimately to rediscover hope. But as always, there is always a price to pay.

Another part of the story that I enjoyed was the dialogue between Joseph and his ex-girlfriends. His ex-girlfriends had the patience of Saints! I loved that they left Joseph with food for thought on his life choices. There was one particular gf who was so savage, but I really rated her for putting herself first & not feeling bound to Joseph despite his care for her.

I tend to struggle with character driven novels/literary fiction. Why? While I can appreciate the time it takes to allow for the character to grow, sometimes I like to distract myself from this with the plot & this may be the primary reason as to why I struggled with this book initially.

I like books to grab me from the onset, whilst the writing was undeniably good. This book took me well over 100 pgs to get into! The final 100pgs were really good!

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are a lover of character driven novels & if you want to open your heart + mind to the experiences of non-conformative men in modern-day society. And finally, for those who have lost hope.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @jamesthomas_writer for my gifted copy 🙏🏾