Obedience: A Novel

I finished reading this book - I'm just not sure why. The concept of a college professor teaching a class with a premise that the students need to "save" a girl that has been kidnapped before the term ends or she will be murdered. But you are asked to suspend belief so many times .... it becomes a joke.It is hard to believe the students would get as wrapped up in this as they do ... and not confine the exercise to the classroom. Characters reference again and again that they want to walk away from the "creepy" assignment. College students would do just that. But time and again they venture beyond what is comfortable, make the exact right conclusion to continue on and behave in ways that defy logic and believability.The book seems to slog along, taking far too long to develop the story and bring it to conclusion.The author wanted to explore an individual's tendency to do what they are told rather than what they believe. Interesting concept, the author did not do it justice.

. . . a show with no net."A small liberal arts university in Indiana . . . A mysterious professor . . . a logic class. The assignment: A young woman will be murdered in six weeks unless the class can identify the perp. Mystification, misdirection, to say nothing of role-playing result.The tale focuses on three of the students--Mary, Dennis, and Brian--as they try not only to solve the professor's mystery, but also his true identity.Each chapter produces another red herring, another dead end. What is actually going on? Is a house occupied or not? Is a book real or not? Has a woman been beaten or not? Well, of course in the final chapters you'll find out. I shouldn't say anything more here, except to note that the writing style is dry, austere, and distant--and nothing like Fowles's "The Magus." The novelist Paul Auster is constantly referenced, and it seems clear to me Mr. Lavender is a fan.Notes and asides: If you've never heard of Stanley Milgrim, the suggestion here is that you Google him before beginning the book . . . at one point the three students check into a hotel, and they pool their dwindling cash to buy a room. But one of them drives a Lexus--he ought to have had a credit card . . . A bartender talks on page 194 of pancaked galaxies. On page 202 Mary remembers this as pancaked universes. Mary's correct. Is this an oversight, or has the author merely having Mary subtly self-correcting what she'd heard from the bartender?

This book was dismal. The so-called plot strained credibility, the characters were poorly developed and rather unlikeable, the occassional attempts to portray "college life" were completely unlike any college in the US that I have ever heard of, the relationships between characters were awkward and superficial, and the whole thing floundered about in a vague and depressing manner until the ridiculous, predictable ending.Also, and I know this is nit-picky, Mr. Lavender apparently does not know what a "Pyrrhic victory" is, since he used the phrase incorrectly. This was merely one glaring example of his inadequate command of the English language and his inability to turn a phrase that is anywhere close to elegant, much less especially readable. I regret wasting the money on this novel and plan to take a pass on any future endeavors by Mr. Lavender.

I picked up this book because I had read several great reviews about it, and also because Will Lavender is a fellow writer from my part of the country. Although the book did have its moments, and although I was compelled to read it through to the finish, in the end I was left scratching my head and asking myself: "What's all the hype about?"Perhaps somewhat arrogantly, I'm assuming that I "got" the premise of the book and that nothing important was at a level over my head, but in any case, I had several problems with this nonetheless entertaining novel:1) In my opinion, the writing itself never rose to a level worthy of such glowing reviews;2) Although intriguing, I found the whole premise of the book totally unbelievable; (SPOILER ALERT! There is no way a group of people could have staged as elaborate an experiment as the one detailed in this story!)3) Most of the main characters' actions and reactions in this story seem highly implausible;4) There were some glaring inconsistencies, which in my opinion should not have made it past the editor. (For example, at one point in the book, two of the characters are eating "lukewarm soup," yet on the next page, the lukewarm soup - by this point even lukewarm-er than on the previous page - manages nonetheless to "steam" their faces.)All in all, I found the endeavor a noble one with some merit, but I was somewhat disappointed.

Obedience presents an interesting puzzle for the fictional students in Logic and Reasoning 204 to solve, with an unusual twist: solve the puzzle before the girl, Polly, dies. I had no problem with that plot, but the rest of the book is not worth the read. There are language problems and scenes which have absolutely no value to the plot. The characters are not very well developed, with the exception of Brian. At least the reader is given some hints as to why he acted the way he did within the story. Take a chance if you like puzzles, otherwise spend your money elsewhere.

interesting premise but unbelievably executed story line.