Woke Up Lonely by Fiona Maazel - Book Review

Book: Woke Up Lonely

Author: Fiona Maazel

Genre: Fiction 

Publisher/Publish Date: Greywolf Press / April 2013

Source: Copy courtesy of publisher

Pages: 336

Rating: 3.5/5

GoodReads  •  Amazon

Thurlow Dan is the founder of the Helix, a cult that promises to cure loneliness in the twenty-first century. With its communes and speed-dating, mixers and confession sessions, the Helix has become a national phenomenon—and attracted the attention of governments worldwide. But Thurlow, camped out in his Cincinnati headquarters, is lonely. And his ex-wife, Esme, is the only one he wants. They were a family once; they had a child together. For Esme’s part, she’s a covert agent who has spent her life spying on Thurlow, mostly in an effort to protect him from the law. Now, with her superiors demanding results, Esme recruits four misfits to botch a reconnaissance mission in Cincinnati. [via GoodReads]

A unique novel, with lots of heart and dark humor. The author weaves together the story of Thurlow, Esme, and the four "agents" to tell a fascinating story about a misguided cult and the lives it affects. While the cult was originally created as a way to connect lonely people, it has spiraled out of Thurlow's control, and has got him into a heap-load of trouble. Unbeknownst to him, the love of his life, Esme, has been following and investigating him since they day they meet. Not complicated at all, hu?

Throughout the novel they tell the story of how they fell in love, how the Helix came to be, and how their lives started to fall apart.

This is a book that took me awhile to warm up to. It has a very unique writing structure, and a lot of characters are introduced in around about way. Though once I figured out the rhythm to that, I started to really enjoy the book. So if you don't like it at first, keep reading, it might grow on you.