Review of EXILES from Long and Short Reviews

Enjoy the review from Long and Short Reviews

I had the chance to review the final book in The Michael Trilogy. You can see our reviews of the first book, A Reservoir Man,  here and the second book, Reflections on the Boulevard, here.

This book continues Ron’s story after Michael dies. He self-exiles to Paris, per Michael’s advice, and he mentors a young man, Louie, much as Michael mentored him in the previous book.

Not only do we get to see how the characters grow and change over the course of the book, we’re given an extremely detailed look at the Paris of that time period. There was so much going on in France at this time that I wasn’t aware of. The setting is as much a part of this book as the characters are (I now have a visit to the bookstore, Shakespeare and Company on my bucket list!

Over everything else, however, this is a story of human love – love that transcends sex and gender. There is a deep spirituality throughout this in addition to heartbreak, tension, and drama. The characters are well-drawn and three dimensional, and at the end of the book, I felt like I was leaving good friends.

Mr, Ambrosio, thank you so much – not only for this book but for the entire series. Michael left such a wonderful legacy- and his lessons live on.

The novel, the last installment in this engrossing trilogy, takes readers to the heart of Paris, where the protagonist Ron, at his friend Michael's suggestion, sets out on a journey of self-exile. Ron's story develops with depth and resonance against the backdrop of the city's lively culture and passionate protests, providing a complex examination of identity, friendship, and the search for purpose.

Much like its predecessors, this novel makes me feel a variety of things, including laughter, anxiety, excitement, wonder, and loss. Ambrosio's skill in incorporating these emotions into the story is what gives the trilogy its unique quality. While there is room for improvement in the book, overall the story is heartwarming and well worth reading.

Ambrosio shows a wonderful capacity to add levels of intellectual insight and emotional depth to her storytelling throughout the story. Every page exudes a feeling of urgency and poignancy that drive readers to reflect on life's most important issues in tandem with the characters.

Excerpt

Ron told her that Michael knew he would choose to go to Paris as a way of furthering his freedom. Ron had become attached to his life with Michael, and after Michael’s death he decided to self-exile, the way James Joyce left Dublin.

 It was Ron's way of starting another life. To embrace the past, he needed to break from it and choose another path for his future, in another place. He wanted to get away from some of the elements of the United States that bothered him, to see if he could fit in somewhere else. It was an experiment to further his own freedom from people, society, and learned dictates that never mattered in the world around us.

 Michael urged him not to stay in “exile” as he called it, more than 30 years. The specific nature of that time, 30 years, was never made clear. However, Michael was right about so many things in the journey to find his truth and freedom, his most personal self, Ron never questioned the potential absurdity in his guidelines.

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