sabthebookeater

This review and more on Sab The Book EaterI actually like the premise of the story. I think it had a lot of potential but I don't think the execution was successful. I have two simple reasons why this short story was just "okay" for me:1) The lack of character development. Considering that Anne's husband was kidnapped, I expected her to have a change of heart at some point. I imagined her working out Rocky style in the hopes of satisfying the kidnapper's demands. Sadly this did not happen. Anne's character frustrated me because she'd go from not wanting to exercise, to wanting to exercise, to not wanting to exercise again. She kept making excuses saying she "can't do it" and that annoyed me a lot. I was like, "dude your husband's kidnapped. Is it really such a bad thing to even try?" I know the police were a bit laxed when the investigation was ongoing and Anne was mad that they weren't taking it as seriously but it still annoyed me that she kept making excuses just to get out of working out and dieting. Towards the end of the story, I still didn't feel Anne transcend even after her bravery mainly because all I could remember was her on and off whining. 2) It lacked substance. To me it just seemed like regular story telling, one where all you can expect is the story going from point A to point B. Aside from that, Anne's on and off aversion to working out wasn't given any sort of depth. Maybe that's part of the reason why most of the time I just felt annoyed at her - it's like there wasn't any real reason for her stubbornness. Furthermore, the kidnapper's reason for kidnapping Mr. Kitts was a bit meh for me. I was actually expecting the kidnapping was just a ruse to motivate Anne to slim down. Apparently it's not. Err. The kidnapper's reason wasn't fully fleshed out so in the end I was left wanting more out of the story.What I did like about the story is the overall theme. It had a lot of potential, even for a short story. I give credit for great ideas like that. And yes, I do think it lived up to its black comedy genre so I also gave credit for that.