Title: Fateful Eyes
Author: Panos Nomikos
Copyright Date: 2013
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Contemporary Romance
I was provided a free
copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Modern technology has rocketed the spread of globalization.
Cultures and individuals swirl in the changes, some keeping pace while others
stand by bewildered watching their traditions get side-railed by
globalization’s pervasiveness. In Fateful Eyes by Panos Nomikos, the residue of
globalization dirties the world of the main character, Peter.
Peter flies from one low cost geography to another. The
story opens with Peter schlepping as an IT consultant in Manila. The inciting incident that drives the rest of
the story is an email Peter receives from someone claiming to be his daughter. Peter
pursues the truth behind the email while continuing to jettison the globe.
Between doubts that he truly has a daughter and his scouring of four past
relationships, Peter’s character comments on the cultural, political, and economic
state of the world.
Nomikos overwhelms Peter’s tale with overt essays about
9/11, outsourcing, the European Union, Greece politics, immigration and
emigration, and views on love. At times, the story is less a fictional tale and
more a platform for Nomikos to present his opinions.
Authors routinely weave their opinions into a story giving characters
and their fictional lives depth. Yet, in Fateful Eyes, the opinions are scantily
dressed up as story. The lack of integration creates a sense that two books –
one fiction, one non-fiction – are smashed into one.
The essays could have stood alone. They were thoughtful,
well-written, and often my preferred
sections of the book. Some of his more
discerning statements were:
1)
On poverty: This beautiful sun-drenched but arid
land [Greece] in the southeast corner
of Europe has missed entirely the industrial revolution. It has long been
accustomed to centuries of severe under development and dire poverty. As a
result, generations upon generations of destitute Greeks were forced to migrate
to faraway places such as America, Australia and Germany to escape the misery.
2)
On globalization: In order to survive the abrupt
and severe crisis Noviasoft decided that it must gradually replace most of its
expensive European and American programmers with cheaper workers. To test this
idea Noviasoft decided in early 2001 to create a pilot software development
centre based in Manila and staffed with Filipino programmers.
3)
On the world financial crisis: Through cheap
loans and subsidies, as always. Now days, the loans are so cheap, that all the
world's large banks and funds are begging our government to lend us huge
amounts of money. The more we owe, the
easier it is
to get new
loans to repay
the previous, and to finance
this bubble. I
have good friends
at the Bank
of Greece who have told me that the amount of debt that
we have accumulated is stratospheric, and it continues to grow with every
minute.
Fateful Eyes has potential. Nomikos shows the ability to write
suspense and conflict worth reading. Near the end of the book, when Peter is
about to solve the mystery of the email, the pace increases with suspense and
conflict worth reading. The love and
mystery story that strings Nomikos essays together is an interesting tale, but
overall the story could use an editor’s touch, both with the English language
and the prioritization of content.
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