LitPick Review
The After Life Meddlers Club by Thomas Smith with commentator Mark Twain tells the story of two single strangers as they dive into the world of relationships and romance under the prying eyes of their grandparents in the afterlife. Timothy and Katherine are meddler partners in an afterlife club. The main goal of the club was to match single souls in the beforelife together. After brief introductions about their grandchildren, the two decided to set them up in a relationship. Meanwhile, Tim's (Timothy's grandson) relationship with Susan ended after she told him that she was tired of the relationship and got together with another man. Katie, on the other hand, who was Katherine's granddaughter, was married to Carl, who her mother dislikes. Their relationship seemed to go well for years until she got angry when Carl got drunk and drove their son to the store. She threw his things out, thereby sending him away. After their unsuccessful relationships, the two became single for some time although there was persuasion from friends and family to get married again. After lots of talk, Tim and Katie decided to find a worthy partner, but something unexpected awaits. What do you think it is?
Opinion:
First, I appreciate the author for spicing up the book with humor. I can't think of a better genre combination than romance and humor. Some parts of the book had me cackling, and occasionally, I just let out a laugh. Apart from that, I could not imagine the real Mark Twain being a character in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the Adventures of Tom Sawyer together with that of Huckleberry Finn. Coming across Mark Twain again and in another book just makes me glad. I was even more glad when I read where he talked about Tom Sawyer and some events that were familiar to me.
Before starting the book, I was drawn to the book cover, which caught my sight with its colors and beautiful picture illustration. The book started with a foreword by Mark Twain, then a response by Thomas Smith, followed by another response by Mark Twain which ended in a funny sentence before the main story.
Furthermore, the characters, which are the most important in the story, played their respective roles. They were all well-defined and their thoughts and opinions were written in each section or page beginning with their name. Take for example, on page 9, it first introduced the character by stating the name first before the characters' sayings. I would relate it to an interview where you voice out your thoughts, and I loved it because it paved the way for each character to come out and express themselves.
Lastly, the plot mentioned the afterlife and its story revolves around it. I found it quite funny that despite being in the afterlife, Timothy and Katherine could still discuss and try to engage their children in a relationship since that was what meddlers in the club do. I love how when Tim agreed to leave his single life, he made efforts to correct the mistakes he made in his past relationships by visiting a therapist and also asking his sister for advice. Overall, it was an interesting book with it genre pointing towards romance accompanied by a sprinkle of humor.
