Fetal Heartbeat

4.5/5Will definitely re-read, this time paying more attention so I can write the review Shine deserves. Do I think it's necessarily for everyone? No, but I think that regardless of enjoyment, this is a book that people should read.Though... Cover Impressions: gorgeous cover and it's really lovely how the cover is incorporated into the chapter pages and the dividers between days.

“Pobby and Dingan aren’t dead. They never existed. Things that never existed can’t be dead.” However, things that never existed can disappear and this is the basis of Ben Rice’s first novel. A London native, Rice sets his novel in a fictionalized version of the real life opal mining town of Lightening Ridge. Rice has filled the mining town with unique, but essentially shallow, characters to interact with his protagonist, Ashmol Williamson. Ashmol is the son of a miner and takes after his father in his opal obsession. Most people in the town are obsessed with opals—things not seen and things that may never exist. Unfortunately, although this novel had the potential to be an opal, its full potential was never seen.At only 94 pages, Pobby and Dingan tells the story of people who “believe in something that is hard to see or keep looking for something with is totally hard to find.” Despite a promising premise, Pobby and Dingan fails to weave a full bodied story that satisfyingly explores the idea of learning to believe in something beyond what can be touched, seen and heard. Pobby and Dingan are Kellyanne Williamson’s imaginary friends. When they disappear, Kellyanne becomes sick and the impossible task of finding Pobby and Dingan falls upon Kellyanne’s brother, Ashmol, while he also deals with the fallout of a scandal that involves his father.Pobby and Dingan had the potential to be an interesting character study as Ashmol evolved, but this fell flat as Ashmol failed to present an evolving point of view. Instead, the character development was stilted and sudden, presenting a change in opinion in an instant with natural bridge. Because of the lack of character depth, there was no connection between the reader and the characters. Rice over simplified the characters and story, preventing his story from becoming the poignant tale it could have been. Ashmol was the most developed character but he still only had several facets to his personality, making him barely two dimensional. When surrounded by simple one dimensional characters, Ashmol becomes isolated from the reader. Pobby and Dingan were never active characters in the novel and because the plot relies on the reader’s ability to sympathize with these characters, this isolation was detrimental to Pobby and Dingan. Without a connection to Kellyanne and her imaginary friends, the reader is left without the ability to understand what keeps the plot moving. Kellyanne’s plight was too far removed from the reader and seemingly self-inflicted to connect to. The success of the novel would have been greatly increased if the reader had a chance to empathically connect to Kellyanne and her friends. Instead, Kellyanne and her imaginary friends were glossed over in favor of introducing more of the characters that inhabited Lightening Ridge. The length was a weakness rather than a strength because the novel would have benefitted from more character development and introspection that was sacrificed in achieving such a slim novel.Pobby and Dingan is a simple read, short and brief. Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of the novel is its brevity, although the length may have affected the execution of the plot. It is not particularly satisfying, but for someone with strong empathy, the characters may be easier to connect to. It is enjoyable to a certain extent as long as you do not mind not connecting with the characters. The message of childhood, faith, and innocence is nostalgic in a distant way, like a faded memory. In its simplicity, Pobby and Dingan was stripped of some of the most necessary colors that tugged on heartstrings, left with the bland framework of reminiscence sketched onto a blank canvas. It is not vivid or emotionally gripping enough to be worth more than one read through, but the skeleton of poignancy remains. Pobby and Dingan is a decent book, but it doesn’t command an enthralling tale. It suffered for what was unseen and not there, unlike an opal which’s brilliance lies in the absences in its substance.