Matthew Turner (2)

I liked the book in general, and the journey to exploring and finding yourself. I would say that the book is quite easy going and smooth to read, but since it is not really my favorite genre, I couldn't find myself being involved in it quite well. Nevertheless I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read inspiring stories of self exploration and overlooking the satisfactions that the world gives but than enjoying and exploring the wonderful beauty of the simple things and the nature around us. A special thanks goes to the author, Mathew Turner, for the early reviewer copy of the book.… (more)

It isn't often a self-help book is actually helpful. Self-proclaimed professionals offering sub-sufficient advice hidden by big words and common, safe, relatable small-talk banter wrapped neatly into poetic sentences that ultimately amount to nothing is the selling point of the genre, and that's not a secret anymore. Anybody can write a self-help book if they can convince the reader they know what they're doing any better.

As a rule, I stay far away, so what attracted me to Beyond the Pale? Ultimately this one isn't much different on the surface, but this book was an exception. It tried something new; it's first and foremost a fictional novel with characters, a plot, and a problem that needs resolving. The self-help is woven into the fabric of this story and makes itself front and center, but it's written in a way as to allow the reader to draw comparisons to their own life and apply the messages conveyed. In that respect, seriously awesome. It's something new and different in a stagnant and uninspired genre and that's always a positive.

Perhaps the issue now becomes the story itself. It follows a billionaire who gets tired of being rich and famous, and as hard as I tried to draw parallels to my own life, it's just not really that possible with a main character who already has it all. I didn't feel sympathetic at any point because how could I? Perhaps if it followed a blue collar worker I would've been able to draw comparisons. Even the vast majority of white collar workers aren't world-famous billionaires and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel bad for him or connect with his feelings.

The book is written well and the self-help is subtle enough as to not compromise the storytelling, but what I took from it in the end is the cliché where just doing drugs and freeing your mind turns out to be the solution. It's a common trope and the life-changing benefits of hallucinogens are heavily exaggerated. It's sort of up in the air about whether it works or not, and that's about the best the book could've done without giving a hard solution to a problem which is entirely individual in nature. My main gripe is despite the characters insisting he wasn't pressured into it, he absolutely was, which is how drugs get involved the majority of the time.

As a fictional novel about a depressed billionaire, it's a good story. As a self-help book, same old. I presume the decision to write this as a fictional tale to disguise the self-help aspect is an indication that the author knew these types of books were divisive and strived for that degree of separation. I applaud the shake-up of the formula, but it has the potential to go even further. There's a real talent in the storytelling presented here, it doesn't need to be anything more complicated than that.

Thanks to Matthew Turner and Morgan James Publishing for a copy in exchange for an honest review, it was very much appreciated.… (more)