I gave this book to three important men in my life last month ~ my father, Corbin’s father, and our pastor. I was hoping at least one of the dads would pass it back for me to read, but no luck. My father has turned it into a stylistic reference guide for his own writing, and Corbin’s dad is placing his copy into the hands of another pastor-friend. I’ve returned to Amazon to order another copy for myself.
Feast for Thieves is Marcus Brotherton’s first widely-anticipated, and now widely-acclaimed work of fiction. He’s authored and co-authored more than 25 books and has built a career of researching and then framing great stories and lives for the rest of us to learn from and emulate. Marcus describes his writing in this way:
“Thoreau pointed out how too many men lead lives of quiet desperation. Their lives are bland and meaningless, or they make choices that trap them in despair and darkness. By contrast, I want to help men lead lives of excellence.”
Brotherton’s Still LoLo, co-authored with Lauren Scruggs, is one of my favorites and a book I’ve reviewed here before. Still LoLo the first book that Basden grabbed from our bookshelf within hours of returning from the ER with bruises and stitches across her face. In that moment, we were direct recipients of Brotherton’s quest for getting quality stories and examples in front of readers for hope and encouragement.
But back to Feast for Thieves ~ in return for hoarding his copy of the book, my dad wrote a review for me to share here. And as a pastor, veteran, pilot, father and MAN, I find his lens pretty interesting.
Enjoy!
Reading Marcus Brotherton’s Feast For Thieves ~ by Bill James (aka Cappy)
It’s not often that I end up just sitting and reading for very long, and enjoying it, but Feast for Thieves changed that. Not long after starting the book I jumped up for a minute and pulled up a chapter that I’d been working on and wrote out a few paragraphs in Feast style. Fun. But right then Rowdy and I were feeling pretty hungry and dirty, and I wanted to get us fed and bathed before I stopped reading for the night. The ride didn’t slow down so neither did I.
The first sentence pulled me in and had me hanging on. Marcus’s style is enjoyable and easy to read. More than reading, it’s almost like closing your eyes and sitting back and listening to a good story. Definitely the most enjoyable read for me in a good while, maybe since I was… twelve.
Sometimes Marcus had me moving steadily along the road, and bang, my head got snapped around. Like when Rowdy is sitting soaped up in the parsonage washtub and his predecessor preacher walks in. You just think you know what\’s about to happen.
The high-performance garage-built speedster I’ve now been flying for two decades inspires a few thoughts. Some like-minded folks ask to read them. The notes often come out a little differently now, a little easier. Several times I’ve picked up Feast again to re-imprint the promising feeling, because it so easily moves me in a productive direction. With Rowdy’s easygoing wit in mind I’ve been intending to go back and rewrite some of the notes, and I will, but now I enjoy mostly moving into new ones.
It’s easy to understand how Marcus Brotherton’s touch on Lauren Scrugg’s story, Still Lolo, worked so well. Across the genres, Brotherton is adept at moving his readers in a productive direction.