Redheaded Reviews: By the Sea by Seven Paul Leiva

This book takes place in a seaside resort town where the weather is always cold and foggy. The Briars is a hotel where most of its residents live there. Frank is the head waiter at breakfast and he is an easy-going guy who dreams of being an artist. He was once an illustrator of children's books but he hated it and quit in order to concentrate on his art but that meant that he had to take a job as a waiter. He has had no luck with his art. Then two things happen, The first is that the waitress at the hotel wants him to teach her how to seduce the theater director so she doesn't have to try out for a part but will just get it based on her sexual prowess. Then someone will see her in the production and she'll become a star which is what she wants. Frank agrees to teach Trudy the ways of love until one day while he is waiting for Trudy to get off of work he is at the beach sketching when Allison, one of the hotel residents who usually spends her time reading, comes up to him and describes a sea serpent that she imagines in the water. Frank, who never takes requests draws the sea serpent for her and gives it to her later. Allison decides that she wants to know what his story is because she is interested in his "book" and wants to help him further his artistic career.

Austin is the director of the theater that has just opened and is working on its first play "What Price Glory". It's a military play so he asks Major Philip to help him with the military aspects of it. Austin is sleeping with Pattie who runs the school and whose husband runs the rest of the town. Austin is only sleeping with her because she is the Treasurer and controls the funds. Everyone knows they are sleeping together but Pattie's husband.

Dmitri who works for Duncan who is part owner of The Briars with his wife takes care of him since he is paralyzed from a car accident he had while drinking and driving. He no longer drinks. Dmitri has a habit of driving past the farms playing his music really loud at an early time of the morning. Mr. Hendrickson got sick of him disturbing his livestock and he tried to get him to stop to no avail so he placed a board with nails on the road for Dmitri to run over which he did. Mr. Hendrickson explained to him his position and drove Dmitri to work and replaced his tires by the time he got off work. But Dmitri was livid and wanted revenge and he killed one of his chickens so Duncan made him work off the cost of the "prize-winning" chicken on Saturdays and Sundays. Mr. Hendrickson made him homemade cocoa and was as nice as he could be to Dmitri, but Dmitri still sought revenge.

This was a weird book. It was decent but I hated the ending. It reminded me of the movie The Pirate Movie's ending. Kristy McNichol says something and it changes the whole course of the movie. It's like the author saw that and decided to do it way. It irritated me, to be honest. Most of the characters you found yourself hating. What on earth was the author thinking? I give this book three out of five stars.

Quotes

It was love at first sight, as the past has become her obsession, the present never having offered her any rewards.

-Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea, Chapter 2, 2)

But at least, he could play his music. And play it loud—very loud—for wasn’t loud the aural equivalent of speed? Sure it was. And Rock and Rap and Hip-Hop could be played no other way. Have you ever tried to listen to them at a low volume? Stupid. The music makes no sense that way. It certainly doesn’t move you; get into your gut; pull out of you your beat or rhythm (oddly, in total sync with the music’s), not to mention your great ability on the air guitar. So he had music at least.

-Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea, Chapter 3, 6)

Sometimes my ambulatory ambitoins outstretch my native abilities.

=Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea Chapter 4, 1)

I wouldn’t say I was cynical—factual, but not cynical. A cynic is nothing but a disappointed romantic, and I have never been a romantic.

=Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea Chapter 4, 11)

Look, Emily, I love feeling emotions but I guess I’m not very good at expressing them. I’m offering you a deal because it’s the deal that I think will attract you. But don’t think I am not, at the same time, offering you my love.

-Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea Chapter 6 17)

“O was just wondering who seduced whom?” “I rather think the moment seduced us both.” “Are there many moments like this in life?” “If there were then religions would fall like leaves, for what would be the attraction of an afterlife.”

-Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea Chapter 8 5)

She was well aware that some might call this ultimate escapism, a divorce not just from Jim but also from the world, from reality.l But she die not care. Reality was what the breain made of all the input it received . Each individual breain is only going to last som seventy=six point something years on average in the United States of America in a universe that is maybe midway in its story of some thirty billion years, does it really matter what reality an individual brain of such short duration experiences?As long as it’s a page-turner, that’s the key, as long as one page demands that you progress to the next one. What could make a brain happier?

-Steven Paul Levier (By the Sea Chapter 8 17-18)

Why did an old Army man in retirement gravitate toward the ocean? Because he was an old Army man in retirement—he had fought no battles on the ocean.

-Steven Paul Levier (By the Sea Chapter 9 2)

Guys are so damn visual, look at Frank and his pornos. She really thought that guys would rather watch it than do it.

=Steven Paul Levio (By the Sea Chapter 10)

Despite centuries of misinfortation on the subject, money will not make you happy. Granted, the lack of moneycan make you seriously unhappy, and therein lies the confusion, but money, in and of itself, cannot make you happy.

=Steven Paul Levio (By the Sea Chapter 10 16)

There are many things desirous about Los Angeles. Leaving it has always been at the the top of my list.

-Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea Chapter 12)

The only thing fair about life is death.

-Steven Paul Levia (By the Sea Chapter 12)