Book Review: Q.W.E.R.T.Y by Barbara Avon

A beautiful and haunting novella about love, death, grief, and all the things in between that occupies an aching heart.

The plot is simple. Luke meets, loves, and loses his girl, Claudia. All he wants is to have her back. When he suddenly gets his hands on a typewriter, either magical, or haunted, that opportunity might be closer than he thinks.

This story is beautiful and poetic, ambiguous and mysterious. By the end, I didn’t know what was what, if what I thought had happened actually did, or if anything was what it seemed at all. I suppose that’s the point of Luke’s story, that we are so pulled into his spiral of grief and borderline madness, that by the end of it we are just as lost as he is without Claudia.

Avon has a way with words that is difficult to describe. A rich vocabulary and a pendant for creating impressive details made me feel lost at times, and admittedly a bit stupid. I had to backtrack a few times, re-read passages just to make sure I was following, the writing took on a life of it’s own. Even now I’m not sure I quite was.

A gripping romantic horror story, which leaves you thinking. Well served in a bite-sized novella format.

You can check it out here.