Late one night, Thomas Ruder receives a strange package: a small blue box. Another such item is delivered to Liselotte Hauptmann. These 'gifts’ will change their lives forever.
The Blue Box is a story about identity, about fulfilling your dreams, and becoming the person you always were, at whatever cost.
It is a story of journeys, both external and internal.
In the far-off border town of Grenze, a play is to be performed at the Sheol Theatre. Reynard the impresario expects a very special audience. Thomas, Liselotte, and their friend Johann, are drawn into Reynard’s seductive web, as Daumen, the box- maker, must decide who his master really is.
I love beautiful prose and when it's attached to a good novel read it makes me happy. I go into smiling mode. It's great and I love it.
For it's word choice that drives the sentence to build the paragraph; it's word choice pins the same chapter that drives the story.
Good word choice drips the image down the page and finely tuned verbs harmonize to their melody to paint the scenes, so that slowly the space between the heartbeat opens and you step in and you meet the three dimensional character that waits on the other side of the door.
And for a while you check out of your own reality into someone else's dreamworld and you trust the voice to maintain a steady beat to ease you through the character trials and tribulations, their hopes and dreams and you trust this voice to resolve the character's issues in a best fashion, so that when you close the cover you have a memory to add to a treasured mind collection that only you have the key for and you put that invisible key on an invisible chain and hang it around your neck for safe keeping.
I remember doing that with Bram Stoker's 'Demeter Scene' in Dracula, and I did it also with Melville's wonderful church preacher scene from 'Mody Dick,' and there are more there too in my treasure trove.
And with 'The Blue Box' by Jurgen Olschewski, I got some more wonderful images to add. And this is only his first book! I'm first in the queue to read the second.
Marie Fitzpatrick
REVIEWS of The Blue Box
'A truly original story that is incredibly well written…Highly recommended.’ (Amazon review)
'The author has created a magical and deeply effective universe where the characterisations and the narrative drive compel the reader to turn each page as if their life depended on it!’
(Amazon review)
'This novel is brimming with imagination and ideas…’ (Amazon review)
'Jurgen Olschewski takes you on a compelling journey with his creativity. The words fall seamlessly off the page...' (Amazon review)
'There is a magic in the narrative…A brilliant book.’ (Goodreads review)
'Jurgen Olschewski creates characters and the worlds they live in with striking images and writes with a very fine touch.’
(Goodreads review)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jurgen Olschewski has published numerous stories and poems in a wide range of magazines and anthologies in the UK, Ireland, and Italy, and has had work broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. He has been shortlisted for the prestigious Bridport Prize.