Indie October Review: Consumption by G.S. Johnston

Title: Consumption
Author: G.S. Johnston
Publisher: Self-Published
Publish Date: May 26, 2011
Source: I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You've had a friendship go bad.
• You love exotic locales.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "In the dying days of British Hong Kong, Sara Sexton, upon breaking up with a Greek lover, visits her old friend Martin Blake, a high-profile, high-dollar interior designer. This suspenseful story shows the effects of a lifetime friendship going toxic as modern life pulls the once quasi-siblings in opposite directions. As Sara embarks on a simpler life, Martin becomes increasingly complex and erratic. Eventually Sara is forced to a terrible choice in the name of self-preservation."

My Two Cents: 

Consumption speaks to what a lot of people face at some point in their lives. A friendship that once was healthy and vibrant turns unhealthy and toxic. It really sucks and hurts when it happens and even if the relationship has lost its gleam, it's hard to say goodbye and let go. In Consumption, Sarah hasn't quite been able to let her old friend, Martin, go. Martin hasn't treated Sarah the best in the past couple years but Sarah is convinced that Martin is just going through some sort of prolonged phase and that eventually they will get their friendship back to where it should be.

I totally sympathized with Sarah. I'm usually able to overlook (ahem, ignore) issues that I have with other people in my life, usually to my own and the relationship's detriment. Sarah eventually uncovers all that Martin had lied to her about and realizes another universal truth: we can't always know everything about the people in our lives that we love and truly care about. That seems to be a hard wrought lesson for just about everyone.

By now, you all know that I fancy myself an armchair traveler. This book's setting was intriguing. We follow Sarah from Greece to Hong Kong (where Martin works and lives) to Australia. I loved all of the different places in the book. I really thought the author did a good job of incorporating the sense of place within the book.