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| Plot Summary of The Optimists |
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"Clem Glass is a photojournalist who has just returned to London after a gruesome assignment in Rwanda where he photographed a massacre of a church congregation. He is at odds with himself and the world and drops out of society. He visits his father who lives in a Christian commune in Scotland and then his sister who has had a breakdown and is recovering in a private clinic in Scotland. He runs away from the pressure of his sister and flies to Toronto to visit his fellow journalist Silverman who was at the massacre scene. Silverman has dropped out too and is helping homeless people by providing food. Silverman and Clem question what actually happened. Then he returns to the UK and takes his sister to live in his aunt's spare house in Somerset. There his sister begins to recuperate. But is Clem recovering? Then Clem discovers that the leader of the massacre has been arrested in Belgium and he goes to see if he can meet him. He gets the name of the leader's cousin and eventually an interview but it is not satisfactory. He makes love to the cousin. He thinks he has closure on the trauma.
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John Marcel, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Optimists |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians
Yes
Conflict:
- Terrorism
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- teacher
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 (a fair amount)
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Africa
Yes
Kind of Africa:
- Black Africa
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Canada
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of hetero sex
- descript. of female anat. (the big B's)
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Andrew Miller Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 John Marcel
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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