Reviewing Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

                I like to run. I also like to read. As such, I decided to join a local book club filled with lots of running mamas from my local Moms Run This Town chapter, called Literary Sole Sisters. The first book I read for this book club was "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch. It wasn't a book I would have picked out myself. It isn't my favorite book of all time. It is definitely worth a read.

This book actually came at a time when I've been doing a lot of thinking and contemplating about whether or not I'm happy in my life. I've made great decisions and some poor decisions (haven't we all?), but I've contemplated lately what my life would be like if I would have made some different choices and whether or not I needed to make some changes. I was teetering on the edge of regret until I read this book.

Find my review below:

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you've ever wondered the grass was greener on the other side, severely regretted any decision or prided yourself in any major decision in your life, this is the book for you. In other words, this book has the ability to emotionally reach anyone.

The back of the book poses the question: "Are you happy with your life?" This is a question I have been thinking about a lot. What should I do with my life? Is writing the career for me? I have four kids. My husband works away from home a LOT. Is that what's best for the family? What if I went back to work full-time? What doors would that open for my family and would they be the right ones?

Through the many plot twists and turns, albeit not always unpredictable, the story is entertaining. The main character, Jason Dessen, is your average happy guy, content in his life. Jason takes you, the reader, on a narrative driven romantic science fiction thriller. One day Jason is living out his perfectly content life. The next he is kidnapped and trying to get back to his family, his wife Daniela and son Charlie. His journey back to his family explores complacency, the guilt associated with balancing work and family, brings to the forefront of your mind all the what if scenarios in your life and tackles regret in a way that makes you forget that you are reading a tale of science fiction based in real scientific theory. In the end, at least for me, it leaves you with an appreciation for all the things that you do have in life, reminding you that you are the sum of ALL your life choices.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Crouch's writing style mimicked the emotions and pace of the book. I was torn between loving it and hating it. As the plot took its last twists and turns near the end it at times almost seemed too far stretched. However, if all of our choices affect things; from the decision whether or not to hit snooze on an alarm, how could the ending unfold in any other possible way?

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