Waterfront Whorehouse Pianist

Ben is caught in a snowstorm in the mountains when this story begins. He has agreed to help his girlfriend, May, pursue her dream of finding fame by getting stranded and rescued from the storm. But Ben has been caught off guard by this sudden event and he isn’t so sure it is the wisest move he’s ever made. This isn’t the only unusual thing to happen to him, either. He’s recently been made the fall guy in his law firm for a financial scandal, which results in his new job as the pianist in a waterfront whorehouse. Ben is also carrying around a miracle given to him by a woman he met in New York who told him it was too much of a burden. Now, he has to decide what to do with it.

This delightful story is full of unique and quirky characters. I loved the way the author created tension right at the beginning with the snowstorm, where Ben is forced to think about the dilemma he’s facing. Looking back, it seems Ben’s whole life had become a snowstorm barreling down on him.

I especially liked the exchange of the miracle, which added a surreal twist to the story, leaving me eager to know what would happen next. The author did an exceptional job with the emotional development of the characters, allowing me to really get to know them. In fact, by the time I finished the book, I felt like these were real people. Ben, in particular, lingered with me for days, and I found myself wondering how he might have handled some of his situations. Perhaps it was because the story was told from his point of view and because he had an excellent ability to rake over everything with a keen eye for detail that he was such a great character. Then there were his friends and girlfriends, who added another layer of color to the story. At one point, when Ralph declared “he” was the miracle, I laughed out loud. Ben’s choice of all the wrong women, made worse by his longing for his long-dead girlfriend, seemed to make him a magnet for extraordinary situations.

This book really delivered a lot more than I had expected. Initially, I thought it would revolve around Ben’s role in the whorehouse, but it was so much more than that. And I loved the fact that the story rambled through his life and relations outside of this one interesting job. Most of all, I liked the fact that Ben and his friends were complex, complicated, and that Ben in particular was always examining what he was doing and thinking, which gave this book a real sense of depth. It was definitely one I will remember.