Book Review: As Above, So Below by Jeffrey M. Borowski

As Above, So Below: A Channeled, Assisted, Unfolding Story by Jeffrey M. Borowski

Published on: April 26, 2012

Page Count: 180

Genre: Fiction

My Reading Format: Paperback provided by the author

Available Formats: Paperback, Amazon Kindle edition

My Review:

As Above, So Below is a peaceful account of a husband and wife's new surroundings in a small Upstate New York town. As they navigate the new area around them and meet their new neighbors, it is all so different from the Arizona town from which they've relocated. Their desire to experience everything fully, getting all the enjoyment they can out of life is part of Jeff and Brennie's journey. Jeff recounts the world around them and how he sees himself and his wife as a small part of the whole.

As Jeff seeks to understand himself and his purpose in the world more fully, he is assisted in this endeavor by a ghost and former resident of the property named Michelle. Michelle lives in the barn and interacts with Jeff as a guide just at the moments he needs it most.

Borowski's stream of consciousness writing fits well with his wonderful descriptions and encounters with others at his home and around town. What doesn't mesh with this peacefulness, however, is Jeff's rants on various topics, most of which are unrelated to the progression of the plot, jarring the reader as the tone continues to abruptly change. The rants aren't what moves the story along; everything else in the book does.

It's the anticipation of what Jeff will discover or contemplate next that pushes the story along, though the progression would be more obvious without the side notes Jeff gives his readers, which are a distraction. At the heart of the book, though, is a nice story in a beautiful setting and the mystery of a friendly ghost lurking.