Certainty by Victor Bevine

Published By: Lake Union Publishing
Official Author Websites: @victorbevine| Facebook 

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #VictorBevine & #Certainty

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Certainty” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher Lake Union Publishing, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Certainty
by Victor Bevine
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours

When you’re fighting an injustice, can it be wrong to do what’s right?

Inspired by the scandalous true story that shocked a nation at the close of WWI.

With America’s entry into World War 1, the population of Newport, Rhode Island seems to double overnight as twenty-five thousand rowdy recruits descend on the Naval Training Station. Drinking, prostitution, and other depravities follow the sailors, transforming the upscale town into what many residents—including young lawyer William Bartlett, whose genteel family has lived in Newport for generations—consider to be a moral cesspool.

When sailors accuse a beloved local clergyman of sexual impropriety, William feels compelled to fight back. He agrees to defend the minister against the shocking allegations, in the face of dire personal and professional consequences. But when the trial grows increasingly sensational, and when outrageous revelations echo all the way from Newport to the federal government, William must confront more than just the truth—he must confront the very nature of good and evil.

Based on real-life events, Certainty recalls a war-torn era when the line between right and wrong became dangerously blurred.

Places to find the book:

Published by Lake Union Publishing

on 21st October, 2014

Pages: 358

Author Biography:

For over thirty years, Victor Bevine has worked as an actor, screenwriter, audio book narrator, director, and more. A graduate of Yale University, his acting credits include many prestigious roles onstage as well as roles in the film version of A Separate Peace and countless television shows. He has read over one hundred and eighty titles as an audiobook narrator; in 2010, he received an Audiophone Award for his narration of the Pulitzer Prize–winning book The Beak of the Finch. He has written several screenplays, including Certainty, which was chosen for two prestigious writers’ conferences and which served as the basis for his first novel. His thirty-minute short film Desert Cross, which he wrote and directed, won accolades at the Athens International Film Festival. Currently, he serves as CEO of the World Freerunning Parkour Federation (WFPF), of which he is co-founder. He resides in New York City.

The gravity of a situation can have more depth than first perceived:

When I originally read the premise for Certainty, I believe I interpreted the story a different way than I was meant too, as in most cases, when I am sorting out which blog tours to participate in, I sometimes have to go with a gut instinct rather than anymore substantial. What appealed to me about the premise is there was a story out of the recent historical past (as this is set during WWI) that not only could help people by being told, but could circumvent where history might have let the facts of truth blur the lines of justice and public perception. There are a lot of stories within the annals of history where this has happened many times over, and I am always keenly interested in seeing how a writer elects to tell the story and allow the truth to come back into the light. Good or bad, history and truth have a way of being revealed, and if a writer can take a bold step towards achieving that goal, I find it is something to commend.

My Review of Certainty:

The story opens in a most auspicious way as to lead with a foreshadow of where the events of the novel surmount to lead a minister to jail; yet there is a curious bit of intrigue to how the actions lead into this conclusion. My mind was whipping around thoughts and ideas of how what happened to have led to such a calm exit for the minister, save the tarnish of his reputation about to fill the pages of newsprint. A most curious beginning, as a full-on flashback sequence begins as we pick up where the story began months prior to this one particular scene playing out in a thickening mug of heat and humidity.

The manner in which William (a lawyer) and Reverend Kent was innocent enough, as Kent was in the process of setting up a way to minister to the overwhelming large populace of sailors who were overwhelming the small towne of Newport. Kent had devouted part of his work as a minister to care and pray over the dying men who had caught a disease that they could not recover from and were about to cross into the next life. The nurse who watched over them was a man who was misunderstood by most, yet it was his self-less act to care for them on the footheels of death that gave his life the most definition of all. He showed the most humility in knowing the greater truth to life and death, as many of the men he cared for were ones who had bullied him in the past. Lessons of life and of ethics are knitted into the story as Bevine shares his take on this historical narrative. He doesn’t simple tell the story everyone has heard of in the past, but rather he humbles the characters inside the story itself by giving them the full measure of coming alive on the page.

The undercurrent of the story is the most disturbing for me, as I cannot believe there was an op to seek out certain types of people from being found out of a crowd. What didn’t surprise me is that there was an overwhelming misunderstanding amongst gender classes when it comes to sexuality and a person’s right to dignity and civil rights. It was a different era back then, and the cause for acceptance is still being waged today. A lot of the chapters hit me quite hard as the whole injustice of the situation was quite shocking and I cannot say that I realised exactly where this novel was going to head when I marked myself down for the tour, but I was hopeful the ending might lead back towards the light or a resolution of justice. I simply do not appreciate anyone who is bullied for whichever reason because hatred grows out of ignorance.

Although this is story is writ and rooted in the full breadth of historical fiction, I do not think everyone will appreciate the emotional tides it will put the reader through whilst reading it. It is an intense read, and not an easy one to progress through if you stand on the side for civil rights and liberties as much as for equality. It is a good story for those who want to dig into the history of how supposition and ignorance can lead to life changing situations that will affect a man’s life in such a way as to alter his ability to live with freedom.

I personally found myself more than a bit uncomfortable with the novel, and decided not to continue to read it, because what I didn’t enjoy finding is how prejudice cannot only blind the law but how it can change a man’s perception on what is just and fair in reality. Although this is a story that merits being told and read, I am simply not the right reader for the story overall because what was most unsettling I believe for myself is how poignantly real Bevine wrote the story. It is a credit to what he gave to Certainty but for myself personally, I know I made a mistake in seeking this to review as it not a story I would normally feel able to read. I simply felt horrible for everyone who was involved and the most sickening part of all is how none of it had to happen at all. Not every story is for every reader.

On the writing style of Victor Bevine:

You can tell the depth of Bevine’s research on this particular subject of the novel’s scope, as at some point as he was writing the novel, the research fell away and only the story remained. It is written in a very tightly conceived fashion as to not leave any room for speculation nor imagination on what happened or even in the sequencing of how it all came to unravell. There is a sort of eloquence in his phrases and the companionable way of how he discloses the character’s back-stories as much as their personalities, to alight their presence in the forefront of your mind as you read the chronicle of events which knitted the novel into existence. Based on actual truth and person who had lived, Bevine finds a balance between being a historian, a writer, and a story-teller.

The scenes at the hospital are thankfully tempered a bit for those who might be sensitive to medical fiction (such as I am) but anyone who has read my previous entries for historical fiction intermixed with military fiction will not find this a far cry away from what I can personally handle reading. He breathes realism into his scenes with the sick and dying, but also brings in compassion, as much as a questioning of God’s will. He gives the Kent the freedom to share his own concerns on humanity and on death, but without overly so, in such a way as to reveal one man’s walk in faith and the questioning of circumstances out of suffering.

This blog tour stop was courtesy of TLC Book Tours:

{ click-through to follow the blogosphere tour }

See what I am hosting next by stopping by my Bookish Events page!

I created a list on Riffle to share the books that I simply could not become attached to as a reader myself, but stories which would benefit a reader to find them, and appreciate them for what each writer gave to their story. For me, the reason I included Certainty is because it was not only a difficult read for me but an uncomfortable one. I simply misunderstood the premise and could not continue with where the heart of the story was going to lead me. Therefore, this is now listed on my Riffle List entitled: Stories Seeking Love from Readers.

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{SOURCES: Cover art of “Certainty”, author photograph, book synopsis and the tour badge were all provided by TLC Book Tours and used with permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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