I didn’t dislike this book, I think the low rating is more of a reflection on that this book wasn’t written for me.
Enzi, a dyslexic stutterer and child of immigrants, faces tragedy when his mother dies of cancer and his alcoholic father loses custody. Running away at 14, he becomes a drifter and discovers his passion for math and coding in libraries. Eventually, he becomes a self-taught programmer and starts a successful software business with O’Neill. Their venture is acquired by SLAM, leading to Enzi’s involvement in illegal work for Tsai, who has a hidden financial agenda. Amidst the turmoil, Enzi meets Kaori, a Japanese immigrant artist, forming a bond while sorting out the mess caused by others. The story is told from Enzi’s first-person perspective.
One aspect that I appreciate in “Paper Targets” is the powerful portrayal of Enzi’s stammer. It’s not written with pity but rather with empowerment. I admire how he defies the bullying he faced in his youth, proving that our unique traits can be our greatest strengths. Witnessing Enzi’s transformation from a vulnerable teenager to a successful tech entrepreneur fills me with inspiration, encouraging me to embrace my authentic self with newfound fearlessness.
“But someone who has been busted broke, if they can take care of themselves from that point, they act different. They build their own fires.”
I usually really like a good fast-paced thriller, however I didn’t find this fast-paced. I was 40% in before I felt a whisper of a plot. The pacing was incredibly slow and to be honest, I didn’t even realise this book was supposed to be a thriller until I re-read the blurb about halfway through the book. Had this book been marketed at literary fiction, I probably would not have read it purely because I know that it’s not my cup of tea. However because it’s marketed as a thriller, I think I expected something completely different going into this.
I have an issue with how the book is written also. There are a lack of adjectives or any meaningful descriptors. A lot of the book is “and then I did this”, “she said this” “then I did that”. It gets quite monotonous. I think it’s because of this writing style that I didn’t connect to any of the characters. Kaori and the way she was written really started to annoy me. I felt the entire basis of her character relied a little too heavily on Japanese cliché. She is a first generation Japanese immigrant who studied English for a long time, however her English is very broken and juvenile. Considering she is the main love interest of the book, it was a little uncomfortable at times.
I’m not a coder, I have no background in coding, nor do I know much about it. I felt like I missed key points in this book because of it. I appreciate Saroff’s attempts to make it more accessible by providing explanations as to what’s going on and what certain phrases mean, but it still didn’t click with me and it felt like those explanations were written for the reader rather than naturally occurring dialogue in the story, so it broke the fourth wall a little bit.
Overall, I think this book was just not for me. I appreciate where Saroff was trying to go with it, but unfortunately it just fell very flat for me. In every reader’s journey, there are bound to be books that may not fully resonate with our tastes. For me, “Paper Targets” fell into that category. Nonetheless, I respect and appreciate Saroff’s vision for this book.
Thank you to the Publisher, Flooding Island Press for providing me with a no-obligation free copy of this book. This review is entirely voluntary and contains my un-biased opinion on the book. I’m sorry this isn’t a more positive review.
Title: Paper Targets
Author: Steve S. Saroff
Pages: 249
Release: September 1, 2022
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Literary Fiction
