By Jon Land
Booktrib
May 20th, 2019
Rhode Islander Michael Fine’s suavely and elegantly fashioned Abundance (PM Press) puts Liberia center stage instead of the Ocean State.
That’s where Dr. Julie Richmond has gone in search of meaning and fulfillment to make up for a life too easily and richly led, landing smack dab in the midst of a civil war. She’s barely got her feet on the ground when she’s kidnapped by a Lord of the Flies-like menagerie of miniature soldiers whose assault rifles pack no less of a punch. As the resulting diplomatic crisis escalates, both friend and foe alike swing into action, while Julie comes to shattering realizations about herself and the world around her.
The sparsely simple prose evokes a thriller-esque take on Ernest Hemingway, especially combined with the kind of setting Papa was known for taking on. A thinking man’s thriller that makes Fine the Ocean State’s own John Le Carré.
