Review: The Essence of Life by Rain Arlender

The Essence of Life

by 

Rain Arlender

“Seeking outdoors-loving colleague. Solitude-requiring, big-footed preferably.”  Usually with an ad like this, one would look the other way. But Aurora is in a pinch – she has to take the job. Her employer is a Scottish family who run a distillery. Her workplace is the open field: no animals, no crops and nothing to do. Her work tool – and only companion – a giant pair of Wellington boots. Aurora's task is to walk in the field, and she has no idea why she is getting paid for it...

My Take:

Aurora is a very large girl with incredibly large feet. Her prospects for employment are dwindling when she comes across the ad for a job working in the fields of a small distillery. The Scottish family that runs the distillery is slightly odd but friendly enough, and they affably take her in without much in the way of an interview, other than a good look at her feet.

She is required to walk in the fields during the day, and her only work tool is a pair of Wellington boots. Why they have hired her is unclear, because her task is only to walk the fields, and surrender her shoes and socks each night. Why is she getting paid for this, again?

Content:

Drug Content:

PG-13 - There is a significant amount of drinking in the book, which is not unexpected, as it centers around a distillery, and the quality libations produced there. There are a few characters in this epic tale that drink like a fish, but their activities are usually off-screen.

Violence:

PG - There is some discussion concerning a wife-beater, but there is no violence that occurs onscreen.

Language:

R - The F bomb is dropped 3 times. Sh-t occurs several times, other expletives are absent.

Adult Content:

PG-13 - There is a scene where a young male exposes himself for his kindergarten friends, and wanders off with a young girl he likes. There's discussion about his gender identity. Sex is an offhand expectation of casual dating. There is a scene where sex occurs onscreen, not graphically described, with the girlfriend wearing only the boss's necktie.

Christian content:

Hmmm. So, there's a discussion of who God is, but it's extremely tongue in cheek and slightly irreverent. The Dog is God, Patrick is God. God's house is visited but then there's a discussion of how God isn't coming, and he let them in but left. It's funny, but I'd enter this book with the expectation that God's a good tool for a good joke.

Final analysis:

While The Essence of Life was worth many chuckles, it seemed to drag for me, and I couldn't get invested in the characters, and there were a confusing lot of them. In places the descriptions were panoramic, but the action was confusing and the backstories of the characters seemed a bit unnecessary, if titillating.

I didn't find the irreverence off-putting, but couldn't get invested in the plot or characters, and the pace just moved ponderously on, though the main undercurrent plot of the story is a tremendous joke worth telling. If you like drinking, big feet, or elaborate hilarious pranks, this would be a good book to pick up and delve into, for me, eh, not as much. Three Stars.