Review: The Awakening by Allen Johnson

I received a review copy of this novel from the author.

This is a beautiful novel about the power of redemption.  The story reminded me quite a bit of the same message that is conveyed by Dickens in A Christmas Carol: it is never too late in life to make amends and become a better person.

Lupita is a successful doctor who works at a local clinic in her hometown of Espejo, Spain.  She lives with her elderly, yet feisty, grandfather, Diego.  One night Diego finds a severely wounded man on the street and brings him home for Lupita to care for.  After a few days, the stranger whom they call Antonio, is recovering from his wounds but is still in a coma.  His sleep is fitful and tormented and Lupita and Diego wonder with what demons this wounded man is wrestling.

This story is also a bit of an historical fiction as Diego reminisces about his younger years and meeting the greatest love of his life, Lupe.  Diego and his wife move to Granada after they are married and experience the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s.  The two time periods in which the story takes places, both the 1930’s and the 1990’s are intertwined nicely in the narrative.

The most interesting aspect of the story deals with Antonio and his awakening and subsequent amnesia.  For 4 months he cannot remember who he is or why he was attacked.  As he his healing, he finds peace with Lupita and Diego and truly becomes a part of their family.  But when he does regain his memory, will his previous life threaten the happiest home he has ever known?  I highly recommend reading THE AWAKENING so that you can find out!

About The Author:
Allen Johnson has been called a modern Renaissance man. Yes, he is a popular author, but that’s just the beginning. He is also a Ph.D. psychologist, keynote speaker, leadership consultant,cyclist, painter, actor, jazz pianist and vocalist, photographer, and videographer.

Allen has a voracious appetite for life. He has cavorted with giant turtles in the Caribbean, climbed the glacier peaks of the Pacific Northwest, and flown a single-prop plane across the country. He is fluent in French and calls a small village in the south of France his second home. That lust for life is always present in his writing: His characters are multidimensional and brimming with ambition and desire.