Book Review

Assault on the Senses by Michael P. Ferrari

by Craig Alan Williamson, September 2007
Published on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, 10th September 2007

A very entertaining read with crude laughs aplenty

Kalvin Gray is a college student with a taste for beer and a talent for self-hatred. While his fraternity brothers (Wally, Jay, Dutch, Doug, and Barry) provide ample support for his wild behaviour, the emotional backing comes from his female friends, Molly and Lana. Still suffering heartache over his lost love, Jill, Kal's world becomes even gloomier when the whole college assumes he is the attempted rapist pictured in a wanted poster. After establishing an unlikely alliance with Katie, a vivacious campus newspaper reporter, the pair set out to prove Kal's innocence, find the true culprit, and possibly develop their own relationship in the process.

This is a funny read, with plenty of crude laughter peppered throughout. Much of this is based upon Kal's own witty comments, both spoken and commented, together with the antics and primitive opinions of his various friends. His five frat brothers do rather blend into one without particularly establishing their own characters, but the laughs they introduce make up for this and Dutch's party trick never fails to deliver.

Early-on the pace of the novel is good, with entertaining introductions to Kal's beer-soaked life as well as plenty of plot suspense. There are many darker moments too, as Kal's downward spiral progresses. While the book's middle section struggles to live up to the promise of the beginning, there are still moments of comedy to make the read thoroughly worthwhile - Kal and his friends crashing an 'alternative' house party is one prime example. Towards the end we have twists and turns aplenty, with things never quite ending up as you expected them to. Some of the twists could have been introduced earlier in the novel to keep the plot ticking on at a higher rate, but Ferrari is to be commended for tying up all the loose ends of a clever storyline.

Overall, 'Assault on the Senses' is a very enjoyable read with plenty of crude laughs and a plot that will keep you guessing right to the end.