The Divorce and Doom of Simon Pastor by Pete Deakon

Val Penny ♦ July 22, 2015 ♦ Leave a comment

I recently returned home from my high school reunion in Englewood, Colorado, USA. When I was at high school Englewood was distinct from Denver, now it is really just a suburb. When I got back, I was amused that the next book on my “to read” book was The Divorce and Doom of Simon Pastor by Pete Deakon because Deakon is now based in Denver. He is an interesting man. He is an American author who grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City, Kansas, USA. He achieved his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri and served in the Air Force for eight years as a Captain and pilot. He moved to Denver, Colorado after leaving the Air Force and has settled upon a career as a writer. He has written at least two novels and publishes daily blog posts on his Captain’s Log which can be found at http://www.petedeakon.com.

The Divorce and Doom of Simon Pastor is the first book by Pete Deakon that I have read, but it will not be the last.

The beginning of the book is brilliant. With quick, short sentences the author lures the reader into his story. Immediate interest in the main character draws you in and makes you curious as to what happened and what went wrong. It is a classic, clever start to the novel. The author has a light, informal story-telling style that makes it feel like he is reading the book to you. it is idosyncratic, but it works. The chapters, too, are short and crisp and finely tuned. They draw the reader on and in.

The Divorce and Doom of Simon Pastor tells the story of Simon who is so determined to save his physical love for the woman he marries that he hurtles into marriage with Kerri, without regard to their differences. Simon is a naive and often selfish character, while Kerri is shown to be more out-going by nature but soon down-trodden by the mundane realities of married life.

The story explains how they leave their home town for a new life, find a home, get a dog and start a family ith the birth of their daughter Emily. The reader confronts all the differences and difficulties the couple encounter with the passage of the years. The culmination of the relationship and the effect that has on Simon is ably dealt with all the way to the end of the novel.

I really enjoyed The Divorce and Doom of Simon Pastor. Pete Deakon has an individual writing style. I was amused and angered by the characters in equal measure. Throughout the novel I felt I really got to know Simon and Kerri. It is not a long book, the volume I read was only 147 pages, but it was a real page turner. I recommend it to you and I, for one, am looking forward to reading more by Pete Deakon.

Valerie Penny