Title: Patchouli for ChristmasAuthor: Bren Christopher
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 6 December 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 67 pages
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review: Michael is a 33-year-old party planner. Jude is a patchouli-wearing painter. They're thrown together when Jude's grandmother insists upon displaying Jude's (rather emo) paintings at the holiday bash she's having Michael plan for her. Neither is terribly impressed by the other, despite Michael's initial attraction and Jude's subsequent teasing. Things go a bit south from there when Michael finds out that his brother, Doug, is filing for divorce. Oh, and then there's yoga. And sex.
The chemistry between Michael and Jude is interesting enough (though the sex itself is a bit bland), but the subplot involving Doug's divorce is a distraction that doesn't really offer much to the story, for all that it apparently drives Michael's actions for a decent portion of it. In order for it to be less of an apparent plot device, this short story really needs to be something more, something with a bit more flesh on its bones.
There's so much potential for exploration there. Michael's issues with his father's abandonment (presumably, as it's never overtly addressed), Jude's evolution into a hippie and feelings over his parents' deaths, even the machinations of Jude's grandmother--they all could easily have been expanded upon and given a bit of depth, instead of being glossed over or sprung without any foreshadowing. This novella could easily have been so much more.
As it stands, this is a bit of a throwaway read, too short for all of its elements to come together cleanly and satisfy. I'd love to see this as a full novel; it makes me sad that I can't really recommend it in this form.
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