Return Policy

I loved this book - it was deep, well-written, and had multiple story lines going, but it never felt like I was trying to stay on top of it the whole time. Loved the characters, loved the humor, loved the exploration of the odd behavior we are all driven to when our heart is broken. I will definitely be reading more of this author.

Michael Snyder tells a story of brokenness and healing, and he does it with grace, with sensitivity and, surprisingly for this first-time reader of his work, with humor. His novel "Return Policy" is the story of three broken people, each searching for wholeness and healing. Willy is a writer and college teacher, who can't deal with his wife's abandonment from years before and spends time trying to destroy what belonged to her, like the espresso maker, while he desperately misses her. Ozeena, a customer representative at the espresso maker manufacturer, was abandoned years earlier by her husband after he allowed their child to almost drown in the bathtub; she struggles to raise her brain-damaged son and competes for a promotion at work. And Shaq, a homeless man with large gaps in his memory (large as in almost total), is searching for his wife Patrice and searching for what is missing from his mind while almost fearing he's going to find it. Each of the three successively narrates the story. And as they do, the reader comes to understand that there is more here to these broken lives than is immediately apparent, that the individual stories are converging in ways both expected and unexpected. The novel in the hands of a less skilled writer could have easily decayed into a depressing or angry polemic about homelessness or personal responsibility. But Snyder avoids that, largely through the use of humor and skillfully creating characters who are recognizably human and individual. The settings play a similar role: Willy's house, a place haunted by memories and loss, is adroitly juxtaposed with the homeless shelter where Willy must live and work, a place where memories and loss go to live, while Ozeena's workplace, which teems with ambition, contrasts with the apartment where she lives with her son, a place where the only ambition is to win board games. "Return Policy" is about healing broken lives, and about faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.

When I read for pleasure, I judge the success of the book on several things. My personal criteria are: How well does the book challenge me to do better in my own life? How well do the characters and their story move me spiritually and emotionally? Am I challenged to look at situations or questions I might otherwise find uncomfortable (something Geroge MacDonald and C.S. Lewis do very well). Do I end the book feeling like I am a better human being for having read it? Generally, I'm happy if I get one or two of those things in a book. The really good ones fire on all those cylinders. Return Policy is such a book. Although it took a few pages to get my mind set to the unique and interesting way Michael Snyder has chosen to have his characters tell their own stories, it was well worth the effort. Return Policy is a great addition to the library of anyone who likes interesting characters, unique settings and a great ending that ties up all the loose ends.

An engaging story of 3 seemingly very different people who are living non-existent lives until random experiences start to play havoc with their lives. Unknowingly, their seemingly meaningless interactions foreshadow a myriad of circumstances that will keep you guessing until the end of the book. A truly great read!

I was a little hesitant to read Return Policy. I loved Russell Fink and the characters Michael Snyder created so much that I was a little afraid that he couldn't quite do it again. Return Policy is a very different book. Same unique lad-lit voice, similar deeply flawed and broken characters, same creative and capable wordsmithing, but very different. This time Snyder uses three first person points of view to tell a series of separate stories that end up connecting in a somewhat unbelievable spider web. I saw a few connections unfolding early on, but a couple snuck up on me right before the t's were crossed and the i's dotted. Snyder's strengths are in excellent characterization. I grew to care about these people and kept reading to find out what would happen to them, hoping they would find good things at the end of the book. Snyder also manages to write almost heartbreakingly poignant scenes that scream with the unfairness of life and the tragedies that seem to wait around the corner ready to pounce on the unsuspecting and innocent. Gifted with a bizarrely charming sense of humor, Snyder laces his prose with quirky thoughts and situations. The spiritual skeleton in Return Policy is buried under the subtle layering of muscle and skin and becomes the frame on which the story is hung. Bottom line, someone not looking for a religious read may not even notice that Jesus has entered the story. Not everyone who reads Return Policy is going to love it. Fans of action packed page turning novels will likely get frustrated with the introspection and pace of this novel. Those who read only G-rated and scripture laced fiction may have issues with some of the situations, a few words and the fact that there are no conversions in this story. Discussions, yes, but. Toward the end the pace hurried a bit, and the final strings were tied very neatly, maybe a bit too neatly. I didn't have any trouble following the changing POV, the sections and scenes are marked. Overall, I'm a solid Michael Snyder fan and look forward to his next novel which I hope is in the works.