The Original 1982 by Lori Carson

The Original 1982 by Lori Carson is the debut novel by the author. This is the type of book that is not only a great read, but also gets us to look at ourselves and wonder “what if”?

Book Description

“It's 1982, and Lisa is twenty-four years old, a waitress, an aspiring singer-songwriter, and the girlfriend to a famous musician. That year, she makes a decision, almost without thinking about it.

But what would have happened if she had chosen differently? Thirty years later, haunted by regret, Lisa revisits her past to reimagine it.

Alternating between two very different possibilities, The Original 1982 is a novel about how the choices we make affect the people we become—and about how the people we are affect the choices we make.” – The Original 1982

My Thoughts

The Original 1982 is a novel about the choices we make in life, and “what if” we made a different choice. This story is written around the same woman, Lisa, but in two different timelines where her big choice leaves her in two very different situations in life.

This is Lori Carson’s first novel, and I was really surprised by how well it was thought out, and beautifully transcribed. The sentences aren’t overly written. They are to the point, and this is something I really like. I don’t need a whole page to describe someone’s shirt or the sunrise. The characters are also memorable and realistic.

You can also take the heart of the story and think back to sometime in your own life that you made a big choice, and think what would have happened if you had done the opposite of your original choice. Stories that leave you thinking about your own life is what truly moves me as a reader, and Lori Carson captured this perfectly.

I highly recommend this novel for everyone to read.

* Thank you to the publisher of The Original 1982, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.