Hector at Ground Level: A Very Simple Love Story

Gary
Finnan
Genre: 
Inspirational

Hector the hedgehog is a contemplative soul in the twilight of his years.  He thinks about his life, his wife, his children, the world.  Has he changed, and how should his life proceed?  He had a rough beginning:  one of seven pups, always struggling to find his place.  He worked hard to keep up in school, always a step behind the others.  To make a living, he started a slug farm, slimy to be sure, but profitable.   He met Hillary by chance, and she was destined to become his wife, raise their children, and keep him company in their burrow.  His life keeps moving to different levels – a job, marriage, children, grandchildren, old age.  Through it all, Hector is both sentimental and critical – it’s been wonderful, but is this all there is?  He feels that the two most important things in life, Love and Joy, have eluded him, and he is worried that his discontent will define who he is...too much disappointment, too many opportunities not taken. 

“Hector at Ground Level” is a story of the thoughts and musings about life, which could apply to a hedgehog or a human being.  It  is pretty much a one-dimensional story about life, its successes and failures, and hope for the future.  It is very much an internal book about thoughts and conclusions, and the story line can get a bit muddled.  There isn’t really an action line, just the musings of a hedgehog as he lives his life.  For those who are thinkers, Hector is a philosopher, and those readers will measure their lives by the yardstick of his observations, and wonder if they, too, are headed on the right path.

 

Victoria Z. Burg