Centuries of June by Keith Donohue (Plus A Giveaway)

Synopsis: 

When Jack falls, naked, in his bathroom, he cracks his head open and starts to bleed to death.  When he comes to, he isn't quite sure what's going on, other than the fact there are eight naked women lying in his bed.  Confused and disoriented he goes back to the bathroom and meets an old man, who he thinks is his deceased father.  Over the course of an untold amount of time, though the clock never changes from 4:52 am, Jack is visited by seven of those women while he is still in the bathroom.  All seven of them try to kill him, only to fail and start narrating a story that somehow makes Jack think he is in some way involved.  Only once the last story is told, does Jack start to realize what has happened.

I don't even know where to begin on this one, but a few adjectives do come to mind.  Quirky, strange, fantastical, beautiful, and brilliant are a few of them that rise to the surface of my brain.  Thankfully, I'm not bleeding out on the bathroom floor, otherwise this review would never get done.  This book, and those like it, are the reason I love to read.  Having the privilege to read a story that is so well crafted and articulated is one of the great pleasures in life.

Jack and the women are all intriguing characters, when they have your attention, they never let it go.  The women span five hundred years of American history and through a twist of fate, they all have ties to Jack.  Their stories are tragic and full of heartache and death, but they all have an unique feel to them that makes them standout from each other.  The stories range from the mythical to the femme fatale, all of them are captivating and original.  There is a lyrical quality to them, so much so, that at times I felt as if I was sitting by a campfire, listening to a bard tell the history of my people.  I felt for all of them and the men in their lives, the men Jack used to be.

This was a beautiful story that mixed reincarnation, rebirth, second chances, and the everlasting struggle between love and hate.  It's the tale of the past, present, and future all colliding into one man's life and where it goes from here.

I would like to thank Lisa of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book and I would encourage everyone to go visit the tour page to read more reviews.

Now for the giveaway.  One lucky winner will win a brand new copy just by leaving a comment.  To qualify, all you have to do is leave a comment with your email address.  You don't have to be a follower, but I would be eternally grateful if you chose to become one, if not already.  The giveaway will run from 7/21/11 through 8/4/11. The giveaway will end at 11:59 pm CST on 8/4.  The winner will be chosen using random.org.  I will email the winner who will have 48 hours to forward their mailing info to me   If they do not, a new winner will be picked.