This is a strange book, and I am finding it hard to figure out how I feel about it.

There is an element of sadness and emptiness, not only in the dead neighbour's life and the ending thereof, but also of the main character's life. He has a high flying job but other than that, no real relationships or meaningful interactions.

There was a lot of filler in this book - many interactions that i guess seemed rather pointless, but i feel that they indicate the lack of human interactions our main character has in his life.

An interesting book.

First of all, what an incredible narration, kudos to the audio production.

This was a quick, smart, and wildly unique story about a man who’s successful on paper but emotionally out of touch and closed off.

Despite Peters character being unlikeable he is also very real and often times relatable, particularly his inner thoughts surrounding the every day things that make us tick.

A fast and gripping read that will have you question your own moral dilemmas.

Thank you NetGalley and ECW Press for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

BYSTANDER by Mike Steeves just dragged on and on. It’s about a man, Peter Simons, who notices a strange smell from his neighbour’s apartment. From then on we get an in depth narrative of his thoughts on morality, his day to day life and what it means to him to be a good neighbour. Please look up content warnings for this book. There are some detailed descriptions. I got tired of hearing the same words over and over again. It seemed like all I was reading about was prestige TV, long form articles, social media accounts and customer service personnel. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Greg Campbell was a good fit.
.
Thank you to Book*hug Press via NetGalley for my ALC!

Bystander by Mike Steeves was a book I considered to be pointless. I obviously missed something. Peter is a highly paid executive who has spent much of the previous 10 years traveling overseas for his company. Now he’s home and appears to me to be severely depressed. He spends most of his time in his head, creating conversations that will never take place and commentary on his surroundings. He goes to the office most days where he has nothing to do, or so he believes, and so spends the day on the Internet, reading articles, watching videos, and updating his social media. No one seems to care so he continues. When he goes home at night it is much the same, except he drinks or smokes dope and watches television, documentaries mostly. He seemed to have times of awakening during which I thought something would change. It never did. I kept reading because I thought something would happen. It didn’t.

The narrator, Greg Campbell, seemed just as out of it as Peter. At first his read was a little choppy but as he got into it, that improved. His voice was little more than monotone, which was probably appropriate for Peter.

I was invited to listen to a free e-ARC of Bystander by Book’hug Press, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #bookhugpress #mikesteeves #gregcampbell #bystander

A successful (right place right time) man who appears to be socially awkward and set in his ways, starts to work out friendships and relationships actually work. Has a work persona that gets him places with a decent enough salary, has parents who care and a stable home life yet something is not quite right with his life. Needs to feel he is following the crowd rather than forging a way forward, is this insecurity or lack of confidence? From an outside perspective it looks like he has life sorted. Ii was not sure what to expect as I went through this book, but it kept me gripped, I wanted to see that moment where emotions took over. I did enjoy this book and felt it was a realisation of what's happening in todays modern way of living, how many loners are there and will they ever break free from the world that keeps them locked in? Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

I identified with the main character in quite an unsettling way. The way he thinks about himself and his place in the world, and how he fits into life comes across as fairly skewed but very me.

I enjoyed the banality of the protagonists life, the honesty that comes across and really connected with him.

The narrator was suitable for the role.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Well where do I start this book is like nothing I have read before. It delves in the bystander phenomenon - Would You intervene in a fight, or help after an accident. The book is a gritty realism that you have to read to even half understand. Worth a read if the topic intrigues you.

#netgalley #bystander

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of Bystander by Mike Steeves. Wow! I really liked this ! The author and narrator keeps you going through the entire book.