From His Perspective – Book Review

From His Perspective – Book Review

From His Perspective by Lisa Keeble

From His Perspective

Pages – 574
Released – 3rd July 2019
ISBN-13 – 978-1077767997
Format – ebook, paperback
Review by – Clive
Rating – 4 Stars
I received a free copy of this book.
This post contains affiliate links.

You might think you know human history, but you’ve never viewed it From His Perspective…..you like a good laugh, right?

In the beginning, there was darkness and The Boss liked the darkness. He’d spent years creating the darkness. He was proud of the darkness. Unfortunately, his assistant Norbert liked to snack while working and had a very sensitive nose. Had he not been in charge of monitoring the black holes this may not have been a problem but, as it was, a violent sneeze launched a single biscuit crumb into the darkness, and it was no more. A huge explosion rocked the Factory (better known to us as Planet Earth) and, for The Boss and Norbert, the real work began – they had to deal with life.

Life, as they found out, had an awful habit of not staying true to their designs, however carefully they drew up the blueprints. Suddenly, there were fish who wanted to live on the land, a dinosaur who went around killing everything it met, and then, of course, there was man — the Boss’ most distinguished and regrettable invention.

He and Norbert watch from their viewing platform as the human race blunders its way through history and do what they can to ensure that the entire species doesn’t render itself extinct. They watch as cavemen tackle woolly mammoths in order to fill their larders and provide next season’s wardrobe and quickly regret introducing them to fire. When tyrants rise up against their fellow man in Ancient Egypt, rivers run red with blood and plagues of frogs are visited on the Egyptians as the Boss and Norbert try to distract the evil doers from their purpose.

Unfortunately, their intervention does nothing more than interrupt the Egyptian’s laundry schedule and promote an increase in sales of sandal cleaner. The Boss has decades of sinus infections and soot covered sandals as Henry VIII and Bloody Mary take power and decide that burning their fellow humans is a perfectly acceptable way to get their point across. Wars, the industrial revolution, slavery and empire building – all it does for Norbert and his Boss is push up their overtime budget, create more paperwork and cause them to stress eat chocolate biscuits. Not only that but the humans’ blatant disregard for their habitat means braving the really long ladders to make repairs to the ozone layer.

Review 2020 red

From His Perspective is based on a simple structure, it is easy to read and entertaining. It also gave me the feeling that something like this has been done before but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

As a reviewer, one of my biggest concerns is to interest possible readers without giving away the plot. No such fears here because the published synopsis pretty much sums up everything that this book holds: an accident from above, a potted history of the World with an emphasis on English history, a study of human nature and lots of biscuits.

And talking about biscuits, we all love a running gag but the tea and biscuits thing did get a little excessive. There was however plenty of other humour, albeit things that made me chuckle rather than give me belly laughs. Lisa, through the eyes of The Big Man and Norbert also gives us a lot of thoughtful observations about human life. Of course, that is from their perspective, we all know that surviving and prospering in this world as individuals is harder on the ground than if it were viewed from above.

I can see nothing in the promotional material to suggest that From His Perspective is specifically aimed at the younger market but it seemed to me that it was aimed at older children and the youth market. The cover image seems to support this and I know one ten year old who would appreciate this book. That said, I’m a long way beyond childhood and I enjoyed it very much.

I believe this is Lisa’s first published novel with a second on its way. I don’t know what she has planned but I’m sure she is capable of producing another entertaining story. I have awarded From His Perspective four stars.

Book Reviewer – Clive


Purchase online from:

Amazon.co.ukAmazon.comAmazon.inBlackwells


What did you think of From His Perspective? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!


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7 Responses

  1. Nadene says:

    The synopsis had me chuckling, so I can imagine the effect the book itself had. Great review.

  2. DJ Sakata says:

    This sounds quite inventive

  3. Bianca says:

    This sound like a really interesting read. Although I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with the premise?

  4. Melissa's fandom world says:

    This looks really interesting!! Thanks for sharing – great review <3

  5. Kathy West says:

    This seems really interesting.

  6. Robin Loves Reading says:

    Thank you for your review and for targeting the age range that this would work for.

  7. Finitha Jose says:

    This sounds fun. Quite a unique take.