Virtueby

Geoffrey Holland

Reviewed by: Courtney Letourneau

Virtue by Geoffrey Holland is an engaging work of fiction that not only delivers acaptivating read you don’t want to put down, but also a strong message about the stateof our world. By the time I was finished reading, I was connected to the characters andfound myself questioning my own world view. Rarely does a work of fiction cause me tostep back and take a long, hard look at our current reality, but that’s what this book didfor me.The book starts out by introducing our main character, Greg Hammond. He is the CEOof Starling Worldwide, a massive media corporation that controls a global network of TVbroadcast news outlets. Starling is one of a handful of corporations that decide what weas a collective society are fed through the airwaves. Greg is focused on one thing:profitability. Like so many humans, he thoughtlessly destroys the Earth’s resources forhis own personal comforts. Then, he is struck down by a medical emergency. His life isalmost ended in an instant, and as he is recuperating, he realizes despite his massivewealth, he is a poor man. He has no close family except his father, who upon learningabout his son’s medical emergency has a stroke and loses his own ability to speak.Greg has no wife, no children, no people close to him, who actively care about him. Hehas his loyal assistant Michael, and his shareholders. They mostly care about his abilityto earn them money. Greg realizes if he continues to live his life joylessly, chasing thedollar, he will likely never know genuine happiness.In the shadow of Greg’s current crisis, his half-sister Lydia and her son Andre are eagerto seize control of the Starling empire. They own pieces of it, but as long as Greg’sfather is on his side, they have no way to take control. Throughout the novel, theyconsistently attempt to take control, especially as they see Greg’s moral compassstrengthening and his singular focus on profit and money weakening.Then there is our female protagonist, Daria. She is a complex and fascinating characterand I empathized with her immediately. Her worldview is the opposite of Greg’sworldview. She is a passionate humanitarian who spends her life giving of herself toothers. She works tirelessly to raise money to support her causes around the world. Shehas a new project to support: empowerment for women in third-world countries througheducation. She collaborates with the Equitable Health Alliance, an organization fundedby world class humanitarian, Dr. Marc Wren. Daria is enamored with Dr. Wren’s heroicefforts. She is on a mission to fund his personal agenda as well as implement her ownstrategies and ideas.2When Daria and Greg Hammond first meet, it seems to be a convergence of completeopposites. But they are both instinctively drawn to each other. Daria is put off byeverything Greg stands for. In Daria, Greg finds his reason to change his priorities.Daria’s ability to encourage change in a single person speaks volumes about what wecan do to facilitate change in our own world. I finished this book feeling sad about howlittle I knew about the problems that plague not only other disadvantaged countries, butproblems in our own backyard. Too many people prefer celebrity gossip over news ofthe real issues affecting our world. We are self-absorbed, and the news outlets do agreat job of keeping us tethered to a fear-inducing, mind numbing news cycle thatdiscourages the asking of questions. This book left me asking questions. I wascaptivated with the author’s ability to deftly create a work of fiction that was not only avery entertaining read, also made me look at our place in this world. We humans can dobetter. We must do better.Holland’s writing is detailed and imaginative. I was able to connect to the characters in areal way and felt sad after the story was over, as I would not be able to follow them onany more adventures (Sequel, please!) His use of dialogue also felt natural. It was asthough I was in the room, listening in on each conversation. I simply could not put itdown.I highly recommend Virtue for anyone who is looking for a great piece of writing andsomething to make them think. Highly, highly recommend.Reviewed by Courtney Letourneau www.portsmouthreview.com/author/cletourneau/