The Noticer: Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective.

The Noticer by Andy Andrews is about an old man named Jones, not Mr. Jones, just Jones. Jones calls himself a noticer, somebody who notices things that the ordinary person doesn�t take the time to see. He calls it a gift and uses his gift to help other people gain a little perspective on their current situation. Jones is described as an old man of average height with long white hair and crystal blue eyes. He wears jeans, a white T-shirt and leather flip-flops. Nobody knows where Jones is from but everybody knows him and likes him. He helps a homeless young man get back on his feet, a married couple headed for divorce save their marriage and an old widow realize that her life still has purpose and meaning, just to name a few. The book is packed with advice for all different life situations that help the person gain a little perspective on their own life. While I enjoyed the book because there was really a lot that you could learn from it, it didn�t really excite me. There were some feel good moments when the people that Jones helped actually turned their lives around; however, it was easy to put down because it read more like a bunch of short stories with Jones being the common link that all of the stories shared. I would not recommend this book as one where you could loose yourself in the story. I would however recommend reading it to gain a little perspective on life.

I see THE NOTICER as an intelligent, sunny child's introduction to Socrates, especially the shorter dialogs by Plato such as MENO. Like Socrates, author Andy Andrews's hero, "Jones," wanders around a restricted area (Orange Beach, Alabama to Socrates's Athens) asking people questions and drawing "correct" answers from them. Unlike Socrates, however, Jones is in season and out of season congenial, non-confrontational, bland, corny. Jones's message is always upbeat, sunny of the "I think I can, I think I can" variety. ***

Decade after decades this man who never seems to age wanders under Orange Beach's great pier, sits on benches near the canal and dispenses homely, folksy, generally unsolicited advice. "Make people feel good to be around you. If you make a mistake, apologize. If, on the other hand, you make an avoidably bad choice you had better show real contrition and make amends, in some cases even make restitution." ***

And so it goes. Saccharin. Often corny. Always congenial. Rarely deep. Usually practical. Motherhood and apple pie. Who dares argue against Jones? Oh, I amost forgot: local Hispanics, sometimes rich, often illegals, call Jones Garcia. Want to find out why? -OOO-