The Montreal Review of Books receives many copies of self-published books as submissions for review. The sad truth is that, despite the fact that self-publishers are increasingly sophisticated, market savvy, and ubiquitous, the books themselves are generally not very good. When an author publishes through a traditional publisher, the manuscript is subjected to a selection process. Manuscripts that have market appeal and good writing are more likely than others to be chosen for publication. Then comes the substantive editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Of course there are typos and mistakes in traditionally published books, but usually only a few. In many self-published books, which do not profit from this editing process, there are far too many.

So the self-published author has a book that has been spared real critical analysis, and is sometimes “edited” by a firm that is not particularly interested in a superior book. There is also the problem of distribution if the book is only available online, as many school boards and libraries have to buy through accredited bookstores.

All that being said, there are always a few that stand out as worthy of mention. Very few self-published novels make it through the mRb selection process. On the whole, self-published non-fiction is much better written and of more interest than fiction.

However, Laura Fabiani’s Daughter of Mine manages to keep the reader’s attention with a fast-moving plot and interesting characters, and she also has a strong message about the power of love and forgiveness.

The protagonist is Tiziana Manoretti, a 20-something Montrealer of Italian-English descent, who finds out to her great shock that not only was she adopted from an orphanage in Italy, but that her parents went to great lengths to keep this fact from her. Her mother’s illness finally forces them to tell her the truth, and Tiziana sets off for Italy to try to find out more about her birth parents. Meanwhile, Tiziana yearns for a closer relationship with her best friend Christopher. After many adventures, all the loose ends are tied up and there is some possibility of redemption for even the most wicked of the characters.

There are some minor quibbles with plot and a more rigorous editing was in order, but these apart, Fabiani manages the feat of keeping all the plot threads neatly organized, and then skilfully weaves them together in the last couple of chapters. mRb