1 to 10 of 10
Review Date: 8/12/2007
Helpful Score: 5
Story of a boy's journey from Texas to Mexico. Involves love, laughter, knife fights, horse thievery. Well written Western novel. I enjoyed this a lot - the main character's development and style of prose are both very well done. Contains some Spanish, without translation.
Review Date: 8/12/2007
Helpful Score: 9
Engaging coming of age story that won the Pulitzer. Some of the prose is a little drawn out - Chabon seems to sometimes lose sight of the big picture in my opinion, and writes and writes and writes. Overall the novel is extremely well put together, and things ultimately come full circle. The writing in this book, while often verbose, is still enjoyable and beautiful. Great story about the beginnings of the comic book industry, and about the effects of WWII on a Jewish immigrant from Czechoslovakia. I think that the beginning of the novel is great - it builds you up, but it doesn't exactly deliver in the end. I was very glad to have read this book, but felt a little disappointed when I had finished it - not that it was finished - but the way that he chose to do so.
Review Date: 7/28/2008
Wow. This was fantastic. The story of "the kid" and his coming of age and traveling across the old west. He teams up with the fantastic and horrific Judge Holden and the Glanton Gang. The novel is violent and savage and brutal and describes the Westward expansion and the hunting of Indians and Mexicans. The Judge is an enormous (he weighs 24 stones), completely hairless man who speaks at least 5 languages, knows how to make gunpowder, and catalogs everything. He feels that (I'm paraphrasing here but) anything that he is unfamiliar with or is unaware of exists without his permission. The story also focuses on the kid who is sort of the representation of morality / reason. The book started off a little slow, but once the kid found himself riding with the Glanton Gang it really moved. I think that McCarthy is my favorite writer today, and I'm sure that there are many levels that I'm missing in the book.
Review Date: 2/18/2007
Helpful Score: 1
Entertaining story about a motley crew trying to make a fortune by growing and selling pot.
Review Date: 10/20/2007
Helpful Score: 2
I enjoyed this a lot. Banville writes very well - not your typical crime novel writing. His characters drive the novel, not the plot. Quirke is a pathologist - his brother Malachy is an OB surgeon. This is only one of the many differences between these two. Quirke works with the dead, Malachy the living. Recommended for anyone looking for a "literary" crime novel.
Review Date: 7/24/2007
Helpful Score: 12
Story about a murderer who kills people with methods described by Dante. The book is set in the 1860's, and focuses around a group of poets. The writing style is "old" and period appropriate. I enjoyed this, but the writing style made for a somewhat difficult read. None of the characters are particularly moving or endearing. They don't seem to have a lot of depth, either.
Review Date: 10/20/2007
Helpful Score: 5
Fun mystery novel set on a ranch in the Old West. Old Red is a Sherlock Holmes fanatic/disciple. Big Red is his little brother, and the narrator. Both are ranch hands investigating a murder. Fun read.
Review Date: 7/24/2007
Helpful Score: 3
The first novel from John Hart was nominated for an Edgar award. It is a suspenseful murder mystery with unpredictable twists and turns. The protagonist (and narrator) is somewhat unlikeable, but overall the book is very entertaining.
Review Date: 7/24/2007
Helpful Score: 3
Very well written memoir about a black man growing up in a world without a father - and trying desperately to be a good man. Datcher is a poet, and many of his poems are included - and they are very well written. Overall, a great, uplifting read.
Review Date: 8/16/2007
Helpful Score: 1
This is a post-apocalyptic story about several different groups of individuals struggling to survive in a post-nuclear environment. The story was entertaining, and I really enjoyed some of the characters - especially Paul Thorson. It wasn't great in my opinion - especially when compared to The Stand. I felt that the book was a bit longer than it needed to be. I thought that it was a very fast read.
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