Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Book, Movie & Podcast Reviews my own book page

Our approach is mostly the same. I tear out the page, then list the book in a file called "books to buy." RR recs also go to the list. When the shelf of unreads is down to a couple books, I order.

I've often said a subscription to Entertainment Weekly and online bookstores is a dangerous--and expensive--combo.

Nope, never read Joe Grey.....I did get a wonderful review about the new book by the author of the Kite Runner. Dr. VanKinini, my physician, said this new book.....I may get the title wrong, "A Thousand Silver Suns?" is one of those books one must annotate and read and re-read.

I must say I started a new J.A. Jance J.P. Beaumont last night and so far it is not floating my boat.

Kathy

It also got rave reviews from Phil and me. I have it if you want to borrow. A few people have said they would, but none of them has shown up to get it.

Aristotle's Poetics talks about—among many other things—what can unify a piece of literature. It's done through cause and effect, and he warns that a man's (or woman's, I guess) life in and of itself cannot be a unifying factor. (Subset: he is talking fiction, not biographies.) Thus, the first thing I'll say about Monica Holloway's Driving with Dead People is that it sure illustrates Aristotle's concerns. Okay. I guess is not actually fiction. I forget what Entertainment Weekly labeled it. Memoir? Whatever. The author moves through her life, describing events but never really letting the reader know what was actually going on until a-not-terribly-surprising revelation at the end. I guess that's what troubled me. It wasn't biography because the writer was hiding the big truths of her childhood and, in my mind, once a writer starts using suspense and hints—the stuff of fiction—he/she has left nonfiction behind. I dunno. The book was interesting but terribly episodic. My final reaction: so that's what the book was about; sure wish I'd known it sooner.

I've been waiting for a new Judy Jance book. J.A. Jance writes two mystery series: one about a female sheriff of Bisbee, Arizona and another series about a detective in Seattle named J.P. Beaumont. I've always enjoyed the Seattle books much more than those that take place in Arizona.

The first chapters of JUSTICE DENIED were disappointing. A chief inspector is named Harry I. Ball and the special unit to which Beaumont has been assigned is the Special Homicide Investigation Team or s*** squad. Having those two "cute" names within two pages of reading was just about enough to call this book to a halt; but wanted to know how my old friend "Beau" was fairing; I continued to read and was rewarded with a good tale of vigilante justice.

J.P. Beaumont's character has been so well defined: he grew up fatherless, poor, estranged from an extended family but greatly loved by his working mother. He worked for an education and became a husband and cop who drank too much. Divorce followed. He joined AA, cleaned up his life and met the love of his life, Ann Corley, who was also somewhat of a vigilante. Shortly after their marriage, she committed suicide by cop leaving her recently wed spouse a widower and also very, extremely wealthy. Beau is so wealthy that even though he still is an investigator in Seattle, he lives in a luxury high-rise, drives expensive cars, and has on speed dial a high priced attorney that functions almost as Beau's butler.

All of these facts have been revealed over the many books J.A. Jance has written while inside this character. Unfortunately with each new book, she has to spin in the details of the past that has made Beaumont the character that he is today.

This was good escape reading. It even gave me a contest entry for the new ABC I-Caught Show. Viewers are invited to submit a statement relevant to themselves if it can be expressed in three words -- only requirement is that it be true.

In one paragraph in the book, J. P. Beaumont says, "I've been there. I've done that. I've got the t-shirt. So I submitted: "Got the T-shirt?"

I like that, "got the T-shirt?" to me means membership is a particular fraternity of a particular life experience.

Laura Lippman is waiting next on the stack to be read. JUSTICE DENIED moves to the right-side bed table on the top of Mr. Kathy's stack.

Respectfully Submitted,

Kathy Albers

The first thing I'll say about Stephen L. Carter's The Emperor of Ocean Park is that it's long. Too long? Not sure yet. Maybe by the end of this review I will be.

Carter writes about the upper-middle and upper classes of African Americans, which he refers to as "the darker nation." (White folk then become "the lighter nation.") In The Emperor of Ocean Park the AA characters are mostly involved with the law—lawyers, judges, about-to-be judges and professors. The narrator is a professor of law, his wife a lawyer, and his father almost a Supreme Court judge—almost because the hearings on him brought to light enough questionable behavior that he was forced to withdraw his name. The Emperor of Ocean Park begins right after his death, and the narrator tries to discover exactly what was revealed at those hearings. He eventually does find out and then disappointingly, but probably in character, opts for the status quo.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I'm not big on legal thrillers—perhaps one-too-many Grishams—but The Emperor of Ocean Park did hold my interest. Cater, through the narrator, expresses some views on our country's racial situation that IMHO are dead right. His writing style is a bit too detailed for my taste, but I did warm up to him around page 400 when there are a few glimmerings of humor.

A friend who had read it a couple years ago said he finished it and shrugged. I, too, found the ending weak. Carter has many, many characters—some close to the narrator and his family, others known only through work. When ultimately the bad guy is revealed, he turns out to be a character in the acquaintance category. IMHO—and also in Aristotle's—a satisfying ending is when the villain turns out to be close—a family member or friend—to the protagonist.

So is the book too long? With the ending it has, yes. But if the villain had turned out to be someone Cater had carefully developed and frequently had "on stage"? I think my answer would be different.

I know this thread is primarily for fiction, but the book I'm reading now deserves attention, so I'm jumping in. The title is "1 Dead in Attic," written by Chris Rose, who was with the NO Times-Picayune at the time of Katrina and the months (years, now) afterward.

The book is a collection of his columns from the newspaper, but they are unlike any newspaper columns I've ever read. His love for the city, his anger at its government, and much more come straight from mind/heart to the page, with no holds barred.

I heard an interview yesterday in which he said that some of the columns probably should not have been published in a newspaper; as he put it, the book is the record of "a man slowly going mad."

There are so many emotions in this book, it's a bit like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. I'm not sure it can properly be called journalism; whatever it is, it's one of the most fascinating books I've read in awhile.

I finished Juan Cole's "napoleon's egypt", a new history that will be out this month. He did a great job, piercing the self-created invicible warrior and victor image that Napoleon tried so hard to create.
It was, in fact, a fiasco. There are so many similarities between Egypt of Napoloen, and the Iraq of Bush II, that it is scary. Superior techonology, a far superior army, overwhelming supplies and money, and the same damn result we face today. I am not sure whether Prof. Cole intentionally tried to apply those lessons of yesteryear to today, but you can't help but see the similarities.

Just 'cause I haven't been reviewing doesn't mean I haven't been reading—so now here it is, four reviews in one. Of course we can only hope I remember the first ones well enough to talk about them. We'll soon see.

Susan Patton's The Higher Power of Lucky is this year's winner of the Newberry Award. Although I've read more gripping Newberry winners, Higher Power had several good and insightful moments. The story, briefly: ten-year-old Lucky is the child of a man who never wanted children and a woman who, while out walking after a storm, splashed through a puddle and was electrocuted. Lucky is now being taken care of my her father's first wife, who came from France to do so. Lucky now dreams of permanence, a wish well expressed when Lucky thinks, "The difference between a Guardian and an actual mom is that a mom can't resign. A mom has the job for life." (page 4)

It strikes me that a good writer for children has to be able to think like a child. Ms Patton seems to do so quite well—IMHO—in the following: "Lucky and HMS Beadle walked up Short Sammy's path, which was not the kind of path you could stray from because it had old car tires along each side, and each tire had a cactus growing in its center, which made sure you went carefully along straight ahead because your feet were entirely positive of the way with a path like that." (page 55) Or maybe the sentence was merely another expression of Lucky's desire for permanence and order in her own life.

Elizabeth Hyde's The Abortionist's Daughter was a pretty cool whodunit. I found it pretty obvious who the killer was, but getting to the point where his/her identity is revealed was fun reading. (Perhaps a really good surprise when the book began made me expect less predictable events throughout.)

I read Larry Doyle's I Love You, Beth Cooper because Entertainment Weekly said it was a book demanding/screaming/something to be turned into a movie. Always on the lookout for ideas that would make someone say something like about my writing, I opened I Love You eagerly—and was disappointed. IMHO the writer was trying way too hard to be funny and the resulting humor was forced. Then, surprisingly, he caught my attention with "he grinned at Becky Reese much like Frankenstein's Monster grinned at that flower girl before the misunderstanding." (page 19) "Misunderstanding"? What a great word choice.

I became a happy camper and was laughing out loud when I reached "Being beaten up meant a little meant bruising but no breaking, twisting but no tearing, and loss of less than a tablespoon of blood. Denis (protagonist) suspected Kevin (Beth Cooper's military boyfriend) would not adhere to these guidelines, or even, based on news reports, the Geneva Convention. Given what the military did not even consider abuse, Denis shuddered at what might constitute a little beating under the U.S. Army Code of Conduct." (page 79) Then, sadly, the book drifted back into tedious and boring.

Bottom line? I Love You, Beth Cooper can scream all it wants; I wouldn't turn it into a movie. Or even go see it if someone else does.

Eons ago I gave H. P. Lovecraft a try and found him boring in his best moments. Recently his short story "The Call of Cthulhu" was recommended so I bought a collection of Lovecraft short stories. I made it through "Cthulhe," then threw the book across the room. In the future, if I have a yen for lengthy descriptions, convoluted sentences and no dialogue, I'll happily return to Poe or Hawthorne.

WISH YOU WELL by David Baldacci

WISH YOU WELL seems to have become the darling of the book club Nazi members. I ordered it when I heard that it was to be the discussion topic at The Heritage Club Book Meeting.

The story is a period piece set possibly during the depression era. A famous author has found critical acclaim --but not wealth-- in the books he has written about growing up in the mountains of western Virginia. His plan has been set in motion to move his family to the west coast and sell out by writing for the movie industry.

Jack Cardinal’s wife Amanda does not want this move to happen. While arguing, the automobile will all four members of the family aboard wrecks, killing Jack Cardinal and resulting in a coma-like state for Amanda.

The children and Amanda are sent to live with their paternal great-grandmother in the Virginia Mountains. The story focuses on the older daughter, Lou, and her care of her little brother Oz.

Theses are sweet stories all; all with lessons of life. Maybe I feel as if life has already taught me too many lessons. It’s a good read. I’d rather, to be honest, have been engrossed in even a lame cozy mystery.

The ending seems very abrupt. Events lead to a crisis in the courtroom. Will the land that they all love be taken from them? Will their mother recover? Will they live happily ever after? Then it seems as if in one page, all issues are resolved and what happens next takes place in the Afterward.

The important emphasis of the book is to learn and carry on family stories. Once our parents and grandparents are gone, so many times are their imprints. David Baldacci said that was one reason he wrote this particular novel; because he was interested in his family’s history.

Because this novel has been turned into reading material for schools and book clubs, there are discussion questions and hints on how to begin a family genealogy.