Book Reviews
What have you read (or listened to) recently that you'd like to share? Here's your chance to spread the word! Reviews of items in the C/WMARS' collections by C/WMARS' borrowers are invited. Fellow readers and listeners are waiting to here from you!
The Given Day
March 8, 2010
There
are some authors who rest on their laurels and others who are not
afraid to break new ground. As evidenced by his latest book, The Given
Day, Dennis Lehane is in the latter group.
At
702 pages, The Given Day is a formidable book, but the subject
matter is so sweeping and detailed, it needs the scope of a large book.
Lehane is not adverse to carving out characters with realistic dialogue
and descriptive passages fleshing them out a little more. It is an
enthralling saga masterfully told.
Set mostly in Boston at the end of World
War I, The Given Day traces the fortunes of two families, the
Coughlins and the Laurences. Danny Coughlin, son of a police captain,
is on the Boston police force and is involved in bettering the working
conditions and pay of his fellow police officers. This eventually leads him into being an activist and
union organizer which does not go over very well with the mayor, the
governor or his father. He is in love with Nora, a domestic in his
parents’ home who has a secret life in Ireland which surfaces and
throws the whole family into turmoil.
On
the other hand and seemingly unrelated, is the story of Luther
Laurence, lately of Tulsa. Laurence finds himself in Boston after
fleeing from Tulsa where he was involved with a crime boss. He is a man
on the run and works for the Coughlins and eventually the NAACP. He longs to return safely to his pregnant wife in Tulsa.
What
Lehane does with these two main characters is put them into situations
where they meet up with each other as well as historical figures of the
time. For example, Luther finds himself on a baseball
diamond with Babe Ruth as the Babe’s train is stopped for repairs. It
doesn’t make too much sense at the time, but the author re-introduces
the Babe periodically throughout the book with insights which I found startling. He actually ends the book with
Ruth on a train bound for New York, his new team. Prohibition will be
taking effect in a few days, and the train is in full party mode.
This
is just one example of how Lehane used historical events as a backdrop.
We learn about the Spanish Influenza pandemic, the great molasses flood
in the North End, and eventually the Boston Police Strike of 1919.
There is no way to fully express the force of The Given Day. Much of it is not pleasant, but the parallels to what we face today almost 100 years later cannot be denied.
I give the book 4 long blue lines.
Happy reading from Beverly!
Place a request on The Given Day >>
Place a request on The Given Day >>
The Associate
Feb. 27, 2010
Entitled The Associate, this is #22 on the list of Grisham bestsellers.
Having read all of them, I can attest to the fact that John Grisham is
not noted for subtle moods, long descriptive passages or even great
interpersonal relationships. What he’s great at is his knowledge of the law in all its nuances. It also doesn’t hurt that these books are easily adapted to film. For example, who can forget Tom Cruise in The Firm?
The Associate is reminiscent of The Firm in many ways. We start with a bright, motivated law student who
is approached by a prestigious law firm just as he graduates. In The
Associate our counselor is Kyle McAvoy. His plans were to work for
little pay in a rural setting before entering the big time. This plan
came to a halt when he was approached by a man calling
himself Bernie Wright, posing as an FBI agent. Fake badges and IDs go
a long way, and it was no time before McAvoy found himself in a
situation with no good solution.
Bernie
Wright had access to a film shot on a cell phone from McAvoy’s days in
a college fraternity. This film could ruin his future as well as those
of his fraternity brothers, Joey Bernardo and Baxter Tate. In return
for surpressing that video, McAvoy was to take a job at one of the largest law firms in New York, Scully and Pershing. He was to gain access to secret files about a huge defense contractor with repercussions felt all the way to the Pentagon.
In the age of high-tech gadgetry, it is not hard to believe the means Bernie Wright used to blackmail McAvoy
in order to reach his goal. In the end the reader is not really sure
who these men worked for. A foreign government? Our government?
I
found the time the author spent discussing Baxter Tate and Joey
Bernardo a nice relief from the incessant spy games. Baxter Tate,
especially, could have a whole book devoted to him. He was involved in
the excesses of the Hollywood scene and was just finding his way back
to normalcy when he became embroiled in the secret college video scenario.
If I can read a book in 7 days, anyone can. Grisham is not long-winded, and we have a definite page-turner on our hands.
I wonder who will play Kyle McAvoy in the film version?
I give the book 3 9/10 billable hours.
Happy reading from Beverly!
Place a request on The Associate >>
Place a request on The Associate >>
Pope Joan
Feb. 22, 2010
Set in the ninth century, Pope Joan is a legend that may or may not be based on fact. What is a fact is that women in medieval society had few rights and had a set role. It was thought unnatural and a sin for
them to be educated. Joan’s father certainly was not enthused by his
daughter’s desire to be educated, but he finally allowed her to be
tutored. Joan was a natural student and took to reading
and writing in Latin and Greek. Her brother did not have any desire to
learn; he was a warrior. When Vikings attacked her village and killed
her brother among many others, Joan assumed his identity and went to a
monastery.
As
the story unfolds, Joan goes to Rome and becomes a part of the
religious community including the Pope’s entourage. Adept at the
healing arts, Joan was able to help Pope Leo with his
ailments when the blood-letting his personal physicians prescribed
failed. Eventually, as political and religious tides ebbed and flowed,
Joan became Pope John Anglicus.
Pope Joan is a multi-layered story. First, the reader learns how households were run and
how some pagan beliefs were still held by many. Punishments for
non-believers were swift and severe. Secondly, the role of the church
was paramount in this society. The inner workings of the political
world in Rome as it related to the papacy is wonderfully drawn. What
became clear to me, however, is that Joan is a symbol for those who
strive against all odds to live a life of intellectual pursuit and
enlightenment. Along the way, she helped those who were suffering and improved the quality of their lives as much as she could, often with opposition from her fellow clergy.
History
and drama are blended seamlessly in this uplifting story of Pope
Joan. Donna Woolfolk Cross is to be commended for this scholarly work.
Give it a try.
I give the book 4 errant knights.
Happy reading from Beverly!
Place a request on Pope Joan >>
Place a request on Pope Joan >>
The Lost Symbol
Feb. 13, 2010
Brown delves into the origins of America and the plans the Founding Fathers had for it rather than the secrets of Christianity. I found that what I didn't know about our nation's history and the symbolic nature of many of its buildings and monuments could fill a book.
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is back as the main character, and he has an eventful day or two in The Lost Symbol. He is called to the Capitol Building on a supposed speaking engagement only to find the severed hand of his friend Peter Solomon on the floor of the rotunda. This is only the beginning of the gore.
The villain responsible for this hideous act is Mal'akh, and his chameleon-like appearance and devious tactics make him a formidable foe. The CIA becomes heavily involved as does Peter Solomon's sister Katherine, who does scholarly work in noetics in her fortified lab next to the Smithsonian.
At the heart of this novel is Freemasonry, an organization that included many of the Founding Fathers and whose principles and vision are embedded in our country's foundation. Secrets and rituals abound, and Langdon, a non-Mason, uncovers many coded messages as the story evolves. Will he be able to solve the ultimate puzzle in order to save his friend Solomon?
The pace of the book is frenetic and many of the chapters are cliff-hangers, which makes for non-stop reading. There are some ponderous, philosophical conversations at the end, but the revelations and ultimate insight into our shared history overcome any shortcomings of Brown's efforts.
I give the book 4 enigmas wrapped in a riddle.
Happy reading from Beverly!
Place a request on The Lost Symbol >>
Under the Dome
Feb. 10, 2010
The folks of Chester's Mill, Maine, fine that out one day when cars, birds, and a plane or two crash into an unseen wall. An invisible barrier has presented itself, and no rain, wind or weather of any sort can get through. Some air filters through, but electricity is cut off, the air quality worsens and generators are the rule of the day. Despite the best efforts of the government and military to blast through the dome, the barrier can't be breached. Chester's Mill is essentially cut off from the world.
Town leaders, including selectmen and the police department, try to set up emergency plans, but they are stymied by the logistics of the problem. In some cases they work on the principle of self-interest.
On the outskirts of town there's a radio station with a large broadcast tower, but no one's in the studio. Programming is run by computer. Behind the station is a large garage which houses a clandestine drug lab as well as propane tanks pilfered from the hospital and other town facilities.
This overview is pretty bare bones because the various plots of Under the Dome are too involved to fully explain. King either tries to lure the reader in or intimidates the potential reader with a summary of the cast of characters by category - Town Officials, Sweetbriar Rose Staff, Police Department, Pastoral Care, Medical Staff, Town Kids, Townspeople of Note, Out-of-Towners and Dogs of Note. It's like a Russian novel set in New England.
All the best elements of King's repertoire are at work here: realistic dialogue, allusions to modern culture, suspense and plot twists that only the most fertile of imaginations could conjure up. It's the usual weirdness.
Under the Dome has the ability to change how we view ourselves and our place in the world. I have since developed more of an appreciation for propane and ants.
I give the book 4 King-size tomes.
Happy reading from Beverly!
Place a request on Under the Dome >>
South of Broad
Feb. 9, 2010
Set mainly in Charleston, South Carolina, South of Broad covers over 20 years from the ‘60’s to the ‘80’s. in the life of Leopold Bloom King, his family, friends and fellow Charlestonians. Much is made of the fact that the main character, Leo, is named for a character in James Joyce’s Ulysses. Although Leo could never finish the book or understand it, his mother, the high school principal, was a published scholar on the subject and honored her son with the name.
The narrative starts off innocently enough with Leo delivering the morning paper to his customers, expertly tossing the papers onto porches while greeting early risers. It does not take the reader long to find out that Leo as a young boy has already faced two traumas in his life. One concerns a family member and another about Leo’s unwillingness to divulge information to law enforcement about a friend. He instead took the punishment with its accompanying shame and ridicule. This was only one of many character building incidents in his life.
Playing key roles in the book are several characters who moved into his neighborhood and school including children from a nearby orphanage. Leo’s mother made it his job to welcome these children into the community. Leo even baked cookies for them. Southern hospitality abounded.
What is clear in South of Broad is that although Pat Conroy loves his native South Carolina, he is not averse to pointing out the existence of class distinctions and residual racism. This becomes clear on the high school football team when the new coach meets resistance when trying to integrate his squad.
There are so many layers to this tale of the South that it defies full explanation. Although I was none too happy when I initially saw the over 500 pages, the book moves along at a good pace with one revelation after another. Ever since Prince of Tides I’ve been a Pat Conroy devotee and had faith that the hours spent reading it would be worth the effort. For drama’s sake, there are some more-than-unpleasant occurrences and adding Hurricane Hugo to the mix as well as a huge family secret seemed somewhat over the top.
Nevertheless, Pat Conroy has succeeded in his special way of drawing the reader into his Carolina state of mind again and rejoicing in it.
I give the book 4 crabcakes.
Happy reading from Beverly!
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