What makes this book work so well is how it moves beyond genre, to illuminate a critical period in his hero’s life, showing just how the warmth and honesty in his family life have given rise to an integrity which makes him more than simply a clever detective. His character creates a theme that works throughout all of the Gus LeGarde books, and, I suspect, a theme that may well be present in all of Lazar’s work.
Tag: fiction
A review of Can You Forgive Her by Anthony Trollope
It is the first book in the Palliser series, so that if you want to tackle this one of Trollope’s two novel-sets, you should start here. And it is a probing and sensitive study of a woman struggling to find her own way, in a society where this was really unheard of, and where it took much more of a battle than it would today.
A review of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
There are stereotypes where I wouldn’t have expected them (the strong, fierce, scarred mother Belicia, for example, whose interior life is scarcely present). It is action-packed and invigorating. For a first novel, it contains remarkable writing and invention, but there is plenty of room for development and maturation in his subsequent work.
A review of Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin
There is little of misplaced historicism where characters from another age are motivated by ideas and principles that are present to us but had no existence in early times. Le Guin brings forth without fuss the conditions of a time without the conveniences on which we rely and she concentrates on the characters and the perfectly plausible motivations that direct their lives
A review of The Bait Shack by Harry Hughes
The exploration of themes like how we deal with midlife, love, and hate in the 21st Century – in the wake of the sixties — makes this a book that resonates long after the fun stops. Hughes’ descriptive powers are exceptional, from the Dickensian characters carrying the full range of quirks – both charming and obnoxious, to the rich natural world of its Long Island setting.
A review of Be Near Me by Andrew O’Hagan
And Be Near Me is exquisitely written and this in itself prompts another question. Can a book that is exquisitely written condescend to bother with plot, characterization, and, quite simply, the dirty work of novelistic labor?
A review of Beginner’s Greek by James Collins
The problem is that there’s not much substance to this novel. If all you want is entertainment, then this will provide it. It is competently written, but uneven; character development is in need of work. And there is too much manipulation of the reader.
A review of His Illegal Self by Peter Carey
This last sentence so changes the story, that this reader at least, went back and re-read it in its entirety, seeing everything in a different light. I enjoyed it the first time, but found much to reflect on the second – the hallmark of a good novel. Che is believable, both as the eight-year old boy struggling to find himself, and as the older, wiser narrator he becomes by the end of the book.
A review of Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon: 1947
As an artist, Caniff uses square or rectangular panels, nothing fancy, about three or four to a row. The panels show a continuous change of perspective, to involve the viewer in Canyon’s world and create the impression that you inhabit the same space. There are wordless fight sequences and car chases; gorgeous, high-kicking, high-cheek-boned femme fatales; the use of montage and other cinematic effects.
A review of George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Stephen and Lucy Hawking
Reviewed by Magdalena Ball George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Stephen and Lucy Hawking Random House ISBN 9780385612708, $27.95aud, ages 9-12 http://www.georgessecretkey.com/ Some of my earliest defining experiences involved the planetarium. I will never forget sitting in that big…