false 123907 2 In <I>All This Heavenly Glory</I>, Elizabeth Crane's second collection of interconnected stories, readers are taken on an amusing, if slightly disjointed journey through the life of Charlotte Anne Byers, a spunky six-year-old who grows into a cynical, yet cautiously optimistic adult. Those who enjoyed Crane's debut, <I>When the Messenger Is Hot</I>, will surely recognize and appreciate her sharp-witted humor and emotional honesty, but new readers may be put off by her somewhat rambling writing style.<p> When we first meet Charlotte Anne, she is in the middle of penning a seven-page personal ad that is actually one long sentence, complete with tons of semi-colons and a few alphabetical lists thrown in for good measure. The ad itself is quite hilarious, it begins with a physical description and ends with a hilarious tribute to Owen Wilson; however, the lack of sentence structure may begin to confuse readers after about two pages. This first story is a template for much of what follows in the next 17 vignettes--witty, heartfelt and graceful sentiments are often marred by a chaotic rendering that makes it difficult to actually follow along with the protagonist. <p> Still, Crane makes it wrothwhile for readers who can navigate the choppy waters of her writing style. She's at her best when describing Charlotte's feelings about particular places, be it New York ("Charlotte has been trying to get out of New York for years. It's not nearly as simple as booking a one-way flight. People get drawn back. Places seem inferior."), L.A. ("there's nothing but Fat Burgers and short pink buildings and more freeways on the freeway..."), or the imaginary Midwestern town she hopes to live in during her next life ("...I sit on the stoop and smoke my one (stale) cigarette of the week from my gold vinyl cigarette case under the almost dark five o'clock sky..."). <p> If we're lucky, perhaps next time Crane will make these stirring moments of clarity easier for us to find. <I>--Gisele Toueg</I> 119313 2005 All This Heavenly Glory total:117|5:23|4:39|3:39|2:12|1:4| 117 416 196 27 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Apr 14 08:32:30 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 08:45:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sun Dec 09 15:08:45 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 09 15:10:52 -0800 2007 When The Messenger is Hot -- in fact, Glory might even be a novel. Each story/chapter deals with the life of Charlotte Anne Byers, who is probably mostly Elizabeth Crane: New Yorker, transplanted to Chicago, former alcoholic, divorced parents, ope...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 26 20:37:16 -0800 2007 Tue Jan 08 07:45:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 18 10:29:51 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 10:29:51 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sun Oct 11 17:25:38 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 17:27:46 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 06:26:32 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 24 20:37:09 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 14:02:50 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 31 09:09:05 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 17 11:20:18 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 31 11:34:00 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Oct 22 21:22:03 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 22 18:36:36 -0700 2008
I was ripped off and deceived.

There's a huge difference between what DFW does and Crane pointlessly (and humorlessly) making her sentences elaborate and opulent to the point of ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 10 10:25:44 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 24 08:04:28 -0800 2009 Sun May 10 10:25:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 01 09:00:31 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 10 20:57:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 10:07:03 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 14:56:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 22 07:15:23 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 07:28:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Jan 26 07:17:35 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 07:19:17 -0800 2008 1 0 false false Thu Jun 05 18:59:22 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 05 19:00:28 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Apr 12 03:29:30 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 12 03:32:33 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 13 18:16:42 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 16 18:16:26 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 20:01:34 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 16 13:06:34 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 12 13:59:13 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 29 07:26:54 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sun Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 12:07:46 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 02 15:11:42 -0800 2008