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Life Among Giants

by Bill Roorbach (Goodreads Author)

3.39 of 5 stars 3.39 · rating details · 815 ratings · 158 reviews

An exploration of lives touched by greatness and tragedy in equal measure, Roorbach’s latest novel traces towering Princeton graduate and NFL player–cum–restaurateur David “Lizard” Hochmeyer in his attempt to unravel the tangled conspiracy behind his parents’ murder in 1970. When his parents are killed in front of him at a restaurant, David believes the culprits are connec...more

Hardcover, 331 pages

Published November 13th 2012 by Algonquin Books

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Dec 05, 2012 Samuel Snoek-Brown rated it 4 of 5 stars

Bill Roorbach is an artist of the human heart, but as a writer, he is pure craftsman. You can see the workmanship in his prose the way you can see it in good handcrafted furniture. Sure, there are moments in this novel where I caught myself thinking, "Oh, I see what you did there," but I don't think this is a bad thing: indeed, reading this novel is an education in crafting a story.

There are problems, I think. There are times when I felt like the novel was three or four different kinds of story...more Bill Roorbach is an artist of the human heart, but as a writer, he is pure craftsman. You can see the workmanship in his prose the way you can see it in good handcrafted furniture. Sure, there are moments in this novel where I caught myself thinking, "Oh, I see what you did there," but I don't think this is a bad thing: indeed, reading this novel is an education in crafting a story.

There are problems, I think. There are times when I felt like the novel was three or four different kinds of story all pieced together like inlay. Or, to abandon the carpentry metaphor for the cooking one Roorbach employs in the novel, there is a fascinating medley of literary flavors here -- mystery, family drama, sports narrative, love story, Gatsby-esque literary fiction (the promotional material sells this last line a little harder than it might deserve, but it's still an apt comparison given the fabulously wealthy and decadent setting at "the High Side," Roobach's version of Gatsby's mansion) -- but the flavors sometimes exist independently of each other, not quite blending into the perfect bite. "Oh, there's the mystery," you might catch yourself thinking in one chunk of text. "Oh, now I can taste the love story."

Still, as a meal, the novel is immensely satisfying, and the characters at play here -- from hyper-literate football hero Lizard (our narrator) to his obsessive bipolar sister to the mysterious and alluring dancer (Sylphide, what a name!) to the delightful if a bit caricatured butler Desmond to the con-man father.... The characters stay with you no matter what you might think of them, so alive they become.

The setting, too, is exquisite: whether you're in the extravagant High Side or dense New York or sweaty, spicy Miami, the world this novel lives in is rich and alive, teeming with history and atmosphere.

Overall, Life Among Giants is a wonderful read, a perfect bridge between easy commercial fiction and quick, smart literature, and I will gladly recommend it to everyone I know.(less)

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Mar 24, 2013 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars

The careful reader will want to check out the beautiful drawing on the front of this first edition. An unpublished watercolor and pen and ink drawing, courtesy of the Harvard University Herbaria and Botany Libraries. It, as well as some other clues, will give you insight into, what I must not say. Plus, the title is telling. David, the narrator of this tale, is tall. Very tall. He is a good athlete. So, is his sister Katy. They could be called high school "giants" for their abilities and ambitio...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Bob Mustin rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Charm of Wealth and Fame

I bought this book with fingers crossed. Usually when I buy a book I don’t really know much about or an author I’ve never read, I hedge my bets and buy the e-book version. So buying this one in hardback was an article of faith; this time my crossed fingers boded good fortune.

Roorbach’s book is primarily the story of David “Lizard” Hochmeyer, a football prodigy who as a young boy witnesses his father and mother being shot by a paid assassin. His sister Kate is there, t...more The Charm of Wealth and Fame

I bought this book with fingers crossed. Usually when I buy a book I don’t really know much about or an author I’ve never read, I hedge my bets and buy the e-book version. So buying this one in hardback was an article of faith; this time my crossed fingers boded good fortune.

Roorbach’s book is primarily the story of David “Lizard” Hochmeyer, a football prodigy who as a young boy witnesses his father and mother being shot by a paid assassin. His sister Kate is there, too, and the siblings dwell on this deep into adulthood; indeed until near book’s end. Adding to the story’s complications are Sylphide, a renowned European ballet dancer, and her hangers-on, Kate’s husband Jack, a pair of gay restauranteurs, and of course, David and Kate’s parents.
The father is a rather enigmatic but eminently predictable figure to the end, the mother a histrionic, self-centered person, and the person (persons) who shot the pair are seen to be threatening Sylphide, David, and Kate as well. To say more might put the story at reader’s risk, so I’ll stop the synopsis there.

The writing is the charm of the book, Roorbach’s prose (first-person - David), adding his own apparent gleam to all characters, large and small. This is the strong point of first-person narratives, but Roorbach adds what is clearly his own oomph to both story and characterizations. David is, by book’s midpoint, a famed ex-football player and restauranteur, Sylphide is world famous, and yet, contrary to more cliched prose, are engaging, erring humans, yet with a deep honesty of character.

Roorbach is obviously influenced by the American postmodern fiction I’ve castigated here, but to his credit, he makes it work by creating characters with charm, he keeps his narrator harnessed, and he creates layers and layers of subtlety to both that David Foster Wallace, Michael Chabon, and others, might only dream about. My only complaint is that Roorbach’s skittering back and forth in time isn’t done as skillfully as I’d hoped, and that lack made the author’s fluid prose sometimes seem phlegmatic.

My rating: 17 of 20 stars
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Jan 09, 2013 Rich F rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was drawn into the story right away, a combination coming-of-age story about the narrator (the huge former NFL quarterback David "Lizard" Hochmeyer) and murder whodunnit that kept me wondering what happened and to whom exactly all the way until the very last few pages. At the center of the story is a world famous prima ballerina pulling all the strings between the many overlapping storylines and characters. Lizard, the narrator, is a sort of modern day Nick Carraway from the Great Gatsby - pul...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: beyond-awful, melodrama, non-stop-whining, silly-soap-opera-hysteria, strange

I continue to be amazed at the books magazine reviewers deem as 'worth my time'. "Life Among Giants" certainly wasn't that. An incredibly weird story about a family who lives across the lake from glamorous millionaires, there was little here I found appealing.

Roorbach doesn't tell the story in a linear fashion but skips around. Sometimes this works, here I just found it confusing and it was hard to keep so many characters straight.

The narrator for this tale is David, an incredibly tall and athle...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Jann Barber rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sift together a family consisting of an incredibly tall, athletic son, a lovely younger daughter, a mother who wants to be socially known in the right circles, and a father who is shadier than anyone should be. Mix with a family across the lake made up of a well-known rock star, his wife, a prominent ballerina known throughout the world, and the rocker's son from another liaison who needs a lot of individual care and attention. Stir thoroughly and sprinkle in thugs, murder, mental issues, sex, c...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Jenny Shank rated it 3 of 5 stars

http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainme...

Life Among Giants
Bill Roorbach
(Algonquin, $24.95)

By JENNY SHANK Special Contributor
Published: 30 November 2012 04:45 PM

The characters in Bill Roorbach’s lush novel Life Among Giants are larger than life, some literally. He manages to make them real despite their outsize abilities.

The narrator, David “Lizard” Hochmeyer, a nearly 7-foot-tall star high school quarterback with the sensitive soul of a poet, is kicked off the team his senior year for refusing to...more

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Nov 18, 2012 1864 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 13, 2012 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

Literary who done it

This is one of the best mysteries I’ve read all year. Roorbach kept me guessing throughout. More importantly he kept me wondering not just who killed but why. The book opens with Lizard’s parents being killed almost at his feet. The story is told through Lizard’s (David) eyes from the murders when he’s 17 through middle age as he and his sister Kate attempt to make sense of their tragedy and to live through and past it. They have many adventures. They’re both athletes. Lizard...more Literary who done it

This is one of the best mysteries I’ve read all year. Roorbach kept me guessing throughout. More importantly he kept me wondering not just who killed but why. The book opens with Lizard’s parents being killed almost at his feet. The story is told through Lizard’s (David) eyes from the murders when he’s 17 through middle age as he and his sister Kate attempt to make sense of their tragedy and to live through and past it. They have many adventures. They’re both athletes. Lizard plays pro football for the Dolphins. Kate is a top seeded tennis player. They’re lives are enmeshed some celebrities whose lives infest theirs with both good and bad results.

Roorbach’s characterizations are deadly on target as is his depiction of the 1970’s. Strangely, after the murders, time becomes almost irrelevant, for Lizard and Kate the murders stay as fresh as they were when they first happened. The horror doesn’t subside. It’s hard to believe that 17 year old Lizard is as mature as he seems even given that the murders cause him to grow up quickly. Also much of the story is told from his adult perspective but it’s still hard to believe someone so young could be so wise. He has his blind spots though. His hormones and heart dictate many of his decisions much to the consternation of his older sister Kate though she doesn’t have much right to complain since she’s caught in the same vortice. At 17 and 19 their reactions are a bit caught in amber, so is their struggle to get on with their lives. There are so many unanswered questions. The court decisions don’t make sense. The pain of their lose keeps them planted in 1970. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn’t recognized and there were few treatments at that time.

I’ve said this is a mystery but that’s not strictly true. There is a central driving mystery but most of all this is a coming of age novel about two talented people and how they learn to love, heal, and find their place in the world. The interplay between appearances and reality and good and evil play a large part too. It’s a touching and insightful story.

This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher.

4.5/5 stars
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Oct 18, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

There was so much I absolutely loved about this book that it was hard to give it a star rating: the book is a murder mystery but Roorbach is a seasoned, sophisticated writer, and I found myself falling in love with the background details of the story and caring less about the whodunit. The larger than life Sylphyde, a prima ballerina whose involvement in the main character's father's murder is suspect throughout the book, is a wonderful character, flawed in the way of the best literary heros, ma...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Colleen Oakes rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a very strange book. It was a mystery, it was a love story, it was a sports novel, a foodie blog and a fairy tale. It was all of these things, and it was like drinking a love potion that made you a little drunk, and a little confused. The main character, a very tall and sweet boy who sees his parents brutally murdered, lives across the street from High Side, which is a mega mansion owned by the equivalent of John Lennon and his strangely beautiful ballerina wife. The boy eventually come...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of those books you want to put down but keep reading -- "just a few more pages" -- before you can quit. It isn't a mystery, per se. It's literary fiction involving a mystery, but it's mostly a coming-of-age story.

In the seventies, a seventeen-year-old giant sees his parents gunned down before him just as they're going into the Witness Protection Program. But his life has already changed: he's recently met a world-famous ballerina who lives across the water from his family, right afte...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Bennett Gavrish rated it 3 of 5 stars

Grade: C+

L/C Ratio: 70% Literary / 30% Commercial

Thematic Breakdown:
25% - Crime mystery
20% - Family secrets
20% - Tangled love
15% - Culinary arts
10% - Football
5% - Ballet
5% - Connecticut

Addictiveness: High
Movie Potential: 1 Thumb Down
Re-readability: Low

I'm convinced that Life Among Giants was born from four separate book ideas: the professional football player with a dysfunctional family, the world-famous ballerina with a tortured marriage to a rock star, the aspiring chef with a cross-dressin...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

It's hard for me to sort out what I think about this book. There's layer upon layer to peel back, so I'll just refer to general things. The characters were magnificent; I'd give them 5 stars.

The prose was decent, a bit stilted at times and written as though it were meant to be read slowly, which is fine (a book needs to inform you as to how it's meant to be read), it just annoyed me because I don't like having to back and reread sentences because the syntax tripped me up--but there are argument...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Larry Hoffer rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'd rate this 4.5 stars if I could...

They say the course of love never quite runs smoothly. For nearly seven-foot-tall David "Lizard" Hochmeyer, that couldn't be more true. A high school senior with a promising football career ahead of him, his life is thrown off course not only by his love for his neighbor, the famed ballerina Sylphide, but by his parents' mysterious murder, and his strange relationship with his mentally ill sister, Kate.

Lizard spends much of his adult life trying to figure out...more I'd rate this 4.5 stars if I could...

They say the course of love never quite runs smoothly. For nearly seven-foot-tall David "Lizard" Hochmeyer, that couldn't be more true. A high school senior with a promising football career ahead of him, his life is thrown off course not only by his love for his neighbor, the famed ballerina Sylphide, but by his parents' mysterious murder, and his strange relationship with his mentally ill sister, Kate.

Lizard spends much of his adult life trying to figure out the truth behind his parents' murder, and the more he finds out, the more confused he becomes. He cannot shake his obsession with Sylphide, the widow of a famed rock singer, and he isn't sure how tied to those events Sylphide and her entourage really are. As she and his high school girlfriend, Emily, drift in and out of his life, he finds that love, truth, and clarity don't necessarily walk hand in hand.

Life Among Giants shifts between Lizard's memories leading up to and following the murder of his parents, and the present. Lizard leads an interesting and rich life, but he can never shake the feelings he had when he was younger, and that fact holds him back but allows him to grow at the same time. Bill Roorbach has created one of the most intriguing main character narrators I've come across in some time. Lizard is wise beyond his years and incredibly perceptive in one minute, and acts the way a typical 17-year-old would one minute later. I love the way he let the story unfold, and while I enjoyed many of the other characters, I found both Sylphide and Emily too much of an enigma to truly understand the way Lizard felt about both of them for the majority of his life. And while Kate's character was hard to pin down and empathize with, I realized after I was done with the book that this is probably the way people feel when dealing with a person suffering from mental illness.

This is a beautifully written, compelling book about love, family, the search for truth, being comfortable in your own skin, and trying to put your demons to rest. While I don't see the Holden Caulfield-esque characteristics some reviewers have identified in Lizard, he is a character worth meeting and spending time with. (less)

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Feb 17, 2013 Matt Rohweder rated it 3 of 5 stars

There are certain books that when you begin reading them, you think: this is a book I will enjoy. And Life Among Giants is one such books. I thought immediately that I would enjoy this book...the unfortunate thing is that I did not. So much of what this book is about had the potential to touch me - the story of a boy who loses both his parents, the struggle to understand that, a constant struggle to have meaning in his life. All should have spoken to me, yet all I felt as annoyed.

Perhaps it was...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Sandra rated it 2 of 5 stars

I believe the atmosphere, language, and writing are what compelled to keep me reading this book to its end. Though those usually aren't strong enough pulls for me without a good story or characters I care about, in this case the lush descriptions (especially of food) were worked nonchalantly into the flow of the story yet were amazing. And the overall atmosphere was somewhat ethereal or surreal, yet very real at the same time. That, combined with my slight interest in how the mystery/situation(s...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a murder mystery though it doesn't always present itself as such. Once the murder happens, there's a lot of going back and forth in history, some of which works effectively and some of which doesn't. There's a little of everything thrown in here...football, ballet, fine dining, rock 'n roll, money laundering, nefarious characters...basically something for everyone. I found the first part of the book, where the story realy unfolds, to be exciting and well told. The middle of the book...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Peter Brown rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the book which was in the Bildungsroman/diary vein. Reading it I was never sure whether it was a murder mystery, diary of a dysfunctional family, or a food journal. I found myself hungry reading the descriptions of the cooking and the food. It had nice deep characterizations, including an honest look inside the hero's (and human) psyche. The plot was somewhat convoluted and told in a non-linear fashion that deepened the story lines as you progressed--I appreciated that. Not much of a d...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Wanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-books

This book centers around David "Lizard" Hochmeyer, his parents' murder when he was a senior in high school and the effect it had on his life. Lizard's life is filled with a strange combination of people: an unstable sister, ballerinas, football, rock stars, master chef tattooed from head to toe, and a transvestite. As Lizard grows, matures, and searches for who he really is, he is haunted by his parents' death and their killers.

A review on the front cover says "A wild ride of a novel, deliciousl...more

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May 04, 2013 Ann rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read a number of excellent reviews for Bill Roorbach’s “Life Among Giants: A Novel” and I eagerly looked forward to reading the book. The two main characters are David, known as Lizard, is the young giant and star football player and Lizard’s sister Kate who is a top seeded tennis player. The book opens with their parents being killed almost at their feet and the story is told through Lizard’s eyes as they attempt to make sense of their tragedy and live through and past it.

I found the plot sta...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Rob rated it 2 of 5 stars

Unfortunately, this is far too convoluted to recommend. Too often in this book this reads like the supercharged fantasy of the author, the first-person account of a 6'8" superman, an Adonis with matchless physical gifts who has a very active life, including being Bob Greise and Dan Marino's backup quarterback with the Miami Dolphins and a wildly successful restauranteur AND, of course, a sex god. The eyes roll once too often at the coincidences heaped upon the reader. One major problem, I think,...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Guinotte Wise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Top notch writing! Loved the irony, turns of phrase, clever stuff, wild plot, bits of magic realism here and there. And food enthusiasts will absolutely dig the descriptions of dishes and prep that the restaurant-owner/Miami Dolphin QB/protagonist lovingly puts together. The tension is good, bipolar sister, worthless dad, tennis mom, murder story, sailing bits--this book was worth what I paid for the hardcover (so many aren't). Thoroughly enjoyable. It's not a murder mystery, but there's one in...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: work-review-related-reading

This book has a lot going on: murder (and other crimes), mystery, mental illness, revenge, love stories, professional sports, ballet, rock and roll, gangsters, sex, intrigue, family dynamics, foodie stuff, suicide, drugs and much, much more. It's comic at times, heart breaking at others, moving fluidly around different eras of David "Lizard" Hochmeyer's life. It's sometimes confusing (because Lizard is often confused by what is going on around him) but completely absorbing and very difficult to...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Satarupa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Strange characters, some gigantic or larger than life, just as the title implies, inhabit this book. That said, it is a curiously personal story written from the point of view of "Lizard" as the protagonist is nicknamed. Its storyline might be considered bizarre by some but it held my attention and I kept wanting to turn the pages to find out what happens next and how it all ends. It is mystery and a coming of age story (that continues into middle age!) all in one, but a well written novel that'...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Susan Obryan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Bill Roorbach's Life Among Giants is stunning on many fronts, including characterization and its glimpse into the high-end worlds of dance, rock and culinary arts. The novel from Algonquin Books is a love story/mystery that builds on relationships, some as fragile as a spider web and others as firm as a decades-old rock wall.

At 17, David "Lizard" Hochmeyer's near-perfect world is shattered when his parents are murdered as they prepare to join the witness protection program. He and his older sist...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Holland Saltsman rated it 3 of 5 stars

As usual if I could add 1/2 star, I'd go for a 3.5. I did really like this book, loved all the terribly flawed characters especially David "Lizard" Hochmeyer, our narrator. But at times the writer seemed to jerk me out of a part of the story, with some very abrupt transitions. He did go back and flush out some stories and provide tidbits throughout the book but I just felt a little yanked around. However, it was a really great character driven book, with a murder to solve and some brilliant writ...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: modern-american-fiction

I really enjoyed this one. Not really magical realism, but more of a fairy tale feel. Reminded me a lot of Special Topics in Calamity Physics, with the erudite narrator (though not as erudite as Pessl's) and the central mystery surrounding the father. It also reminded me of The Tragedy of Arthur, since it's told from the perspective of a male narrator who is now grown, remembering his childhood. Also, the relationship that Lizard has with his sister was also reminiscent of TTOA. A great book, th...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Lynn Plourde rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book started with great gusto and such a strong writing voice. The main character's parents are murdered. But sadly then the book suffers from a muddled middle. It plods along and I find I don't even care whodunnit. The writing is sensory and detailed, but it needed a stronger plot (one that doesn't go downhill after the grab-you-by-the-throat beginning) and characters that I could care about--they too get lost in the details. I usually love Roorbach's books, but not-so-much this time.

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Jul 15, 2012 Candace rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm sort of conflicted about this book, which I thought was beautifully written but strangely plotted. There's a shocking and heartbreaking mystery at the center of the story, if only Roorback got to it. Instead there is a lot of fuss all around it, lead by unconvincing characters. I never bought the lovely dancer Sylphide and her rocker husband. I did believe Lizard, his parents, and the mystery of family. Note that I read this novel in galley form so some changes may be forthcoming.

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About Bill Roorbach

Bill Roorbach's newest book is LIFE AMONG GIANTS, just published by Algonquin Books. Bill is the author of a number of books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Flannery O'Connor Award and O. Henry Prize winner BIG BEND, the romantic memoir SUMMERS WITH JULIET, the novel THE SMALLEST COLOR, the essay collection INTO WOODS, and most recently, Maine Prize nonfiction winner TEMPLE STREAM: A Rura...more

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“The authorities aren't always up to the job.” — 1 person liked it

“It's all written out, you know. Everything is fate. All written out in Heaven, or written out in Hell.” — 1 person liked it

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