false 255511 7 <P>John Nickel is a black ex-jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. But when his son is taken away from him, he's left with nothing but the Memphis bar he manages. Then he hires Fay, a young white waitress, who has a volatile brother named Carl in tow. Nickel finds himself consumed with the idea of Taft -- Fay and Carl's dead father -- and begins to reconstruct the life of a man he never met. But his sympathies for these lost souls soon take him down a twisting path into the lives of strangers... 1043640 1994 Taft: A Novel total:662|5:1|4:4|3:6|2:2|1:0| 662 2156 956 70 4 0 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Jan 17 10:23:53 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 10:24:38 -0800 2009
It was wonderful. A story of a father's love in two familie...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 01:42:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 01:55:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 19:09:37 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 15:47:40 -0700 2009
This is my least favorite of Patchett's books. The pace was slow, the writing not as refined or lyrical as her others. As usual, however, her characters come to life in a way that has stayed with me.

The book begins, "A girl walked ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 10:18:05 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 18:46:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 17 19:39:42 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 21 20:44:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 20:17:31 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 16 07:59:23 -0800 2007 Vexes me, even. I am sorely vexed.

Ann Patchett, if you're reading this (yeah, right), please don't. Please go and have a nice cup of tea instead. I have bowed repeatedly at the altar of your writing and I think that Bel Canto and Truth and Beauty...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Wed May 09 05:19:53 -0700 2007 Fri May 11 06:29:25 -0700 2007 Taft is not Ann Patchett's strongest work - and even she's admitted that Taft is not the best title for a novel. However, Taft is still a good read. It's a story primarily of fatherhood and loyalty - however misplaced. I've read all of Patchett's books, starting with the non-fiction Truth and Beauty...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 15:37:14 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 15:41:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Feb 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 30 06:28:24 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 19:00:36 -0800 2009
Despite ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 16 14:09:40 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 10 12:12:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Dec 14 19:02:38 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 19:03:38 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Fri Jun 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 19:14:30 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 19:17:04 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 09:55:50 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 10:15:44 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Apr 05 01:19:17 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 01:22:11 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 09:21:41 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 14:12:36 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Jul 21 02:20:15 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 02:23:29 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 12:21:19 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 12:22:01 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Feb 23 16:50:55 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 16:51:50 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Dec 07 12:50:13 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 12:50:45 -0800 2008 3 0 false true Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 12:10:16 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 15:57:14 -0700 2008 While recognizing...more...]]>