Daniel Bloom will either fix our broken world in his imagination or destroy his real life trying.
A sniper is taking down suits... read full description
reviews
Sep 02, 2011
karen
rated it: 
i am not a lapsed jew.
i am not in a struggling marriage.
i do not have a child in that awkward tadpole-to-frog stage of new independence.
i do not live in l.a.
so, really, what does this book have to say to me?? who knows? there is a lot of fine story in here, but i think i liked his short stories better. this seemed to need a little more time to ripen or solidify or whatever image of completion works best for you. there is a lot of potential here, but it ultimately fe More...
i am not in a struggling marriage.
i do not have a child in that awkward tadpole-to-frog stage of new independence.
i do not live in l.a.
so, really, what does this book have to say to me?? who knows? there is a lot of fine story in here, but i think i liked his short stories better. this seemed to need a little more time to ripen or solidify or whatever image of completion works best for you. there is a lot of potential here, but it ultimately fe More...
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Jan 05, 2009
mark
rated it:
Halfway through this book I was debating: four or five stars. When I finished it, it was between two and three. That's not good. It was an ambitious project but falls short ... all the way to disappointing and shallow. I think Hasak-Lowy wrote it to soon, meaning--before he knew what he was speaking of. Maybe when he's fifty or sixty years old, he'll have a better idea. Good writing is not something, I think, that can be taught in school. The author is a professor of literature which seems to be
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(2 people liked it)
Jan 26, 2009
Lori
rated it:
Todd Hasak-Lowy tries hard with Captives.
Very, very hard.
400+-word, two-page sentence hard.
And in places, it works. Daniel is a successful screenwriter going through a midlife crisis, as his son's bar mitzvah, complacent marriage and complicated script bring to fore.
He starts to debate the future of the world through fiction: He can't figure out where he stands on his latest script, in which an assassin is taking out the family and friends of power More...
Very, very hard.
400+-word, two-page sentence hard.
And in places, it works. Daniel is a successful screenwriter going through a midlife crisis, as his son's bar mitzvah, complacent marriage and complicated script bring to fore.
He starts to debate the future of the world through fiction: He can't figure out where he stands on his latest script, in which an assassin is taking out the family and friends of power More...
Jan 01, 2009
Joslyn
rated it:
way different from his first book. at first, i did not enjoy the play/script-style set up and dialogue, and was disappointed, but i got into it starting around his arrival in israel. still seems a little self-conscious or message-laden, but ah well, it has some funny scenes, and some real discomforts.
an action movie + midlife crisis book.
an action movie + midlife crisis book.
Nov 15, 2010
Sue
rated it:
This was an odd book. The story starts with a Hollywood screenwriter with a disturbing idea for a movie, & there's a rabbi who is, to say the least, unusual. The author captures character very cleverly, using an unusual way to show conversations. I felt the story got bogged down in the middle, but the ending did work. It's not a mystery/thriller in the usual sense. I'm glad I read it but don't feel tempted to seek other books by the same author.
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