false <![CDATA[De Niro's Game]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179928958m/973960.jpg 973960 12 This aggressive, prize-winning Canadian import debut recounts the fate of two childhood friends in war-ravaged Beirut. Narrator Bassam dreams of leaving Beirut, where there is "not enough [money] for cigarettes, a nagging mother, and food," and escaping to Rome, where even the pigeons "look happy and well fed." To fund his escape, he enters into a scheme with his best friend, George, to skim funds from the poker arcade where George works. But George is soon coerced into joining the militia and rises to its top ranks, allowing the friends to indulge in freewheeling lawlessness. Their days of riding the streets of West Beirut "with guns under our bellies, and stolen gas in our tanks, and no particular place to go" gives way to betrayal and violence more ferocious than either self-styled thug had bargained for. Though Bassam does eventually leave, he finds he cannot entirely escape Beirut; only in Paris, where the story plays out its third and final act, does he discover the extent of his friend's treachery. Hage's energetic prose matches the brutality depicted in the novel without overstating the narrative's tragic arc -- an impressive first outing for Hage. (<i>Publishers Weekly</i>) 1411917 7 1 2006 De Niro's Game total:221|5:45|4:81|3:71|2:16|1:8| 221 802 396 55 4 2 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 19 12:19:10 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 14:43:53 -0700 2008
I was very impressed by the poetic prose, the dreamlike quality of the characters experiences. The book is about 2 young men in ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Sep 22 20:40:54 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 20:45:08 -0700 2009
It's dark and fast paced. Involves two long-time friends, Bassam and George, the latter assuming the persona of the Russian roulette playing Robert De Niro of The Deer Hunter.

The plot is action-packed and visually desc...more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed May 13 13:34:13 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 13:34:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jan 03 06:58:11 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 07:06:51 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 16:44:17 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 16:46:18 -0700 2009
I think this sheds important insight into Lebanese culture, an insight that has not really been presented very often in literature.

Hage's writing style is quite poetic and hypnotizing. I enjoyed reading from Bassam's point of view, and l...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Aug 26 07:15:54 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 11:25:40 -0700 2008
The novel is set in Beirut, just before and during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. George and Bassam are two petty street thugs eking out a liv...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 06:26:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 26 09:34:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Apr 29 15:03:13 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 15:07:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Dec 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 08:19:05 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 07:25:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 27 21:14:55 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 21:21:12 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 17 01:20:40 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 08 14:31:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 19 16:11:31 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 16:11:31 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 08 10:46:39 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 10:51:08 -0700 2009
I'm looking forward to reading his second book.]]> 4 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 09:10:24 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 16:54:48 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Mar 05 04:54:39 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 04:55:41 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 13:48:29 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 13:49:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Feb 09 11:36:03 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 11:36:39 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 06:20:06 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 06:24:33 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jun 28 15:08:04 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 15:09:05 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 09:25:39 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 09:34:14 -0700 2007 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=973960