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by Michael Chabon
Better give a big spoiler warning when you do that.
I liked this one a lot, and, although I think Chabon's best writing occurs in the first two thirds of Kav & Clay, my favorite novel of his is Wonder Boys. Which was made into a damned good movie, too. ]]>
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I bought this for our 11 year old. It sat on the shelf for months until one night he complained he was bored. I read the first few sentences aloud and the boy took the book out of my hands. Three days later, about 1 a.m., he comes out of his bedroom and says, "Finished."
"How was it?" I asked.
"Awesome."
So this week I picked it up. Read it in three days, finished around midnight. Laughed a lot along the way. Excellent fantasy adventure comedy. A YA book, I suppose, but so good it can be enjoyed by those "too young" and those "too old." ]]>
An amazing novel. I was a le Carre fan coming in, but this book's explorations of identity and morality blew my mind while simultaneously blowing up lots of other stuff. It's a story about Zionists, Palestinians, and bombs. And love and identity and morality. It's complex as hell; the identity stuff is on a PK Dick level, but goes there without drugs. The morality issue may be closer to common, as we are given Palestinians and Zionists and why they are who they are, but le Carre never overtly politicizes. Part of the point here is the complexity of the politics, but a greater point is how it affects people. And that's what this story comes down to: people. Fucked up beyond belief, often to a large extent by choice (because once you've chosen a political side and taken it to a certain point, you have no other choice).
The characters are fully drawn, developing as the story goes to the point that they develop the story, but they do it in the context of an intricately written plot.
This is a masterpiece. No Smiley, but the disappointment of his absence didn't last long. It's a beautifully written book, wry and harrowing. ]]>
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Rob wrote: "Well, that sounds like fun. Demise of a planet, species by species. And that pic of you with the cam...more " |
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Very funny, action-packed, absurd, and reminds me of the person who loaned it to me. I wouldn't call it a great book - it doesn't have that kind of ambition - but extremely entertaining. ]]>
by Mike Young
But you haven't read it? ]]>
by Pete Dexter
As a Pete Dexter fan I wondered why I hadn't heard of this, then I saw it was scheduled for publication later this year, then I saw a few reviews of it on Good Reads. Either someone got the date wrong or there are advance copies out there. I think Brotherly Love is my favorite of his books, but I've liked all I've read. Something to look forward to. ]]>