Campbell Andrews > Recent Status Updates

"And that was no lie. It was, instead, the best kind of truth, the one that meant at least two things."

Mr. Nguyen is so incisive, his exploration of race goes so far as to underscore the unease of whites about their own heritage

Oh right: it's PAPER MOON.

Ms. Jiles has the hymn "It is Well With My Soul" well-known in 1870, when it was not written till 1876.

This would not matter so much in a novel that did not pride itself on authenticity.

America: "was there ever a country that coined so many 'super' terms from the federal bank of its narcissism, was not only super confident but also truly super powerful, that would not be satisfied until it locked every nation of the world into a full nelson and made it cry Uncle Sam?"

Oh wow. So this is what literature feels like, I'd almost forgotten. Last truly thoughtful book I read was Peacekeeping, by Mischa Berlinski. These are works, not products.

the narrator omits a crucial word in the Emerson quote; but the author of this book is surely too smart for this to be an oversight, yes?

The DEA Agent Explains It All. yeah, we don't need all the dots connected. just forestalling the ending.

a truly evil villain. I'm honestly frightened of this man- he's always one step ahead.

Mr. Scott sure can tighten the noose

The voices are almost as authentic as the setting, but there's just too many characters.

these personal heavens Cronin assigns to his characters are so wonderful, why should anybody bother living?

"Everything is forgiven, my darling, my love. All is forgiven, nothing is lost. Everything you have loved will come back to you. That is why you have come."

And in this single paragraph Cronin tips his hand and reveals himself as a sentimentalist, and lacking the cojones to deal with his characters as they deserve.

Moral Theraputic Deism.

Fanning is the Prince Humperdinck of this saga.

finally manages to admit Fanning is pathetic, but after 100+ pages of flat, maudlin first-person narration from him, it's much too late.

Lord helps us, Fanning is such a bore.

...and he chooses the most boring character as the only first-person narrator. wow, what a crippling misstep. I cannot imagine how he came to think any of this- Fanning's story, Fanning's voice -was a good idea.

a major, major miscalculation to insist Fanning's history is sympathetic or particularly notable- and here we are, putting it in the mouths of characters to remind the reader that we should 'understand' this self-obsessed dolt.

Well, I don't. Cronin's Big Boss, the final villain, may be diabolical but he's also damned boring.

"I actually feel sorry for the guy"

Well, I don't. Cronin's Big Boss, the final villain, may be diabolical but he's also damned boring.

Zero's grief is supposed to be so great, but his story is pretty average. Like, my brother-in-law has had it a lot worse and a lot more unfair, and more sympathetic. Can't figure out why Cronin saddled his story this way... the other option would be making Fanning a pathetic, ridiculous figure whose petty grievances are rendered monstrous by the virus. But Cronin couldn't see fit to do that either.

Derailed.

I cannot recall a more generic section by an otherwise fine writer. totally misses the mark. embarrassing, even. makes me wonder how much of his work he understands.