I finally read the much ballyhooed autobiography of my favorite member of my favorite band. I wasn't disappointed, there are the expected lurid party stories and groupies and drugs, but what comes through most is Richards love of music. I enjoyed his love of the Chicago blues legends and his awe when he first met and then played with his heroes. I found Richards very funny, honest, and dare I say a bit normal.
Posted by Uncle Will on 01/20/11
Carlos (Carl) Webster is the main character in Leonard's novels: The Hot Kid and Up in Honey's Room. This book is a collection of three stories with Webster as the protagonist.
Webster, a Federal Marshall, has the reputation as being a shoot-first-ask-questions-later-type peace officer. He is married to a former dance hall gal. The setting is post World War II. In Showdown at Checotah we are introduced to Webster as a young teen. He lives on a pecan farm with his father and is a serious young man with a dead-eye ability using firearms. After killing a poacher, he tells the investigating officer that when he grows up, Carl wants to go into law enforcement. Years later, that very investigator hires Carl.
In the second story, Louly and Pretty Boy, readers are introduced to Carl's wife, Louly Ring. She is a complicated and confusing character. She begins as a young girl who dreams of being a gangster's moll, but later matures into a loving devoted wife. Her maturation process is hard to empathized with since she we shown only a quick glimpse of his back story. Hopefully, Leonard is at work creating a more complete connect-the-dots reckoning of life story.
In the novelette, that is the same title as this compilation, Carl is dispatched to one of the many German POW camps in America to investigate the hanging of one of the prisoners. Initially, the death is ruled a suicide, but soon after Carl starts snooping around, murder becomes more likely the method.
One of Leonard's greatest strengths is his mastery of dialog. His characters all seem to jump off the page and out of each book he writes. This probably explains why so many of his novels have been adapted to film.
Posted by Uncle Will on 01/17/11
It has been a long wait. Three years, to be precise, since the last Arkady Renko novel. Ever since 1981, when Gorky Park hit the book stands running, no other serial novel has had such a sad, weather-beaten hero-of-the-common-man as the Russian investigator Arkady Renko. He is persistent, clever, self-effacing, plodding, suicidal, broken-hearted, witty, loyal to a fault, keen-eyed, and mostly acts like a beaten dog.
Russians are a proud people. Another of their stronger traits is that they are realistic. They seem to have the ability to accept the hand that they have been dealt, self-analyze it, and still continue to survive in a society that seems to have only two classes: the Haves and the Have nots.
In this 6th installment, Arkady is once again on the brink of being fired for insubordination. While helping out a friend who is a hopelessly drunken detective, Arkady stumbles upon a serial killer. Unfortunately for Arkady and the next victims, the government is not accepting of his theories and are hurried to distance themselves from him.
Arkady's young ward, Zhenya, the brilliant, street chess-hustler, is also trying to distance himself from Arkady. Zhenya stumbles upon a very young girl - Maya - whose infant was stolen from her while trying to escape her miserable life of forced prostitution. Zhenya, who would be the last to admit that he has learned anything useful from Arkady, tries to take on the role of protector, while assisting to find the kidnapped child. As always, there is Cruz' continuing central theme of class struggle.
Posted by Auntie Anne on 01/14/11
"And out of the Darkwood Mr. Toppit comes, and he comes not for you, or for me, but for all of us." And Mr. Toppit is dark indeed. When the author of "The Hayseed Chronicles," a little-known British series of childrens' books is killed by a cement truck, his family becomes plagued and burdened by the sudden popularity of the books. A strange American woman, who was at the scene of the accident, goes to the hospital and stays with the family after Arthur Hayman dies. She manages to hitch her wagon to the Hayman family and "The Hayseed Chronicles." Upon returning to Los Angeles, she proceeds, without permission, to read the books on a radio show that she hosts. The books become so popular in the U.S. that she is given her own daytime TV talk show, which becomes wildly successful.
Enter the fictitious "Mr. Toppit," who wreaks havoc on the Hayman family. Rachel, the daughter, was fragile at best, prior to her father's death. Luke, the son, who just wanted to live an anonymous, insignificant life, becomes immortalized as the fictional Luke Hayseed, hero of his father's books. And many skeletons step out of the closet regarding Mrs. Hayman and their first-born son who died as a baby.
Mr. Toppit is a very dark but riveting first novel for Charles Elton. It has a strong theme of the personal hold that fate has over the characters of the book, and "Mr. Toppit" takes on a very devilish persona. Listen to Amazon's interview with the author regarding his debut novel
Posted by Pam I am on 01/12/11
The Wishing Trees is a heartwarming book about love, loss, grief and continuing life and learning to find joy again after loss. Ian, who has lost his wife, Kate, to cancer discover that Kate left a collection of notes and a letter pleading Ian to retrace a trip the two them shared fifteen years ago, this time taking their daughter Mattie. Ian and Mattie set off on a journey retracing all the places that Ian and Kate travelled fullfilling Kate's wishes. Along the way they open a letter from Kate at each destination and learn new things about each other and tie a message to a tree . . .a wishing tree. This book is both heartwarming and profound. It is filled with sorrow but also love.
Posted by jfreier on 01/10/11
This is my first Stuart Woods novel and his fourth Ed Eagle novel. Ed is just settling in with his new wife Susannah when he gets word that his vicious ex wife Barbara has escaped from a Mexican prison and is on her way to Santa Fe with vengeance on her mind. Ed is also busy trying to clear Tip Hanks a golf pro from the murder of his wife and there are several other story lines interwoven with characters from previous novels.
I really enjoyed his writing style, good characters and his description of Santa Fe which is a town I know and love.
Posted by Ultra Violet on 01/05/11
John Clare was a successful rustic poet in his own time. Set in England in the 1830's, The Quickening Maze tells the story of his time in a mental institution. Ironically, Alfred Tennyson was there at the same time, staying with his brother, Septimus, who was institutionalized as a melancholic. The doctor who owned the asylum, Matthew Allen, had his own problems. He had spent time in debtor's prison and became obsessed with his invention of a wooden machine to carve decorative wooden pieces. As he becomes more obsessed, and gets more investors to give him large sums of money (including Tennyson), Dr. Allen leaves the asylum in the care of a brutal man who abuses and rapes the inmates. John Clare manages to blackmail him into leaving the asylum.
I was not familiar with John Clare when I picked up this book, but I fell in love with some of the characters in the first chapter. It is obvious to me why The Quickening Maze was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize. I look forward to more exquisite prose from Adam Foulds. Foulds has also written a novel called, The Truth About These Strange Times and a book-length narrative poem called The Broken Word.
Posted by Uncle Will on 12/22/10
This book is an English major's delight. Foxworthy's stage persona is that of a backwards backwoodsmen. He is anything but. To publish a book this clever, one must have an outstanding command of the English language; both spoken and written.
"...No-ble (no-bul), adj. and n. completely without prevarication. 'That tree jumped right out in front of me, Judge, noble.'..."
"...Tab-leau (tab-lo), n. and adj. a phrase pertaining to controlling the extent of a bill of sale. 'I ain't buying another round, 'cause I'm trying to keep my tableau.'..."
"...Disability (dis-a-bi-la-te), adj. and n. a certain aptitude or proficiency. 'I was born with disability to charm women of the opposite sex.'..."
Planning a trip down South? This book definitely would help bridge the language gap. When ordering at a fancy southern diner, if one wants a steak that stays juicy, one's gotta serum!
Posted by Auntie Anne on 12/20/10
Set during the Great Depression, Jacob Jankowski's life had been turned upside down when he became orphaned and homeless at the very time that he was to graduate Veterinary school. As luck would have it, he hopped on board a passing train, which just happened to be the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Before he knew it, he was put in charge of taking care of the circus animal menagerie. Amid the strange and sadistic world of this second-rate, down on its luck circus, Jacob falls in love with Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, who is married to the sick, twisted and cruel circus boss. Jacob is determined to protect Marlena and Rosie, the lovable elephant, from her husband's abusive, sadistic behavior.
I was totally prepared not to like Water for Elephants, since the subject is a circus during the Great Depression. Sounded depressing to me. However, this story is both brutal and poignant - brutal in Gruen's description of the filthy, squalid atmosphere of the mangy circus atmosphere; and poignant in the intimate, loving relationships that the circus performers have with the animals. It is a story which would appeal to men and women alike. It has something for everyone, especially if you're an animal love. I found it very interesting that it was written by a woman in a man's voice, which she accomplished very well.
Watch for the movie scheduled to be released in April, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. Here's the trailer:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQa177w25Dw
Posted by Uncle Will on 12/13/10
It's been about a year and half since Griffin's last installment was published in his Badge of Honor series.
Sgt. Matthew Payne is back and his guns are still blazing. Coined "Wyatt Earp" by the Philadelphia press, Matt has had the misfortune to have drawn and used his police issued firearm more times in his short tenure as a law enforcement officer than 99% of his fellow officers do in their entire careers.
This time around Matt is trying to stop a rash of vigilante killings and copycat killings of those vigilante killings. Confusing, yes; especially to Matt who is left scratching his head.
Payne is anointed the head of the task force that is going to put a stop to this madness. Matt's love-life remains healthy and his new relationship with Amanda Law, who he helped rescue during an earlier case, grows stronger.
Once again Griffin spins his magic. He has a handle on police procedure and his stories never are Hollywood-ized. Since it was so long since his last book, Griffin used a clever device to give his old and new readers the Matt Payne back story: He had a character write Payne's obituary.