Book reviews added in the week of 10/27-11/2
wrgvt
Multiple links to full-length professional reviews of the following
books released in the US have been added to http://www.reviewsofbooks.com
in the last week:
"The Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver - In "The Lacuna," Harrison
Shepherd has a Mexican mother and American father. His mother moves
him about Mexico in the early 20th century as she searches for the
next man to take care of them. Harrison goes years without schooling.
His father pays for his education in a military school during his
teenage years, until he's expelled and sent back to Mexico. Harrison
becomes a baker and his hired by Diego Garcia to mix plaster for his
murals. Garcia's wife, Frida Kahlo, becomes a close friend and
confidant. Harrison lives with the couple, and they welcome the
exiled Bolshevik Lev Trostsky into their home. After Trotsky's
murder, Harrison moves to North Carolina where he becomes a famous
writer of Aztec novels. His past with Trotsky and other
revolutionaries brings him to the attention of the House Un-American
Activities. Barbara Kingsolver's novel has received positive reviews
with The Independent saying, "'The Lacuna' unfolds more slowly than
many of Kingsolver's previous books, but every word and twist has
earned its place in this provocative and beautifully told story. The
bestselling 'Poisonwood Bible' won Kingsolver widespread critical
acclaim; this book will only add to the praise."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/lacuna
Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060852577/?tag=reviewsofbooks8-20
"The Humbling" by Philip Roth - In "The Humbling," Simon Axler, a
renowned 65-year-old stage actor, finds that he's lost his ability to
act. His self-confidence gone, with his wife departing soon after,
Simon finds himself adrift without a purpose to his life. He
contemplates suicide, but his inability to perform leaves him unable
to perform that task either. It's not until he begins a relationship
with Pegeen that life seems worth living again. She's a 40-year-old
woman who is the daughter of Simon's friends and had recently been a
lesbian. She brings a spark to his life and Simon even imagines
starting a family with her. Until Pegeen leaves him too. Philip
Roth's thirtieth novel has received mixed reviews with BookPage
saying, "In this searing novel, Roth adds dark shadings to the austere
vision he has explored in recent works like 'Everyman' and 'Exit
Ghost'; there are precious few shafts of light that break through his
clinical examination of one man’s catastrophic fall from grace. But in
recounting with unrelenting precision the grim story of Simon - not a
bad man, simply a tragically human one - Roth offers another
unflinching assessment of the essence of our mortality."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/humbling
Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0547239696/?tag=reviewsofbooks8-20
"The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America" by
Timothy Egan - In "The Big Burn," author Timothy Egan ('The Worst Hard
Time') tells how Teddy Roosevelt found solace and beauty in the West
and decided to preserve large tracts of land for the American public.
Working with Gifford Pinchot, Roosevelt carved out 16 million acres of
woodlands that become the Forest Preserve, angering the rich and
powerful who wanted the land for lumber or mining rights. When Taft
became President, the dismantling of the Forest Service and the
preserved lands had begun when the largest wildfire in American
history broke out in 1910. Three million acres of forest went up in
flames in Montana and Idaho, and the bravery of the Forest Service men
and Buffalo Soldiers who fought the blaze convinced the American
public that the lands were worth saving. "The Big Burn" has received
positive reviews with the Denver Post saying, "In prose so sizzling it
crackles, 'The Big Burn' keeps alive the conservation dreams of Teddy
Roosevelt by allowing this story to rise from the ashes, once again."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/big_burn
Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0618968415/?tag=reviewsofbooks8-20
"Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father,
and Son" by Michael Chabon - "Manhood for Amateurs" is a compilation
of essays by novelist Michael Chabon. He muses about what it means to
be a man in today's world, and how that has changed since his father's
and grandfather's generations. He explores the role culture played in
his life and how it stoked his imagination, and how his children are
bombarded by pre-packaged bite-sized chunks of culture from corporate
behemoths. He recalls his own arrogance as a graduate student until
he was put in his place by a group of older women. He also discusses
the dilemma about how to tell his own children about his extensive use
of pot in his younger days. "Manhood for Amateurs" has received
positive reviews with the New York Times saying, "Ultimately, what
makes this collection so melancholically pleasurable is not the modern-
dad stuff but Chabon's ready and vivid access to his own childhood. A
chance radio encounter with the opening riff of Toto's 1978 hit 'Hold
the Line,' he tells us, instantly summons 'the radiant shins of a girl
named Jennifer Dagenais.' He's in lament mode again - will today's
kids, cocooned in the virtual listening booths of their iPods, be able
to make such song-scene associations? - but his analysis is wondrous,
wise and beautiful."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/manhood_for_amateurs
Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061490180/?tag=reviewsofbooks8-20
Happy reading!
Bill - administrator of http://www.reviewsofbooks.com