What a great title. What an amazing image. And let me tell you something else, Colum McCann delivers in imagery, language, structure and sheer moments of heart wrenching beauty in telling a story that begins with the famous highwire tightrope walk that Philippe Petit did between the Twin Towers in New York City on August [...]
Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category
Let the Great World Spin: Colum McCann Book Review
Posted: August 1, 2010 by condofire in Book ReviewsTags: Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin, Twin Towers, Shantaram, Let the Great World Spin Book Review
0
The Adulterer: Richard Wright Book Review
Posted: July 12, 2010 by condofire in Book ReviewsTags: The Adulterer, Richard Wright
Maybe this book reminds me too much of the publishing industry whence I came, or maybe it reminded me of Ian McEwan’s style of writing and then failed to deliver or maybe I just didn’t like the main character Daniel Fielding but whatever it was this book didn’t do it for me in spite of [...]
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union: Michael Chabon: Book Review
Posted: April 21, 2010 by condofire in Book ReviewsTags: Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman's Union
It’s not very often that I read a book that I just don’t like very much. The back cover of Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is replete with admirable praise for the work using words like “awesome, breathtaking, dazzling” to describe the novel. While I can appreciate the narrative strength and the alternate history [...]
The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt Book Review
Posted: March 20, 2010 by condofire in Book ReviewsTags: Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, The Most Beautiful Book in the World
The Most Beautiful Book in the World by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt is quite simply a delightful collection of 8 short stories each one focused on the life of a woman. Translated from French into English most of these stories take place in France. When I had first heard the title of the collection I had jokingly [...]
Mansfield Park: Jane Austen Book Review
Posted: February 2, 2010 by condofire in Book ReviewsTags: Jane Austen Mansfield Park, Mansfield Park Book Review
Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park is a wonderful study of human folly and caprice set amidst the studious manners and social hierarchy of early 19th century small town English gentry. If a novel that was written almost two hundred years ago sounds and feels like a foreign place (and believe me, it does, I mean how [...]
Loving Frank: Nancy Horan Book Review
Posted: January 18, 2010 by condofire in Book ReviewsTags: Frank Lloyd Wright, Loving Frank, Mamah Borthwich, Martha Borthwick Cheny, Nancy Horan
I don’t usually read historic fiction but I picked this up as a recommendation from my sister. Nancy Horan is a writer and journalist who spent most of her life in Oak Park, Illinois, where Frank Lloyd Wright had lived for many years and created a notable architectural legacy. As she became interested in Frank [...]
A Fraction of the Whole: Steve Toltz Book Review
Posted: January 14, 2010 by condofire in Book ReviewsTags: A Fraction of the Whole Book review, Man Booker nominee Steve Toltz, Steve Toltz
Dave’s turn: A Fraction of the Whole is narrated by Jasper Dean who tells us the story of his overanalyzing, philosophical, paranoid father, Martin and his deceased master criminal uncle, Terry. As he tells us of the events that led to his father’s demise, he recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and unwanted adventures. The story [...]
