Hi all,
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 Appeal" by John Grisham - "The Appeal" is set in Bowmore,
Mississippi where Krane Chemical Co. has been dumping toxic waste into
their water supply, causing a huge spike in cancer cases. A husband-
and-wife legal team takes the company to court and after months of
litigation, the win an award of 41 million dollars. The chemical
company is owned by Carl Trudeau who swears to never pay a dime of the
award. Instead, he knows the state Supreme Court will decide the
appeal and it looks like a close decision there, so he sets out to
recruit his own Supreme Court justice. He handpicks a man to be his
candidate in the upcoming judicial election and sets his sights on one
of the court's liberal female judges. He intends to buy the reversal
of the court judgment. John Grisham's novel has received mostly
positive reviews with the Boston Globe saying, "'The Appeal' is an
entertaining page-turner that, by showing readers a perversion of the
system, yearns for justice. Who knew that the mega-best-selling
Grisham wanted to be a moralist, a sort of Old Testament prophet
fulminating against our sins? In 'The Appeal,' he pulls that off
beautifully."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/appeal
"How the Dead Dream" by Lydia Millet - "How the Dead Dream" begins
with a young boy, T., who is obsessed with money. As he grows up, he
becomes a fervent capitalist and real estate developer. His life,
though, becomes increasingly lonely. When he accidentally kills a
coyote with his car, this contact with the natural world unnerves him
and he begins to question his priorities in life. When his girlfriend
suddenly dies, his grief and sense of loss causes him to develop a
concern for animals that are becoming extinct. He breaks into zoos at
night, not to free the animals, but just to watch them and try to
understand. Lydia Millet's novel has received mostly positive reviews
with BookPage saying, "It's to Millet's credit that the reader's
sympathy never flags, that the suffering of a selfish, greedy fortune-
builder remains heartwrenching. The intelligent, sharp-humored charm
of her narrative voice aligns the reader with T from the start. In
lyrical passages that trace T's deeper musings, Millet makes the
personal universal, raising the stakes so that each realization has
the weight of a revolution. And, like all revolutions, it's an untidy
process, leaving the future uncertain."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/how_the_dead_dream
"Life Class" by Pat Barker - "Life Class" begins in the summer of 1914
and revolves around a group of painters at London's Slade School of
Art. Paul Tarrant is a struggling young artist, suffering from not
having anything to say with his art. Paul pines for Elinor, the
school's most promising student, but she's also being pursued by Kit,
who also seems more talented than Paul. The outbreak of The Great War
upends all their lives. Elinor's art is shunted aside as being
irrelevant during war time. Paul becomes an orderly and ambulance
driver in Belgium and Kit becomes an acclaimed war artist. Their pre-
war relation****p and artistic intrigues pale in comparison to the
traumas brought on by the war. Pat Barker's novel has received
positive reviews with the Wa****ngton Post saying, "Barker has
constructed this novel with a daringly languid plot. That the story
remains so engaging is a testament to her elegant style and
psychological acuity."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/life_class
"The Reserve" by Russell Banks - "The Reserve" is set in the
Adirondacks in 1936 when it was mostly used as a playground for the
rich and famous. The novel begins with Jordan Groves, a famous
artist, landing his plane on a lake in the Cole family reserve to see
Dr. Carter Cole's art collection. Groves is known for his womanizing
and he's immediately attracted to his daughter, Vanessa Cole, a twice-
divorced, wild, beautiful woman with a fierce, independent streak.
When her father suddenly dies, her mother tries to have her committed
and cut off her inheritance. Groves' wife has an affair of her own,
throwing his world into turmoil. Vanessa, who is definitely unhinged,
hints at the family secrets that have scarred them all. Russell
Banks' novel has received mixed reviews with the Boston Globe saying,
"Set against the backdrop of the rise of fascism in Europe and the
deepening economic inequities of the Depression in the United States,
'The Reserve' is at once a harrowing mystery, an illuminating
psychological novel of subverted love and family dysfunction, and a
powerful commentary on class structure in America."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/reserve
"This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War" by Drew
Gilpin Faust - With "This Republic of Suffering," Drew Gilpin Faust
examines the material, political, intellectual, and spiritual impact
of the 620,000 men killed during the Civil War. Many battlefields
were littered with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of stinking,
bloated corpses. It was a challenge to embalm or bury the dead, and
nearly half of them were left unidentified. Officer's corpses were
often ****pped back to their families, but enlisted men were buried
quickly. There were no military graves registration or national
cemeteries. Men charged into battle hoping their souls were prepared
for death. Resulting diseases, shortages, and loss of so many men
from different communities plagued civilians on both sides of the
war. "This Republic of Suffering" has received positive reviews with
the Rocky Mountain News saying, "So much has been written about the
Civil War that it's a surprise to find a subject that hasn't been
exhausted. 'This Republic of Suffering' makes you think about the
Civil War in a completely different way."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/republic_of_suffering
"Riding Toward Everywhere" by William T. Vollmann - "Riding Toward
Everywhere" is William T. Vollmann's account of riding the rails by
train-hopping across the West. He really didn't have a purpose other
than to explore the lifestyle and experience its reality. With the
help of Steve, he learns not just how to climb on and off the trains,
but to lie in wait for the train and evade the railroad bulls who
patrol the railroads. He encounters hobo camps and learns of the
dangers involved from gangs who prey on them. He also gets to enjoy
the scenery of rides through the countryside without a planned
destination. "Riding Toward Everywhere" has received mixed reviews
with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch saying, "In the end, the book is
worth reading because Vollmann is such a superb writer and because, in
an age of irony, he is not afraid to speak with passionate intensity
of the things that matter to him most."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/riding_toward_everywhere
Happy reading!
Bill - administrator of http://www.reviewsofbooks.com
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