Nearly every line in this novel is taut, and wrought with tender nerve-ending sensation that it’s impossible not to feel along with the characters. The power of the novel isn’t only in the stormy waves that Pikelet risks his life on. It’s in the quiet musings that take place between the Didgeridoo and the Ambulance rides later: the fear, greater than any wave, that life is just an inhalation and exhalation of breath and nothing more.
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of Testimony by Anita Shreve
Shreve has the uncanny ability to capture the delicacy of the human experience. Many of her novels focus on how a decision made in a split second can alter the course of people’s lives forever.
A review of The Black Garden by Joe Bright
The novel grabs readers’ attention with George’s daughter Carolyn’s tragic suicide in the opening chapter and the storyline is just interesting enough to hold your attention to put the pieces of the town (and family)’s secret together.
First Anglo-Pacific Invitational Chess Championship By Erik Osbun
Overall, this is an excellent tournament book that I will continue to revisit and refer to in the future for two reasons. First, because it is a great source of opening information and ideas. Second, because the eventful games and insightful notes and analysis provide excellent material for analytical work.
A review of The Dreamer by Will Eisner
Despite disappointments and knockbacks, Billy follows his bliss and, eventually, finds a way to eke out a living and make good money by writing and drawing comics. For this ain’t just any old dream, people, it’s the American Dream.
A review of The Garbage Man by Joseph D’Lacey
Kids with matches enjoyed the phenomenon until the authorities stepped in. When we consider what is thrown into landfill sites, legally, illegally and damned strange it is surprising that new forms of life haven’t grown from the neo-primeval soup. That is what happens in The Garbage Man. Not just a horror story but a warning.
A review of Chess Training Pocket Book II by Lev Alburt and Al Lawrence
Finally, the design of the book is attractive to the eye: the mix of black and blue type; the layout of the diagrams: four per page, with solutions on the page facing; the use of text boxes for pull quotes and take-home messages. Altogether, this creates a good impression, as does the book’s compactness.
A review of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Why should one read The Big Sleep today? Well, first there is the story: it is a thrilling ride. Then there is the quality of Chandler’s prose, his much vaunted style, which still impresses (though its downbeat and bathetic vibe is occasionally imitative of Hemingway).
A review of Talking Heads by Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is the master of the monologue, pondering a range of social issues with a deftness that few other playwrights could match. This powerful collection features some of Bennett’s most famous monologues, performed superbly by actors that clearly have a deep understanding of the work. The combination of character development, a great eye for the minutiae of everyday life, and a theatrical sense of the absurd and tragic inherent in that life makes this an excellent piece of work.
A review of The Sicilian Bb5 Revealed by Neil McDonald
There is an occasional dry wit, too, which is no bad thing (e.g. after a cool positional display by Adams, he remarks that ‘the Hedgehog wasn’t so much squashed as slowly marinated’). There are a plentiful number of diagrams and the text is clear and well-spaced, however, one would have liked to have seen an index of players or complete games. Other than that, The Sicilian Bb5 Revealed is a model of its kind.