Don't you have better things to do? I don't find it hilarious like David Montgomery does, just perplexing.
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Picks of the Week
Harry Dolan: Bad Things Happen
BAD THINGS HAPPEN is a nifty debut, cleverly told and unfurled from the very first line: "The shovel has to meet certain requirements" on through meeting "the man who calls himself David Loogan." There are reasons for concealment, just as there are reasons the editor of a mystery magazine bearing little resemblance to EQMM or AHMM might bring him into the fold, thus catalyzing a series of murderous events. The twists come quickly and the dialogue is sharp and if it falls apart slightly at the end, no matter - I want to read much more from Dolan from now on.Ian MacKenzie: City of Strangers: A Novel
MacKenzie's debut novel reminded me a lot of Paul Auster's NEW YORK TRILOGY, whether it was intended or not, in terms of his choice of words, the thrust of the narrative and the existential nature of the main character (whose first name, incidentally, is Paul) caught up in a snowballing sequence of strange and violent events in and around New York City. MacKenzie straddles the line between thriller and internal examination of a man's failings, and his ability to do so establishes him as a young writer of serious talent and future.Megan Abbott: Bury Me Deep
In a word: amazing. In more words: Megan Abbott, who has never delivered anything less than an excellent novel, exceeds expectations and takes a very bold and very necessary step forward both in the quality of the prose, the development of her characters and especially in portraying how obsession seeps into the very soul of people, transforming them into their worst nightmares all too easily. Just read this book. And then tell many others to do so as well.Ninni Holmqvist: The Unit
Understandably, echoes of THE HANDMAID'S TALE are hard to ignore in this dystopic examination of a society where fertility is so high a priority that older, single, marginal women are shut away in secret locales to live out the rest of their lives in seemingly perfect harmony - at least, until the "donations" begin. But Holmqvist's marvelous book doesn't browbeat her thesis into the reader and smartly expands her ideas to look at the plight of all marginalized folk, women and men alike, and how the promise of comforts can be the most horrifying of all. Prepare to be disturbed, but prepare further to think about the ramifications.Paula Froelich: Mercury in Retrograde
This is possibly the most perfect novel for today's economically challenged times. Why? Because it has plenty of glitz and glamor and blind items, as befitting a narrative by the deputy editor of Page Six, but Froelich isn't arch or snarky or acid-tongued in the slightest. Her trio of protagonists land in all manner of embarrassing situations but they aren't played for mean-spirited laughs. The New York here is something of a fantasy-land, but not so far off the mark that it's completely unbelievable. Most of all it's clear Froelich remains sincere and optimistic about her chosen city, and has retained her sense of fun. So no need to check your brain at the door, but sometimes it just needs to chill out and relax.
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The Idiosyncratic Part
« Smatterings | Main | Happy Thanksgiving »
November 21, 2007
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*Sigh!* Pat, Pat, Pat...
I only WISH I had that many bad reviews. It would have meant I sold more books.
Posted by: Jim Winter | November 21, 2007 at 07:37 PM
Well okay, I haven't read the book yet so I don't know how bad or good it might be. But I can sorta understand where Cornwell's coming from. Attacks from the ether can get tiring and demoralizing.
Posted by: Tess Gerritsen | November 22, 2007 at 08:22 AM
On the other hand, she can console herself by counting her millions of dollars. Seriously, if you sell as many books as she does, who the hell cares what people say? Especially some random malcontents on the internet. (Like me!)
Posted by: David J. Montgomery | November 22, 2007 at 08:40 AM
The fact that her note has those typos makes me think she wrote it in the heat of anger. Probably not the best time to take your thoughts public!
Posted by: Tess Gerritsen | November 22, 2007 at 09:58 AM
In fairness, Marilyn Stasio of the NYT liked the new Cornwell book, as well as PREDATOR.
Posted by: Roddy Reta | November 22, 2007 at 12:49 PM
Kinda sorta sounds like a publicity scam to me. I stopped reading her three books ago.
Posted by: Elaine Flinn | November 22, 2007 at 01:01 PM
I just read Stasio's review of BOOK OF THE DEAD again. It doesn't offer much criticism, but the bulk of it comes in the last line of the review:
"In trying to reassert Scarpetta’s supremacy, Cornwell hasn’t exactly purged the series of tired formulas and worn-out cast members. But she has shaken things up a bit and produced one terrific new character, a bodyguard named Bull who’s helping Scarpetta tend her neglected garden. It will be interesting to see what grows there."
That's hardly a glowing recommendation.
Posted by: David J. Montgomery | November 22, 2007 at 01:55 PM